ISU ad on tv is annoying

[Likethewind]

Has anyone else noticed that of all people, the ISU television ad has BUTYRSKAYA kissing her medal at the end and she is far more focused on than Kwan.

I find this incredibly irritating. HOw the heck does Butyrskaya deserve to be focused on in that ad seen by millions!!?????

My real thought is that she was world champ when they set up the ad?

My paranoid thought is that the powers that be are all pro Russian and that is why both Yags and Gute are prominent and Kwan is only shown in the middle briefly.

Am I a total cynic or is anyone else really BUGGED by this ad?

[Norlite]

I have not even seen it. The ISU has an ad on TV?? Whatever for? I can't recall there ever being an advertising campaign for the ISU for anything, other than networks for their coverage of an event.

[jcspkbfan]

I don't think I've ever seen this ad on any other stations, but ABC has shown a commercial advertising the ISU as "sponsors of the world's most important skating events" for at least three or so years (and I think Maria was probably world champion at the time these ads first aired).

Personally, I find this commercial annoying, too--not because of which skaters are most prominently displayed in the ad, but just because...it's an annoying commercial!

[Kestral]

That ISU spot is not new. I've been seeing it, exactly as it is, for the last three years.

[rinkrat24/7]

( i dont think its technicall and "AD" but...)it bugs me 2!:twisted: ...not because of the Kwan/Butyrskaya thing tho. i just think its an annoying ad. i mean the ISU is just patting themselves on ther back.

[viennese]

the ad looks very dated.

i think we've been seeing it since 1999/2000 - the costumes, hairstyles seem to be from the 1999 worlds.

the ad is annoying, considering the scandals and weirdness about the scoring system.

a couple of years ago, when the International Olympic Committee was awash in scandal over bribes to IOC members from host cities, the IOC put together some beautiful. inspiring ads made up of clips of Olympic athletes just doing their thing.

each one had a voice over that basically said, the joy is in competing, not winning. the isu should try something similar.

[speedy]

Yes it's a ridiculous ad, just like a lot of other things involving the ISU. What a self-congratulatory load of garbage and waste of air time. It serves no purpose whatsoever other than to hype their (hopefully soon-to-be meaningless) organization.

[maruko]

What is wrong with you folks? So a televion ad is annoying just because they showed Maria Butyrskaya, the Russian, for 1/3 of a second more than Michelle Kwan, the American? You can't be serious.

Why Maria deserves to be focused on the ad? Because she WAS the
1999 Ladies World Champion when they ad was apparently shot. That is a already a good reason. By the way, Maria was brilliant to win that championship. This ad has been there for ages at least since 1999. They also showed Yagudin, B&S who happened to be also the World Champions of that year. I don't have a problem ISU to focus of the gold medalists of that year. If they were to do an ad today, they probably will throw in Michelle, Plushy, S&Z and Elena Sokolova.

I don't think the ad is necessarily pro-Russians. It is that the Russians happened to sweep all the gold medals in 1999 Worlds when the ad was shot.

I don't have a problem for an organization to promote itself while an event that they host is being aired. ISU certainly is not the only not-for-profit organization to place an ad on tv.


Originally posted by Likethewind
Has anyone else noticed that of all people, the ISU television ad has BUTYRSKAYA kissing her medal at the end and she is far more focused on than Kwan.

I find this incredibly irritating. HOw the heck does Butyrskaya deserve to be focused on in that ad seen by millions!!?????

My real thought is that she was world champ when they set up the ad?

My paranoid thought is that the powers that be are all pro Russian and that is why both Yags and Gute are prominent and Kwan is only shown in the middle briefly.

Am I a total cynic or is anyone else really BUGGED by this ad?

[jcspkbfan]

Personally, if I was Michelle Kwan or any other skater, I'd be happy not to receive more screen time in this annoying commercial...and thanks to everyone who pointed out exactly why I find this ad so annoying! I'm just grateful it's (as far as I know) only shown on one channel!

[kayskate]

I don't think I have seen this ad, or at least I don't remember an ad for ISU w/ Maria. Even if it was not shot in 1999 when she was world champ, she is very beautiful and may be desirable face to have on camera. A friend (a single man) did not know who Maria B. was but saw her skating on TV and was mesmerised by her beauty. The average viewer (who may not know much about skating) may enjoy a pretty face like hers. I'm not saying other skaters are not attractive, but she does look good on camera.

Kay

[quarkiki2]

Yes, this ad is three years old and was shot focusing in on the winners of the 1999 worlds.

Maria was fantastic at that competition and deserves the perks that go with winning a World Championship -- including a spot on a really annoying commercial -- in the same way the USFSA web page has photos of the current champs on the homepage. It's advertising and the champions sell!

On the other hand, I really wish that the ISU would produce another commercial, especially after the SLC fiasco.

And I agree with Kayskate -- Maria's a beautiful woman. She's the only reason, in fact, that my dad will stay in the same room while skating's on, LOL! Needless to say he hasn't watched too much skating this year, LOL! He always asks "Is that beatiful blonde going to be skating today?" He'd surely NEVER say that about one of the US's teen queens.

[viennese]

i don't think anyone's disputing the "right" of any one skater to be in the ISU ad...we'd just like to see an updated promo!

i like the fact that the champions it celebrates are those with some real longevity in the sport: maria b, alexei y, michelle.

[loveskating]

Originally posted by maruko
What is wrong with you folks? So a televion ad is annoying just because they showed Maria Butyrskaya, the Russian, for 1/3 of a second more than Michelle Kwan, the American? You can't be serious.

ROFL...well, I agree...but very strangely, lots of Americans feel picked on...remember when our Hockey players at Nagano trashed the hotel rooms because they lost a competition? Hmmmm. I don't get it at all.