Reality TV -Learning the Game of Business From The Apprentice

Cory Treffiletti from Carat Interactive asked the people on MediaPost what they thought of reality television. The responses of the people were truly a mind-blowing reality. These people are all "advertising professionals." Yet one peson admitted to not owning or watching television, another said reality television was a passing fad (after over a decade of reality programming being on TV.) (Full article on MediaPost)


Here was my comment:
Excellent article Cory - but I'm really shocked by these responses. Someone actually working in advertising and admitting to not owning a TV!? How can you be in the game if you're not even watching?

I also question the statement "they are just a passing fad but they do show how easily people's likes and dislikes can be manipulated and how word of mouth and peer pressure can drive people to "have to watch" a certain tv show"

How do you judge "passing?" The reality concept has been alive for over a decade and is living a full, very lengthy life cycle. Over-saturation is the real danger to reality programming. Too much fat is what will decrease the genre's performance and possibly cause it's demise.

I watch The Apprentice because of my desire to be entertained and to learn - so maybe I do feel that I "have to" learn, whether it is from a book or from a TV show. No book can show what is shown on The Apprentice. Apprentice allows you to watch and learn how other educated people react in business situations. Yes, the situations are setup and the content is heavily edited. However the end result is being able to see different individuals working together to accomplish a goal, while at the same time, attempting to outshine each other to win the job.

As far as product placements, I would love to see products/services placed on the series that help the contestants (which are basically small businesses) achieve their goals (i.e. using Kinko's, or implementing project management and personal productivity tools.)

The Apprentice is one of the most thought provoking shows on TV. Mark Burnett (producer) has really hit on what I believe to be a great concept with Survivor and Apprentice, providing us insight into how people go about winning the game - because after all, business is a game.