David Letterman & Sarah Palin: war of words

[twitchy2.0]

David Letterman, "Tonight Show" Ratings Race Closest Since 2005

FRAZIER MOORE | June 18, 2009 03:58 PM EST |

NEW YORK — David Letterman's squabble with Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin gave his "Late Show" a ratings boost last week, but new NBC rival Conan O'Brien retains the upper hand after two weeks as "Tonight Show" host.

Overall for the week of June 8, "Tonight" won in total viewers as well as among such demographic groups as adults 18-49 and 18-34, according to Nielsen Media Research figures released Thursday.

Even so, CBS' "Late Show" scored total-viewer victories on three nights last week, as controversy (and viewer interest) heated up following Letterman's racy joke about a Palin daughter. The joke was delivered as part of Letterman's June 8 monologue.

Last week's Tuesday, Thursday and Friday editions of "Late Show" edged out "Tonight" in viewers.

"Late Show" also edged out "Tonight" in household ratings, 2.7 vs. 2.6 for the week. (A ratings point represents 1,145,000 households, or 1 percent of the nation's estimated 114.5 million TV homes.)

For the week, "Late Show" had 3.67 million viewers, separated from front-runner "Tonight" with its 3.77 million viewers by just 100,000 viewers. For "Late Show," it was the closest competitive position to "Tonight" since December 2005, Nielsen said.

Until longtime host Jay Leno departed "Tonight" on May 29, the NBC late show had been the traditional ratings leader at 11:35 p.m.

David Letterman, "Tonight Show" Ratings Race Closest Since 2005

[kingcap72]

The Palin Nation's fake outrage is going to boil over once they hear that Dave's 'exploitation of young women' has boosted his ratings.

[AliceInWonderland]

i know its awesome and he didn't even do this shit on purpose the public loves a fuck-up

[Mr. Authority]

Olivie Garden, the "Italian-American" restraunt is getting in on the act apparently.

Andy Barr Andy Barr – Thu Jun 18, 1:53 pm ET

Following a week of back and forth between CBS late-night comic David Letterman and Sarah Palin over a crude joke he told about the Alaska Republican governor’s daughter, the Olive Garden restaurant says it is canceling all of its scheduled ads on Letterman’s “Late Show” for the rest of the year.

In an e-mail to a Letterman critic obtained by POLITICO, a spokeswoman for the Italian restaurant chain wrote that “there will be no more Olive Garden ads scheduled for ‘The Late Show’ with David Letterman in this year's broadcast schedule,” citing the talk show host’s “inappropriate comments.”

“We apologize that Mr. Letterman’s mistake, which was not consistent with our standards and values, left you with a bad impression of Olive Garden,” wrote Sherri Bruen, the company’s guest relations manager.

Bruen said the company “screens network television programs whenever possible,” but explained that “telecasts, such as ‘The Late Show’ with David Letterman, are taped on a daily basis, preventing advertisers from reviewing the content prior to airing.”

A spokesman for the company confirmed Thursday that for now it has canceled all its remaining scheduled ads on the CBS program for the rest of the year.

Olive Garden pulls Letterman ads - Yahoo! News

[twitchy2.0]

Olive Garden sucks anyway.

[Mr. Authority]

Originally Posted by twitchy2.0

Olive Garden sucks anyway.

It's the Italian version of "Denny's"; greasy crap that pretends to be home-cooked food. Yeah I'm sure Letterman is so devasted to not have their advertising dollars.

[*DIVA!]

Originally Posted by Mr. Authority

Olivie Garden, the "Italian-American" restraunt is getting in on the act apparently.


Olive Garden pulls Letterman ads - Yahoo! News

No one goes to The olive Garden anymore..they go to Carrabas...

[travelbug]

Originally Posted by *DIVA!

No one goes to The olive Garden anymore..they go to Carrabas...

Mmmm...Carrabas' Chicken Marsala...

[kingcap72]

The Olive Garden? Well, it makes sense. A joke of a restaurant backing a joke of a politician.

[Cali]

Oh go home Olive Garden. You just encourage people to be fat anyway with your constant specials of 'super fetticinni plus extra butter, triple oil, double lobster and endless salad-and-breadsticks (emphasis on the breadsticks)'

[WhoAmI]

The Olive Garden restaurant chain is denying that it canceled all of its scheduled ads on CBS late night comic David Letterman’s “Late Show” in response to a crude joke Letterman told about Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin’s daughter and instead contends that its ad schedule concluded.

POLITICO reported Thursday that the company would pull its remaining television spots and was emailing Letterman critics with a note informing them that “there will be no more Olive Garden ads scheduled for ‘The Late Show’ with David Letterman in this year's broadcast schedule,” citing the talk show host’s “inappropriate comments.”

“We apologize that Mr. Letterman’s mistake, which was not consistent with our standards and values, left you with a bad impression of Olive Garden,” wrote Sherri Bruen, the company’s guest relations manager.

Bruen said the company “screens network television programs whenever possible,” but explained that “telecasts, such as ‘The Late Show’ with David Letterman, are taped on a daily basis, preventing advertisers from reviewing the content prior to airing.”

Olive Garden’s manager of media relations, who asked not to be quoted on the record, confirmed to POLITICO Thursday that the emails were sent by the restaurant chain, and also confirmed that the company would be pulling its remaining television spots on the program for the rest of the year when asked that question.

But in a statement released later in the day, Olive Garden Director of Media Relations Rich Jeffers disputed POLITICO’s report as “erroneous.”

“No authorized spokesperson for the company confirmed the information in his report,” Jeffers said. “The Olive Garden media schedule is planned months in advance. The schedule for the Late Show with David Letterman was completed earlier this month. We take all guest concerns seriously. And, as always, we will factor those concerns in as we plan our advertising schedule in the future.”

When asked about the cancellation confirmation POLITICO obtained from the company’s media relations office, Jeffers responded in an email that the individual listed as the press contact on the company’s website was unauthorized to speak for the company.

“The so called ‘confirmation’ didn’t come from an authorized spokesperson for the company. The guest email you received did not say any ads were pulled. And as our statement says, the schedule — which is set months in advance — was completed earlier this month.”

CBS did not return several calls seeking comment.

Letterman has apologized for his comment last week about Palin’s daughter getting “knocked up by Alex Rodriguez” during the governor’s recent visit to a Yankees baseball game. Palin attended the game as part of a trip to New York.

“I told a joke that was beyond flawed, and my intent is completely meaningless compared to the perception,” Letterman said. “And since it was a joke I told, I feel that I need to do the right thing here and apologize for having told that joke.”

After repeatedly blasting the late night comic in statements and interviews last week, Palin accepted Letterman’s apology on Tuesday.

“Letterman certainly has the right to ‘joke’ about whatever he wants to, and thankfully we have the right to express our reaction,” she said in a statement.

Olive Garden backtracks on ads - Yahoo! News

[AliceInWonderland]

the olive garden is pure trash anyways, who cares!

[kingcap72]

“We apologize that Mr. Letterman’s mistake, which was not consistent with our standards and values, left you with a bad impression of Olive Garden,”

Like Letterman is the reason why people have a bad impression of Olive Garden.

[Cali]

So basicaly, Olive Garden was ready to pull its ads until the news was leaked and peaple started getting their garlic bread fix elsewhere.

Carry on, Olive Garden. This is your flash-in-the-pan fame chance- work it like you know Sarah Palin would! Make her proud!

[Mr. Authority]

Originally Posted by Cali

So basicaly, Olive Garden was ready to pull its ads until the news was leaked and peaple started getting their garlic bread fix elsewhere.

Carry on, Olive Garden. This is your flash-in-the-pan fame chance- work it like you know Sarah Palin would! Make her proud!

Pretty much. That and taking a clove of garlic and spreading it on toast is better than the stale microwaved crap you get at OG anyways. It's not like this little stunt will change things at that place because it's always been shitty.

So is Sarah Palin still bitching about this; I thought she had gotten over this already.