Channel One set up a mock election ("OneVote") that doubled as an advertising vehicle for a new dot.com company called DigitalBackPack.com and for a massive self-promotion for Channel One itself. Channel One made a major effort to get schoolchildren in schools that still have Channel One to sign up and vote in the election held on October 23.
Materials were sent to each school. Relentless
promos for the election were aired on the in-school TV show and on Channel
One’s web site. With supposedly over 8 million students under contract,
Channel One was looking for millions to participate. Then Channel One’s
lobbyists would spread the news across the country that Channel One was
engaging millions in the electoral process. Well, nice marketing plan,
but it didn’t work.
Back in 1992, Channel One tried the same thing. It was also called "OneVote." Jim Ritts, Channel One’s president of network affairs at the time, predicted five to six million students voting. The results back in 1992 were surprising light with only 3.5 million students voting. When you consider the captive nature of the audience this was abysmal.
Now to last week. Only 878,000 students voted – out of eight million.
2.6 million fewer students participated in Channel
One’s mock election from 1992 to 2000. That is a loss of 75%.
Jim Metrock president of Obligation said, "Teachers and principals should be congratulated for seeing through Channel One’s revolting marketing gimmick. Students can be engaged in the democratic process without being ‘played’ by this marketing company called Channel One. Schools did indeed vote and they voted ‘No’ to Channel One’s commercial exploitation of their students."
Metrock said, "Teachers must have thrown Channel One’s ad-laden ballots into the trash as soon as they arrived at school. Digitalbackpack.com and Channel One deserve the grade they received from schools this week – a big fat ‘F’. Any company that advertises on Channel One is not a friend of schools or students."
