LOST IN SOAPS
The July 18 issue of Soap Opera Digest has an article, "Fit to Print: The Art Behind Publishing Soap Crossover Books," looking at the bestselling success of Oakdale Confidential, The Killing Club, Robin's Diary, and Hidden Passions.
Each of the titles hit the New York Times Bestseller List upon publication (with Oakdale Confidential holding the #3 spot for two weeks). What the article doesn't mention, but what I found fascinating a mere few weeks ago is that Bad Twin, the Lost tie-in book, did not do nearly as well as any of the above soap titles.
After the success of Oakdale Confidential in April 2006, I was certain the Lost book in May would be huge. After all, this primetime show's audience is almost five times larger than the audience for As the World Turns, AND their fans are notoriously, what's the word I'm looking for? Ah, yes, nuts. (I mean, freeze-framing a split-second view of a map and then putting it on the Internet so that other Lost-heads can ponder its significance? Makes throwing a wedding reception for Bo and Hope seem rather normal in comparison, no?)
And yet, while Bad Twin did make the Times List, it failed to crack the top ten, and the buzz, despite several plugs in that bible of pop culture, Entertainment Weekly, died rather quickly.
I've said it before and I'll say it again. Despite the lower ratings, daytime has proved again and again and again that it can make their audience BUY STUFF. And what can be more important to potential advertisers than that?
Daytime, in a word, rules.
Each of the titles hit the New York Times Bestseller List upon publication (with Oakdale Confidential holding the #3 spot for two weeks). What the article doesn't mention, but what I found fascinating a mere few weeks ago is that Bad Twin, the Lost tie-in book, did not do nearly as well as any of the above soap titles.
After the success of Oakdale Confidential in April 2006, I was certain the Lost book in May would be huge. After all, this primetime show's audience is almost five times larger than the audience for As the World Turns, AND their fans are notoriously, what's the word I'm looking for? Ah, yes, nuts. (I mean, freeze-framing a split-second view of a map and then putting it on the Internet so that other Lost-heads can ponder its significance? Makes throwing a wedding reception for Bo and Hope seem rather normal in comparison, no?)
And yet, while Bad Twin did make the Times List, it failed to crack the top ten, and the buzz, despite several plugs in that bible of pop culture, Entertainment Weekly, died rather quickly.
I've said it before and I'll say it again. Despite the lower ratings, daytime has proved again and again and again that it can make their audience BUY STUFF. And what can be more important to potential advertisers than that?
Daytime, in a word, rules.
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Links to this post:
Create a Link
<< Home