Nick Murray, the executive producer of the ABC's consumer affairs program The Checkout, has warned the top 20 advertisers they will all end up under the microscope on the series. Swisse, Mazda and Jetstar have already had a kicking. Who's next?
Murray told AdNews the program, which investigates consumer claims and complaints about companies, was not something he thought the commercial networks would have green-lit.
“We've been working on this for four years and then Julian Morrow had the same thought and came to us. It's taken a while for the ABC to fund it but it's probably not a show you'll see on a commercial network, it's not something we expected them to jump on,” he said. “The top 20 advertisers on any of the commercial networks will likely all end up under the microscope in this series.”
Murray said there is a gap in the market for a program like The Checkout. “We're not going after dodgy plumbers – that's good telly because it's dramatic – because it's not something people come up against everyday. But if Coles is doing something [it affects a lot of people]. The key reason for the series is to inform people better about the stuff they're dealing with.”
He said the program had received an enormous amount of feedback from people after the first episode went to air. There is a tip-off website as well as 'F U Tube', a video blog for viewers to upload complaints.
Murray added a lot of the complaints fall into the realm of what you would expect such as dodgy dealings with retailers and telcos. But he contends The Checkout will not just be “shooting down” brands and some of the segments will also showcase positive stories.
Murray said of the brands which were investigated in the first episode, Mazda posted a “begrudging acknowledgement” of the issues raised around its servicing on its website while he'd heard Swisse was “weren't happy”.
The Checkout is produced by Cordell Jigsaw Zapruder – a merged entity between Cordell Jigsaw and Zapruder's Other Films last year – with Murray and The Chaser's Morrow serving as executive producers. It debuted a week and a half ago on the public broadcaster and will feature 10 episodes this series. It is also working with consumer advocacy group Choice.
The first episode garnered 795,000 viewers on preliminary metro numbers but Murray expected that figure to climb to almost 1.3 million once regional and catch-up numbers are factored in. Preliminary ratings for the second episode showed The Checkout was the eighth most watched program on Thursday at 664,000 but the raw numbers were likely softened due to the beginning of the Easter long weekend.
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