“Sweep the leg, Johnny. Sweep the leg!” Do you remember this famous villainous spiel? It is from the 1984 classic, The Karate Kid. Who didn’t hate John Kreese and his clan of prepubescent ninjas? They were always picking on the little guy in hopes of making others believe they truly mattered. Sounds like our pals at Charter Communications, huh?
Recently, Charter Communications refused to air pre-scheduled Antennas Direct ad campaign due to its anti-cable message. The banned sixty second TV spots, which depict the cable companies as a manipulative monopoly, encourage viewers to cancel cable and bask in the glory of free over-the-air programming. According to one high ranking Charter executive, the cable provider will not air television spots for any “direct cable competitors.”
“After publicly proclaiming the over-the-air movement as nothing more than a farce, Charter is finally acknowledging OTA as a legitimate competitor to cable,” said Richard Schneider, president of Antennas Direct. “When a multi-million dollar antenna company can strike fear into the heart of a 7 billion dollar giant, you know your message has merit.”
Over the past 5 years, Antennas Direct has seen significant growth due in part to millions of Americans opting to ditch pay-TV in favor of free broadcast programming. In 2012, the antenna crusader earned a spot in the exclusive Inc 500|5000 Hall of Fame, announced a partnership with TiVo and rolled their HDTV antennas out to the nation’s largest retailer, Walmart.
Want to see that TV spots that the folks at Charter don’t want you to see? You can! To view all three banned Antennas Direct TV spots, see below: