As a small business trying to grow, we were told about a tv show featuring a well known host and his business partner. They were starting a new show and were looking for advertisers. The first meeting was full of promises, such as we will produce a 30 second commercial using your products, use your products in our show as product placement, advertise your business at all the events we do, put your name and address and products on our website, facebook, etc., and will run a 30 second spot with your banner ad every episode for only $8,000 plus $1,500 to produce the commercial.
The second meeting was supposed to be for taking pictures of our products, and signing a contract. It turned into, "can you make products and put our name on them" by Hunters Soul TV. We never saw any part of the commercial and no pictures were ever taken of our product. We were told that would be done the next week so that it could be put into the episodes all ready to go. We were told a copy of the contract would be emailed to us, and to get back to them about how quickly we could alter our product to fit their logo.
The following emails were exchanged, Sent: Thursday, May 31 10:34 AM
Subject: Link to website
Bob
Give Billy a call 704-689-9182 he is having some difficulty linking your website to billboard. Call him thanks Ed
Sent: Thu, May 31 12:27 pm
Subject: Re: Link to website
Will do. Thanks. Bob
Sent: Friday, June 01 8:48 AM
Bob
Attached is your contract with the Fox Sports South Highlighted for the addendum. Please sign and return.
Ed
Sent: Fri, Jun 1 10:49 am
Subject: Re: Link to website
Ed, Can you save this doc in some other or older format? I can't open it with Office 2003.
Bob
Sent: Saturday, June 02 10:16 AM
Subject: Re: Link to website
Can I fax this to you. Only format I have is word 2010. Ed
Sent: Mon, Jun 18 10:37: 46 EDT
Subject: Re: Link to website
Hey Ed, How's it going? Just writing to find out when can we see the commercial? Bob
Sent: Monday, June 18 10:57 PM
Subject: SPAM - Re: Link to website
Bob
We are working to "dumb down" the video (our editing guys verbage not mine). To move it over to dvd. When this happens I will be able to get you footage of the commercial for review as well as our first shows. The are having a hard time compressing the video down to fit on a dvd. I'll keep u posted.
Ed
Sent: Tue, Jun 19 8:48 am
Subject: Re: SPAM - Re: Link to website
Ed, What if something is not correct with it and I want changes made? Bob
Sent: Tue, Jun 19 10:36 am
Can be done on the fly and dropped in
Ed
Sent: Mon, Jul 2 19:40: 39 EDT
As of this point, we have not seen the contract I was sent and let Ed know that it was a corrupted file and unreadable. (See text in email below) Your computer guy was supposed to get on that. Nor have we seen the commercial or had a chance to critique it for edits before it aired. (See text in email below). We don't get FOX Sports South so I have no idea what it looks like or if it contained correct information. What I would like is half the money we sent ($800) back. (We worked pretty hard to earn the $1600 we sent and had to make a choice of us getting paid or you getting paid.) I was of the understanding that a 30 second commercial was part of the deal and we were told we got a 15 second commercial. When I asked your video guy the cost, I was told about $1500, so for half a commercial, asking for $800 back doesn't seem to me to be unfair. Feel free to pull our logo off your site. (You can put Southern Thunder's there..)...
Southern Thunder is another advertiser whose logo was not added to any of the advertising until after that last email was sent. As of today, we have not heard one more word from them. Now obviously, the phone calls are missing and you can't see exactly what was said there, but you get the idea that a commercial was promised, and we were led to believe was being produced, but by the time the last email was sent, were basically being told it wasn't "ready yet" or "can't get it to you" for whatever reason. I find it hard to believe a TELEVISION SHOW PRODUCER can't figure out how to "dumb down" a 30 second commercial to a DVD or even a link on a website. So, we are out money, out over $500 in product given to them to be used for the show with our banner, and do not even get the courtesy of a response.
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