The television industry continues its efforts to reduce, reuse, and recycle old creative content, making this fall’s lineup look eerily familiar, especially to those from the X and Boomer gens. It’s pretty clear that their vintage re-dux strategy is aimed at younger folk- the ones who haven't experienced the past or those that have muted, but fond memories of their parents talking about it. 

Being of an age that spans between both the X and Y gens, I both loathe and appreciate this approach. I devour new content and technology like a Y, yet have lived long enough to appreciate firsthand (albeit at a very young age) the charm of 80’s television. The rule I have about creative content being recycled is it must have been a classic in its own time before modernization begins. Even if studios are compliant in this rule they can still miss the mark (yes, I’m talking to you new 90210). 

It is for these reasons that I think CBS has done good by adding the highly anticipated new Hawaii 5-0 to their fall lineup. Say what you will about the quality of the show, but I think we can all agree that the theme song is an absolute classic- arguably one of the most adored and recognized TV jingles in our time (right behind Knight Rider, of course). The amazing drum solo!  The suburb and Mancini-eque orchestration! Who in their right mind would mess with such perfection? The executives at the eye network apparently.

CBS thought the opening credits needed a revamp and worked diligently on a synthed-up version of the original. They released the new version into the blogosphere, and thankfully CBS got spanked. Industry reporters spoke up about the misstep to the eye’s CEO. Even better, CBS actually listened to them and decided to digitally re-record the original instead of going with the Lady Gaga version (no offense to Gaga), a wise choice in my book.

So what’s the marketing lesson we can all glean from CBS’ decision making? Well there are a few that I can think of off the top of my keyboard: 1) A timeless idea can often stand alone, and 2) If you are going to breathe new life into an old idea, make sure the new version is better than the original. The final lesson is listen- via the press, social media or survey. CBS did and I bet it will pay off for them this fall.

Click here to see the original article from New York Magazine and listen to the original and new versions of the Hawaii 5-0 theme.

Mahalo,

Mowalla Chicago.