1) The article is from October, 2006, yet talks about the fabulousness of Rachel Ray and how all of her brilliant media-driven face-smacking has "snuck up on you." (Turn on a TV in '04 or '05 at all?)
2) SPECIFICS FROM THIS AWFUL BLOG:
Rachael Ray's approach to food is peppy and practical. (So why does/did everyone want to strangle her?) She doesn't do finnicky or precious. (But you seem to do blind and slow) She doesn't do baking. That's impressive. This has earned her the devotion of contemporary homemakers (You don't place ontemporary homemakers in very high regard.), and the loathing of foodies who see her as an enemy of the new food culture. (This is so far from the point, it's scary.) (She came up contra-trend. (Yes, she's edgy, daring and innovative.) She rose while a new approach to food was colonizing the American consciousness: the "slow food," Chez Panisse, Saveur Magazine, celebrity chef, high-end restaurant, connoisseurship trend.) Ludicrous.
Stylistically, Rachael Ray is the anti-Martha. Her website calls her "TV's most down-to-earth and relatable star." (Her own website calls her that? Wow. My website calls me Batman.)
Rachael Ray is not only peppy but peppery. (Those with college educations and even a slight grasp of wit can't even stand the sight of her, let alone the phony giggles and embarrassingly endless hand gesturing - we're hypnotized!) The "adorable" (what's adorable about grating the nerves?) Rachael is frequently accompanied by a Rachael who lets fly with sexual innuendo (yep. a little vomit in my mouth.), little digs, and frank observations (What digs and observations? She's giggling at missing the unnecessary garbage bowl - kill me now.) "Sweetness and light" meets "nobody's fool." (Ray (not Ray...(Scripps and her publicists) builds her celebrity out of mixed signals, in this case, the sweet and the savory.) Words can't even express a reaction here.
The new approach in marketing must be more Rachael-like. We want to see how the brand invests food with meanings that convert to the things that Moms most care about, animated kids, engaged dads, and vivid table talk. This consumer wants food that turns into a "meal," meals that turn into "events," events that turn into a "family." USPs? Please. Are you kidding? You must be. Isn't totally transparent that someone said, "Hey Rach - our USP is that we're TRYING to sell the homey, down-to-earth thing. I know we/you come off phony as can be - but these midwestern housewives are buyin' it like it's hotter than a twice baked potato."
It's hard to imagine that anyone could reinvent the cooking show. (Reinvent? How about insult an entire country's intelligence? How about insult anyone who's ever even taken a cooking class, let alone real chefs? How about the fact that acronyms must be repeated until you're ready to scream and the droids in TV land call that charming?) It's still larger to imagine that anyone should have found a way to get below the "receipe" approach to cooking and into the real emotional, social and cultural aspects of food. But Rachael Ray did. She turned her persona into a celebration of why food matters. (Well, finally we're celebrating the declining popularity of a woman thrust upon us by the marketing machine.)
When does marketing catch up?
(Exactly.)
HERE'S THE REAL REASON WE LOVE RACHEL RAY:
