To the moon ... Alice!

It’s excruciating to watch SeaWorld Orlando do the “dance of death.”

The “dance of death” is the label I’ve given to an agonizing ritual we’ve all seen on the 24-hour TV news cycle. Some big shot (an official or public figure) has said or done something terrible. The big shot says he or she won’t quit. Public outrage boils over. And what happens? The big shot quits “to spend more time with family”.  He or she could have made it a one-day story, but instead they dragged it out.

It seems as though every day another musical group or performer bows out of SeaWorld’s Bands, Brew & BBQ concert series in response to Blackfish, a documentary critical of SeaWorld’s treatment of killer whales. Yet SeaWorld stubbornly refuses to cancel the concert series or change its business practices.

Pushing forward with the concert series next year is a loser that is sure to bring SeaWorld more bad publicity. And bad publicity is really bad for the park’s ticket booth.

In the interest of full disclosure, I like SeaWorld Orlando – a lot. A few years ago I had an annual “passport.” to SeaWorld and spent many enjoyable afternoons getting splashed at Shamu Stadium. Just because something was “acceptable” years ago doesn’t prevent it from becoming “unacceptable” today.

When I was a kid in the 1960s everybody used to laugh when the Ralph Kramden character on the Honeymooners TV comedy show would say “one of these days Alice ….to the moon …” meaning that one day his wife Alice was going to make him so mad that he would smack her “to the moon.” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpHzPzjUTY8

Oh sure Ralph Kramden was a gentle, huggable teddy bear, but tell me how many laughing women you find at Harbor House, an Orlando shelter for survivors of domestic violence?

Blackfish is not a Michael Moore opus. It was neither shrill nor preachy. Having spent 30 years as a professional journalist I consider Blackfish to be the product of thorough reporting. As a communications professional Blackfish looks like a public relations disaster for SeaWorld.

Check out Blackfish and then go see the movie 12 Years A Slave (now playing at your local theater) and then let me know if you see any parallels? http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/us/cnn-films-blackfish/index.html

I want SeaWorld to survive over the long term. SeaWorld is a major employer and property tax payer here in Orlando. In addition it has generously contributed to community causes and conducted decades of valuable research to help sea creatures and the ocean.

But I fear SeaWorld faces a very difficult future if the company’s leadership continues its “stay the course” strategy.  Canceling the Bands, Brew & BBQ concert series and re-packaging the park’s offerings by ditching the animal performances and focusing more on the wonder and beauty of the ocean are the only steps that can save SeaWorld from a public relations tsunami.

Animal activists have been pestering SeaWorld for years, but now they can really taste blood in the water (a regrettable pun). You can count on them to really pour on the pressure to embarrass and break SeaWorld and that negative-publicity campaign will gain traction.

Before long kids will start telling their parents: “I don’t want to go to SeaWorld because they’re hurting Shamu.”

Have a beer and some BBQ and think about that.

David D. Porter is principal and owner of David Porter Communications Inc., in Orlando, Fla. The firm provides services to small businesses and produces www.B2BFlorida.com