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

Memo to SeaWorld: time for first aid

Ain't Gonna Play Sun City

Top leaders at SeaWorld Orlando would do well to follow basic first-aid measures: stop the bleeding. And do it quickly!

Almost every day another performer announces he or she won’t participate in next year’s Bands, Brew and BBQ concert series hosted by SeaWorld Orlando. Performers are dropping out in response to Blackfish, a recent documentary that was extremely critical of SeaWorld.

The response from the entertainment world reminds me Artists United Against Apartheid, a group of popular 1980s performers who produced Ain’t Gonna Play Sun City, a widely circulated music video that contributed to the end of white rule in South Africa.

If I was in charge at SeaWorld I would act quickly and cancel Bands, Brew and BBQ. Finding replacements for the performers who dropped out won’t be easy. How many entertainers do you know want to piss off their fans?

And then, what do you think would happen when the concert series started? 

There would be massive daily negative coverage and huge demonstrations outside the gates of SeaWorld. It would get pretty ugly.

There’s no way SeaWorld leaders didn’t know this day would come.

When I moved to Orlando 30 years ago SeaWorld was all about the live animal performances.  If you wanted rides, then you needed to go to Disney. But then I began to notice that SeaWorld started adding rides – a lot of rides. No doubt some of that was in response to the Universal Studios Orlando Resort, which is within 10 miles of SeaWorld. Yet I bet some SeaWorld leaders realized that it wasn’t prudent to leave their ages (financial future) resting on the back of a killer whale.

Killer whale … hmmm.  I always wondered what would happen if Shamu was in a bad mood one day and didn’t want to play. Now we’ve seen the tragic consequences of frolicking with a killer whale.

I’ve seen the Blackfish documentary.  It’s very compelling, but as an experienced journalist and a former corporate public-affairs manager I know there is more than one way to interpret and report facts. Yet what makes Blackfish so compelling is that it isn’t based on the interviews of one or two disgruntled former employees. The documentary contains interview from an array of people ranging from those who helped capture killer whales to trainers who worked with the animals every day. The stories they told are not for the squeamish.

Memo to SeaWorld leaders: This crisis will not fade away. And you’re not going to “no comment” your way out of this mess.

SeaWorld needs to face the public, admit their mistakes and misdeeds and tell their story.

And SeaWorld does have a powerful story to tell. SeaWorld is important to this community as a major employer, supporter of community causes and a steward of natural resources.

That’s right -- a steward of natural resources. The fact is SeaWorld has spent a fortune rescuing sick and injured sea creatures and conducting invaluable research. Sure some critics will say that work was just a publicity stunt. But the point is SeaWorld performed valuable work.

Now is the time for SeaWorld leaders to tell the public what it’s learned from this experience and how it will change the company’s business practices.

For one thing, ditch the smiling killer whale logo.

Good luck SeaWorld!

This blog post was written by David Porter, principal and owner of David Porter Communications Inc., an Orlando communications firm that produces www.B2BFlorida.com