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A father's letter to VIOS: My family looks for Dora the Explorer and you show us a trailer for Saw

By Chris Ingram on Mon, Sep 7, 2009 at 10:36 am

I implore Verizon FIOS to change the nature of how these trailers are forced upon its customers, or at minimum to offer no trailers or other ads for things that are above a “G” rating.

As you and your corporate bean counters and marketing department begin to consider this, I ask you to think about your own children (if you have any) and consider whether you would want a 5 or 2 yr. old to see a trailer for a movie like Saw. Furthermore, you might ask yourself if your mother would be proud of you for offering all the porn filth your company now makes available. I’m guessing you’d rather not go over the aforementioned titles with her at the dinner table.

The courtesy of a reply is appreciated.

Sincerely,

Chris Ingram

The following passage comes from Verizon’s Employee Code of Conduct with an introduction from Mr. Seidenberg:

“It is imperative that, as we do so, we continue to uphold the Verizon commitment and core values: put customers first, act with integrity, treat people with respect, be accountable, and raise our standards of performance. This means that we also have to do more than simply follow the law: instead, we have to do the right thing – and we have to do it every day. Ethical conduct is the foundation of any lasting business success. For Verizon to succeed.”

Note from Chris Ingram: I sent the above letter to the president of Verizon Communications back in March. I also re-sent it in July. I still haven’t heard back. So much for customer respect and doing the right thing…

If you are a Verizon customer who also hates this filth, send an email to Mr. Seidenberg at:

[email protected] and, [email protected].

Chris Ingram is the president and founder of 411 Communications a corporate and political communications firm, and publisher of www.IrreverentView.com. Ingram is a frequent pundit on Fox News and CNN, and has written opinion columns for the Washington Times, UPI, Front Page Florida, and National Review online. E-mail him at: [email protected].

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A letter to Verizon Communications from Chris Ingram

March 17, 2009

Ivan G. Seidenberg

Chairman and CEO

Verizon Verizon Communications Inc.

1095 Avenue of the Americas

New York, New York 10036

Dear Mr. Seidenberg:

We have enjoyed FIOS TV since subscribing to it in the summer of 2007.

However, as our three girls ages 5 and twins 2, have gotten older and interested in occasionally watching television, your service has become a problem.

Specifically, when we go to select a kids “on demand” program such as Sesame Street, Dora the Explorer, or The Berenstain Bears, your company runs advertisements for other “on demand” products or pay-per-view items. These are shown in a small box on the menu selection screen and cannot be turned off. This morning when pulling up Dora on demand, a trailer for the movie Saw came on.

Saw is a horror film from a company called “Twisted Pictures” which describes the film as a “grisly horror film.”

My wife and I can forgive your company for offering to us the adult trash you now offer through pay-per-view with titles like 1st Time Man Lickers, Wet Amateur Moms and 10 Best: Real Teens (which sounds like it glorifies pedophilia), since we simply choose to just not view this crap. But using the service to let our children watch children’s programs includes inappropriate content which we cannot control.