American Idol & America's Next Great Restaurant - Pretty Great Market Research Projects

I know I work in market research so this is probably going to come out as a nerdy thought....and that I'm reading into the premise of reality television way too much.

But I was thinking about Pia being voted off American Idol.  I know some are in a bit of an uproar about it, but to me it's not a big deal (maybe because in addition to not thinking she's that great, I didn't think she had a very charismatic, likable personality either).  What this said to me was America didn't want to buy her CD as much as they wanted to buy some other contestant's CD.  America made a choice.  The crowd voted and she happened to be the loser that week.  The more I think about this, it's an incredible research project.  Record companies are letting America commit to who they want to hear before signing a record deal with them.  Genius.

I'm also a fan of the new show, America's Next Great Restaurant.  Also genius.  The restaurant industry is tough.  Let the crowds try the food, see the look, and get a sense for what might come and vote with their chips.  Most chips is safe....all others are judged by the investors....but that's a different topic for a different day.  That's the way the real world works.  People vote for what stays in business with their wallet.  If people like something enough, they will pay for it.  If not, they're not going to and it will be yet another sad story of a restaurant going out of business.  (Yes, I know there are other factors at play here....location, awareness, etc., but for the most part, The Olive Garden stuck around because for some reason people love it and think it's amazing Italian cuisine (also another rant for another day)).

That is my thought of the day - relating reality TV to market research.  It makes it much more interesting to me to think about it in those terms....and on top of that, it would be a very fun project to be involved with.  I'd love to write a report on that one.