Parades have been a very traditional thing for the holidays. Whether it’s the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade on Thanksgiving or the Rose Bowl Parade on New Year’s Day, they were the thing your parents and grandparents likely watched every year but has been viewed less often from younger generations.

And every parade broadcast typically follows a similar format. Two hosts, one male and one female, who usually are on some morning or daytime talk show, put out a combination of witty and delightful banter as the floats and performers come through over a few hours.

It’s been done for years so Amazon, in association with Funny or Die, teamed up to do a rather satirical take on the typical parade broadcast. With hosts Cord Hosenbeck and Tish Cattigan (actually Will Ferrell and Molly Shannon), they put out a broadcast designed to poke fun at the typical parade broadcast.

The premise sounds hilarious and fresh and in the few minutes I watched, it sounded like it could be entertaining. But many people, most not in on the joke, hated the broadcast and gave it a 1-star review thinking this was a legit and serious parade broadcast. Which, in a way, kind of makes this better.

Currently, the broadcast is averaging 2.8 stars with 41% being 5-star ratings and 51% being 1-star. It’s important to note that many 1-star reviews are from people who knew this was a joke and just didn’t find it funny, but most seemed oblivious to the gimmick.

Here is a sampling of the 1-star reviews:

“Had to mute the TV just to be able to watch because the hosts where so horrendous.”

“I love the rose parade and grew up in California. I was very disappointment in the announcers. They spent way to much time on themselves. I prefer to have good facts about the parade and to actually then listen to the marching bands without them being talked over. Also the announcers comments were often inappropriate for young children. They finally got too annoying and I turned the sound off.”

“The hosts were annoying, spent more time attempting comedy not showing us what we wanted to see which was the parade itself. Switched back to national broadcast , it was more upbeat and talked about the floats, bands, and parade itself. Also too much negative talk.”

“Wonderful Parade but the hosts are the worst I have ever seen and I’ve watched decades of this great parade. Please, get rid of these two and get some people who know how to do parade commentary.”

“I logged in to watch the Rose parade and learn a little bit about each float – I didn’t log in to hear about the commentators personal struggles.”

“I would give it ZERO stars if I could. So many floats were missed…while the two were cohorting around. Tish was acting like a teenager with a huge crush on Cord. I turned I to see the parade…NOT TISH OR CORD.”

“Please stop talking!!!! Can’t hear any of the bands. You say listen in and keep talking. Perhaps your nice are still on and don’t know it? We want to hear the bands not you two. I really don’t care that you are afraid of horses.”

“This has got to be the worst managed opportunity ever! I can’t stream it to my big tv and the announcers are treating this like an episode of SNL. I switched over to the HGTV app! Way to hose it Amazon!”

“Very annoying! Purchased prime for the parade and had to mute. Language was inappropriate for my children. The hosts tried too hard too be funny that several floats passed behind them without opportunity to view. Very disappointed!”

You can go read the hundreds more reviews similar to that here. I don’t really know what any of these viewers were expecting with a parade broadcast sponsored by Funny or Die and having SNL alums play characters to host this thing but I don’t think Amazon fooled anyone into thinking that this would be the time Will Ferrell would legit host a parade broadcast and not be satirical and sarcastic the entire time. If someone was fooled, then that’s their problem, not Amazon’s.

I have an idea, if people had a problem with this, Amazon should go one step further and get Cord and Tish to host the upcoming Royal Wedding. That stuffy event could be taken down a peg or two and a broadcast like this would be perfect.

About Phillip Bupp

Producer/editor of the Awful Announcing Podcast and Short and to the Point. News editor for The Comeback and Awful Announcing. Highlight consultant for Major League Soccer as well as a freelance writer for hire. Opinions are my own but feel free to agree with them.

Follow me on Twitter and Instagram @phillipbupp

1 thought on “Those unable to understand satire left many 1-star reviews on Amazon’s Rose Bowl Parade broadcast

  1. Journalists who insult viewers with their story titles would be better left to flip burgers.

Comments are closed.