Grease's Selective Quoting

NY Daily News' Joe Dziemianowicz and other critics feel violated by the Broadway Grease team for performing some new-low alchemy on their scathing reviews for the reality tv spawn. Apparently -- in a print ad that has now been pulled -- the mere words "You're the One that I Want" are pulled and plastered all over it, attributed to various seemingly enthusiastic critics.

The ad folks are, of course, unrepentant.

"The $10,000 ad was created by theater ad agency Serino-Coyne, Grease producers and theater publicity agency Barlow-Hartman.

Serino-Coyne account executive Cara Christman says the phrase "the one that I want!" didn't necessarily come from a review. "We pull from both features and reviews," she says."

Dziemianowicz finds a more upstanding adman to agree this is a gross misrepresentation: "Quotes are always considered an endorsement from the publication and its theater critic ." In other words -- when you say "'Terrific!' -- NYTimes" even when the word comes from a neutral blurb in the weekend guide, it's reasonable to assume the average reader thinks you mean Ben Brantley. (And thus Brantley has a right to take umbrage.) Let alone, when you pull from readers' web-comments...

Kudos, btw, to AP's Michael Kuchwara for getting AP to demand the removal of its name from the ad. As I said, it's history now.