The new thank-you scroll introduced at yesterday's Oscars has created some buzz, if not in the way its creators expected. And it even inspired beloved local newscaster Pat Kiernan to do a riff on it during his own "In the Papers" segment on Monday morning.
Those who tuned into the 2016 Oscars last night — which drew the smallest viewership in eight years — saw for the first time a ticker flowing at the bottom of the screen, which gave the names of the people winners wanted to thank during their acceptance speeches.
While it was intended to let winners avoid having to give an obligatory stream of thank-yous during their speeches, most winners ignored the ticker and profusely thanked people anyway, and viewers were befuddled by the distracting scroll, mocking it on Twitter.
Oh, the scroll on the bottom of @TheAcademy #Oscars screen is people the winners want to thank. I thought it was an Amber Alert.
— Paula Poundstone (@paulapoundstone) February 29, 2016
Do you love me or do you "thank you scroll" love me? #Oscars
— Anthony De Rosa (@AntDeRosa) February 29, 2016
Watchin the scroll at the bottom of the screen during the #oscars expecting to see that my school is on a 2 hr delay
— Steve-O LaTart (@Steveokdwb) February 29, 2016
The scroll's only successful moment came when Pete Docter, co-winner of best animated feature film for Pixar's "Inside Out," included a light-hearted aside to his kids: "Nick & Elie - okay yes, let's get a dog." His whimsical remark sparked love on social media.
Animated feature winner told his kids via scrolling thanks that they’re getting a dog. That’s the best use of the scroll. #oscars
— Stacy OliverSikorski (@StacyLOliver) February 29, 2016
My fav speech so far - not even a speech. Pete Docter's thank you scroll said to his kids: "Okay, yes. Let's get a dog." #Oscars #InsideOut
— Sophie Schillaci (@SophieSchillaci) February 29, 2016
The Oscars scroll and Docter's dog remark sparked such buzz that Kiernan, news anchor on NY1, gave his own parody thank-you scroll while conducting his daily "In The Papers" segment this morning. While summarizing the Oscar highlights, Kiernan's scroll called out the production crew who he "[couldn't] be bothered to thank ... verbally," poking fun at the scroll's clinical, almost soulless, nature.
In a winking nod to Docter, he added, "And to my daughters Lucy and Maeve; we’re not getting a dog like the guy in the Oscars promised his kids."
