Energy-efficiency faux pas: SNL ignored CFLs during April 4 show opener

The April 4, 2009, episode of Saturday Night Live opened with a presidential address, with SNL vet Fred Armisen playing Barack Obama (the link takes you to a video of the opener; there's an ad before it starts). The president, in an address from Europe, explained that some people thought the administration had been unfairly hard on American car companies when it came to the federal bailout. So, the president explained, all industries would get the same vetting that the automakers had—those businesses that proved themselves viable would get cash from Uncle Sam; those deemed incapable of competing would be immediately shut down.

Armisen does a decent job as the president, and it was a so-so opening to the show, hosted by Seth Rogen. Interestingly, among the products featured, we follow some for the Home & Garden blog, including:

Lightbulbs: The only beef to pick with the opening has to do with the lightbulbs category, in which GE was allowed to shine on while Sylvania was switched off. It was a bit obvious for SNL, whose studios are in the GE Building, to choose its parent company's products. But the real issue is that the bulb that appeared on screen was an incandescent (shown) and not a compact fluorescent lightbulb. Given the real president's energy-efficiency initiatives, you figure that the SNL producers might have shown a CFL.

Riding lawn mowers: John Deere got the thumbs-up and Toro received the bad news. SNL should have checked our new ratings (available to subscribers) of tractors and zero-turn-radius riding mowers: Both John Deere and Toro do a good job.

Air conditioners: Lennox received the nod while Carrier got shut off.

Coffeemakers: KitchenAid was told it could survive but Mr. Coffee learned it must go. Both brands make machines that do well in our ratings.

To the producers of SNL: Next time you're running a skit that mentions home products and appliances, drop us a line. We'll steer you in the right direction.—Steven H. Saltzman | e-mail | Twitter