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MONDAY RADIO COMMERCIAL SMACKDOWN: More Major Market Incompetence

This commercial aired on a big Los Angeles radio station on May 14, 2011.

Although obviously it’s terrible, it’s no more terrible than your typical “probably written by the secretary or intern” radio commercial copy.

But then I heard — Well, let’s see if you can spot it.

 

Once again, a radio station where no one assumes responsibility for making sure the client gets what the client paid for.

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  • Paul Easton May 16, 2011, 2:10 am

    I spotted it – do I win a prize?

    Maybe a Dan O’Day-branded time-machine?

  • scott snailham May 16, 2011, 2:46 am

    That isn’t necessarily a station problem and you should know that. If it was supplied creative, the source, be it agency and client should have provided updates if the flight was longer then may 10th and perhaps didn’t?

    Still, there’s still a large part of the responsibility in looking professional as a radio station is to catch something like this. I can understand how it can happen. overworked traffic people missing instructions, producers actually importing supplied creative (assuming it’s supplied) into the automation system instead of actually listening to it as technology allows that today and the it being a laundry list spot that many station personnel have heard time and time again and often tune out to get the job done.

    Is it an excuse? No. Despite the pedestal that other radio people put on the LA market, they’re human too. Crap happens. The trick is to keep it to an absolute minimum. Who knows, maybe the sales guy freaked out and called someone on a saturday while he was driving around town and happen to hear it. I had that happen to me in lesser markets then LA and someone went in on a weekend to fix it.

  • Denny Dean May 16, 2011, 6:30 am

    Another example of an account rep brainlessly extending the current order? I’ve seen it happen lots of times.

  • Craig Allen May 16, 2011, 6:56 am

    Well, they didn’t say *this* year, so maybe we’ve got 51 weeks to take advantage of the special.

    And Scott hits a lot of good points on this kind of situation.

  • John Pellegrini May 16, 2011, 9:17 am

    Don’t you guys know that running commercials beyond their expiration deadline is called “value added” scheduling?

  • Arlene Tannis May 16, 2011, 10:27 am

    It used to be called “continuity”… but with fewer professionals working at radio stations today, things like that slip and clients are not served. To this day I look at the details like that and make sure there are updates and most importantly, END DATES. That copy should have never aired on May 14th…. period.

  • Curt Herberg May 16, 2011, 10:28 am

    Ya know what’s got two thumbs and likes end dates? *This guy*!

  • Jim Gilles May 16, 2011, 12:26 pm

    A contributing factor could be the direct entry of contracts by AEs (used to be overseen by a traffic or continuity manager) combined with systems that no longer require real-time “listening” to the spots as they are prepped for the digital on air delivery systems. Wide Orbit lets production folks mix down and save files right to the on air system – ears not required. Subsequently, MP3s that come from agencies may not get “heard” at all, only entered – and if the AE didn’t stop the contract, or the conversion person didn’t put in an end date (or assumed the Traffic/Continuity person did), well, so many fingers and so little time.

  • Dan O'Day May 16, 2011, 12:27 pm

    @Paul: Yes, you do win a time machine for answering today’s question.

    I sent it to you last week.

  • Jaz May 17, 2011, 2:39 am

    I admit I’ve worked at stations where this has happened – its anyone’s fault in the chain of command – traffic, reps, agencies, producers putting the date in wrong.. and announcers who never notice it (I worked at one station where an incorrect add went to air for 2 months because the jox just didn’t take any notice of what was happening to the spot blocks).

    Agreed completely with Scott’s comments… it’s unprofessional but it happens. Even with our new wiz-bang computers.. remember, computers are manned by a person! And yes, I’ve had many phone calls early on a Saturday morning (or Christmas morning one year!) to go into work just to fix -one- lousy add that ran a day too long!