The purpose of a radio commercial critique isn’t to criticize; it’s to show how the spot could have been improved.

But this commercial that’s airing on a major Los Angeles station is an embarrassment to the radio advertising industry…

Not because it’s so bad, but because the radio station allowed it to be broadcast.

I don’t care what the excuses might be:

“That’s what the client gave us.”

or

“That’s what the client wanted.”

or

“They didn’t give us enough time to do it right.”

or

“That spot was part of a package, and we had to cut it down from a much longer version.”

There’s no excuse for airing a commercial with such poor audio quality.

There’s no excuse for beginning with the name of someone unknown to the audience, followed by the rushed, garbled name of the advertiser. (The advertiser’s name is not particularly known in L.A., so they couldn’t rely on listeners to recognize it.)

People stop thinking about “the new year” about a week after January 1. No one is thinking about “New Year’s resolutions.”

If listeners were searching for worthy resolutions, “making this the year I finally put a BMW in my driveway” would not make the cut

Then an incredibly bad edit (probably because the station’s producer desperately tried to salvage and truncate the original recording) to a sentence that can’t be understood in its entirety by any casual listener.

Then, even a telephone number that can’t be understood (!).

“Nick can’t say no?” It’s obvious that this radio station couldn’t say no.

Because the station couldn’t say no, they made themselves, their client, and the commercial radio industry look bad.

This is Part One of an interview I did with Ray Edwards, a former radio guy who saw the writing on the wall, took a deep breath, and began a new career that ultimately provided greater security, greater financial rewards, and greater personal satisfaction.

View this radio career video online.

A radio interview — whether it’s with a celebrity, government official, listener, etc. — should be a journey of discovery.

The interviewer’s job is not to ask a question, wait for an answer, and then ask another question.

It’s to lead the audience to a place they haven’t been before: a new insight or understanding; new information; new emotional context for the subject being discussed.

Listen to your most recent interview and ask, “Did we discover anything?”

If the answer is no, then you wasted your time and your listeners’ time.

This is the third in a series devoted to helping radio advertising professionals teach their clients what they need to know in order for their radio commercials to succeed.

Don’t Command; Invite

It’s hard to believe that we still hear commercials that command listeners to “drop what you’re doing and hurry on down to the big sale.”

Our buddy Nick Michaels refers to such language as “doggie commands”:

“Set a button for 102.7 on your car radio right now!”

“Tell all your friends about the new station you’ve found!”

“Roll over! Sit! Beg!”

Do you like being told what to do?

By a stranger?

But how can you deliver a Call To Action without commanding?

By inviting:

“Maybe you’d like to set a button for 102.7 on your car radio right now. That way, you’d always have your favorite Classic Rock songs waiting for you…at the tip of your finger.”

Or by suggesting:

“You could set a button for 102.7 on your car radio right now. That way….”

When writing copy, often I do want the Call To Action to be strong. But I’m likely to deliver it as a rhetorical question:

“So why not bring your family to Luigi’s Italian restaurant one night this week…and let our family meet yours?”

Or as a conditional statement:

“If you’re tired of wearing glasses and contact lenses, maybe it’s about time you discovered how Lasik Eye Surgery can change your life. For your free, no-obligation consultation, just give us a call at….”