Earlier this month I issued a Radio Advertising Challenge, to write a radio commercial for an auto body shop based on the minimal facts provided by the client. And I generated a number of headlines that potentially could provide a campaign theme.
Yesterday I offered one advertising approach. Here’s another.
AUTO REPAIR: “VERY PICKY”
Sometimes it’s good to be very picky. Like, when you choose the auto
repair shop that works on your car. I’m Ed Client of Ed’s Auto Repairs,
and I’m REALLY picky. Some shops use recycled parts when fixing
your car; we only use the highest quality new parts, direct from the
manufacturer. This drives my accountant crazy, because we COULD
buy cheaper parts and sell them to you at a higher profit…but in the
long run it wouldn’t be so good for your car. I also pay my mechanics
more than most shops do…and you can see the difference in their
work. Their one job is to take care of your car. You want picky? They
wear gloves when they work, because you don’t want grease on your
car. That’s also why we put plastic slip covers over your seat and
steering wheel. Look, if you don’t care all that much about how well
your car runs or how long it lasts, you might save a dollar or two by
going somewhere else. But if you want picky expert mechanics to
take care of your car, maybe you should visit Ed’s Auto Repairs on
Main Street. But…Don’t tell the mechanics I called them picky. They
Earlier this month I issued a Radio Advertising Challenge, to write a radio commercial for an auto body shop based on the minimal facts provided by the client. And I generated a number of headlines that potentially could provide a campaign theme. Here’s an example of one approach.
“CONSUMER HOT SEAT”
ANNOUNCER: Today’s guest on CONSUMER HOT SEAT is Ed Client of ED’S REPAIRS. True or False: You charge more than some other auto repair shops in Smallville.
CLIENT: True.
ANNOUNCER: I rest my case.
CLIENT: But don’t you want to know WHY we charge more?
ANNOUNCER: Not really.
CLIENT: Some shops use recycled parts; we only use the highest quality new parts, direct from the manufacturer. We COULD buy cheaper parts, but in the long run it wouldn’t be so good for our customers.
ANNOUNCER: Yeah, big deal.
CLIENT: We treat your car like the major investment it is. We pay our mechanics more than most auto repair shops, and you can see the difference in their work. Their one job is to take care of your car.
ANNOUNCER: Out of time!
CLIENT: And then there’s our state-of-the-art diagnostic & repair equipment….
ANNOUNCER: Look, consumers want the cheapest prices, period. If the work’s not so good and their cars don’t run so well, they don’t care.
CLIENT: Maybe you’re right. But for people who DO want their cars fixed right the first time by the best-trained mechanics using the best equipment, ED’S AUTO REPAIRS is there for them.
ANNOUNCER: Tomorrow on Consumer Hot Seat: “Doctors who save lives…but charge for their services!”
Thanks for the contest idea. I tried it…some thought it was kinda odd, but it was a nice change. Rather than treat it like a regular trivia contest (which I already do), i think i’ll add it elsewhere in the show. The trivia hounds did NOT like it, but it gave the non hounds a chance to shine. Was cool.
Here’s the blog page(opens in new window) where I posted the audio.
Thanks again, Dan…Love your blog and newsletters. I’ve been in radio since 1984 and you always give me something to think about.
I replied:
Very cool!
Some unsolicited suggestions:
1. It’s GOOD when they pause for a moment, as though they have to think about the answer. That’s part of the joke.
2. I’d recommend not saying, “It’s a dumb little contest.” It inadvertently says to listeners who enjoyed it, “You’re pretty dumb for having been entertained by this.”
Obviously, you have to stick with your own style and what feels right to you. Maybe my suggestions don’t match your style.
Not so much the cutesy ones, such as “England Swings” — which clearly reflected his first visit to England but had nothing to say.
And not — sorry — some of the smoothed-around-the-edges songs that he wrote after he really hit it big (“Little Toy Trains” — self-consciously saccharine; I know some readers will object, but I’m right).
But especially in the early days, even when he was being silly or witty, he wrote about genuine emotions.
One of his songs (a minor hit) that you probably never heard of led directly to a big hit by, of all people, The Monkees.
First, Roger’s song….
Tommy Boyce & Bobby Hart heard that, took the song’s last line, and used it as both the opening line and the title for this song by The Monkees….
I hated that Monkees record.
As a terribly sad P.S., years later Tommy Boyce would put into motion the scenario described in “One Dyin’ And A Buryin’.”
