Shocked, I was, just shocked.
If Mari Smith didn’t know more about social media than anyone on this planet, I probably wouldn’t have invited her to be the opening speaker at PD GRAD SCHOOL 2010.
In this neck of the woods, usually we focus on radio advertising.
But this online…thing…caught my eye.
Because it’s found on a website that already is trying to sell you something, I’d say it’s most akin to a radio station promo.
A bad, dumb, “you’d be an idiot to trust us” radio station promo.
Time for another look at award winning radio commercials — spotlighting the good and the bad.
This one was a finalist in the 2009 Radio Mercury Awards.
During the “humor” — the “magic trick” — they took 100% of our attention away from the intended sales message of this radio commercial.
Even the first time around, the “humor” doesn’t amuse. How many times do you suppose the average listener will pay attention to repeated airings?
In a successful humorous radio spot, the humor and the sales message should be interwoven. You should not be able to extract one from the commercial while leaving the other intact.
But here? You could replace Geico with virtually any advertiser, and the “humor” would be untouched.
To make a bad concept worse, they give two Calls To Action.
And one of those Call To Action is a bad vanity phone number.
Ironically, if that had been a :15 radio commercial without the lame attempt at humor, it could have been an innovative.
Listen:
What if listeners heard that every day at the same time?
True, no Call To Action. But:
1. This was just a quick, sloppy edit.
2. The original rushed through “visit Geico.com.” That had barely any more impact than simply saying the advertiser’s name.
One day in high school chorus (don’t laugh; great place to meet girls) the chorus teacher had a friend visit the class.
I still remember his name. And occasionally I consider tracking him down and slapping him around a little, because of what he said.
This guy lived in L.A., and he knowingly told us Florida high schoolers that Elvis Presley couldn’t sing a lick and it was “all done in the studios.”
Jerk.
I more or less believed him until the first time I saw Elvis in concert. (Then I got into radio and learned a lot more about what can and cannot be done “in the studio” to mask a non-singer’s voice.)
Here he is with Ann-Margret. The fact that she’s originally from Stockholm is just a bonus. (I love Stockholm.)
Lots of great musical numbers in this film. In this one, if you listen closely you’ll hear Ann-Margret’s harmonizing later in the song.
