November, 1993: I had a very enjoyable day in Houston, conducting HOW TO CREATE MAXIMUM IMPACT RADIO ADVERTISING for the staff of KZFX, thanks to Mary Bennett and Dan Michaels.
When I conduct this seminar in-station (for salespeople as well as copywriters; it’s really a sales seminar), at the end of the day I take the group through an exercise that is great for generating fresh, appropriate ideas for specific accounts. What’s really nice about this exercise is I lead the group through it, but they come up with all the good ideas.
One of the account executives mentioned she was looking for an original concept for a mortgage company, encouraging people to take advantage of low interest rates by refinancing their homes. The group went through the exercise. They ended up with a concept that I think is wonderful:
The spot consists of a phone call between a man and his father-in-law; we hear only the son-in-law’s side of the conversation. He has called “Dad” to say they’ve refinanced at a lower rate, and with the money they’re saving they’re paying back all that “Dad” had loaned them for the down-payment…with interest.
Which means he can stop worrying about the house…stop telling them how to decorate…stop calling to inquire if they’ve rechecked the wiring or done another termite test….
It’s done lightly, not bitterly, but you can tell the father-in-law has been acting like it’s his house, not theirs.
I suggested the closing line of the commercial: “Oh, and Dad…You know our den — the room you used to call your study? Little Johnny is there right now, and do you know what he’s doing? He’s writing on the walls!”
(When I teach this seminar, I stress the importance of identifying the “core message” of the campaign. The group identified one possible core message inherent in refinancing as the idea of independence. Once we had identified that core message, the group was free to find a creative, fun way to demonstrate independence.)
Tuesday Weld
When reporting on my travel woes, I like to include photographs whenever possible. I don’t have any for this week’s installment. So I’m emulating (i.e., ripping off) my friend Ken Levine; whenever he doesn’t have an appropriate photo for his blog post, he runs one of Natalie Wood. Tuesday Weld is my Natalie Wood.
The following week featured a quick, one-day trip to Phoenix, where I appeared on a panel at the Arizona Broadcasters Association convention. The topic of the panel? “Indecency and the Broadcast Media.”
The rest of the panel was comprised of broadcast attorney Howard Weiss of Fletcher, Heald & Hildreth….Robert Ratcliffe, Assistant Chief, Law, of the F.C.C.’s Mass Media Bureau…and a representative from a far right-wing group that believes the “left-wing liberal media” is out to corrupt America.
On that day, I had a terrible, relentless hacking cough. (I don’t smoke; it was the last stage of a bad cold.) Prior to the session, I was wracked with coughing.
In an effort to break the ice with the representative from the very conservative, fundamentalist group, I joked, “Gee, maybe God is trying to tell me something.” My intent was a little light humor, recognizing our differences in a friendly manner.
This gentleman responded in deadly seriousness, “Yes, maybe He is.”
That really ticked me off. “Oh, yeah?” I sputtered between hacks. “And what about when I’m not sick? Does that mean God changed His mind??”
The panel session itself, however, went pretty well; all sides were able to present their points of view, and there was no gunplay. (My cough? It retreated for the duration of the panel. Apparently adrenalin is an effective cough suppressant.)
