{"id":118,"date":"2008-10-06T00:05:00","date_gmt":"2008-10-06T07:05:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/danoday.com\/blogWORDPRESS\/2008\/10\/06\/monday-commercial-smackdown-rosetta-stone-needs-polishing\/"},"modified":"2008-10-06T00:05:00","modified_gmt":"2008-10-06T07:05:00","slug":"monday-commercial-smackdown-rosetta-stone-needs-polishing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/danoday.com\/blog\/2008\/10\/monday-commercial-smackdown-rosetta-stone-needs-polishing\/","title":{"rendered":"MONDAY COMMERCIAL SMACKDOWN: Rosetta Stone Needs Polishing"},"content":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n

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The Story:<\/span> This guy simply cannot believe that a business would offer a “demo CD” of its products for free.<\/p>\n

Let’s think about that a moment, shall we?<\/p>\n

What part of “Give us your address and we’ll send you a sales pitch for our products”<\/span> seems improbable? <\/p>\n

If you<\/span> heard that “call us for a free demo CD offer,”<\/span> would you think, “Whoa! A free demo CD? What the…??”<\/span><\/p>\n

This “story” makes for bad radio advertising in two important ways:<\/p>\n

1. <\/span> The guy’s an idiot. Every listener instantly understands the concept of “free demo CD,” but he’s flummoxed by it. <\/p>\n

Guess what? He is supposed to represent the targeted listener, who is supposed to identify with him.<\/p>\n

But few listeners will think, “Yep, I’m just as dumb as he. I guess I’ll call for a free demo CD, too.”<\/span><\/p>\n

2. <\/span> The advertiser is asking us to believe that their offer of a free demo CD is an unprecedented, mind-boggling opportunity. <\/p>\n

But it’s not. Which means they’re beginning their commercial with a lie. How believable can the rest of their message be?<\/p>\n

Her Performance:<\/span> In the opening line, she doesn’t sound like a human being answering the phone. She sounds like a telephone voice recording. On her second line we realize she’s supposed to be “live,” and the momentary confusion distracts us.<\/p>\n

For the rest of her dialogue, she’s reading as a radio announcer would \u2014 not as someone who is participating in a conversation.<\/p>\n

As usual, there’s no way of knowing if the VO performer is the victim of bad (or no) direction.<\/p>\n

A Thought Struck Me<\/span><\/p>\n

I sent this spot to VO artist extraordinaire Ann DeWig<\/a>, asking her to perform the woman’s lines with three different attitudes.<\/p>\n

DIRECTION #1: “Do it as someone who is genuinely enthusiastic about the product and just loves being able to help change people’s lives with it.”<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

<\/center><\/param><\/param><\/param><\/param><\/param><\/embed><\/param><\/object><\/center><\/p>\n

Note how she delivers “Excuse me?”<\/span> Like a real person responding to an odd question.<\/p>\n

“Oh, no catch!”<\/span> \u2014 She’s surprised that anyone would be suspicious.<\/p>\n

Ann did hit one word wrong, in my opinion: “fastest.”<\/span> On that one word, she sounds like an announcer . If she weren’t doing this for me for free, on a Sunday morning, I’d ask for another take in which “fastest” matches the next word (“easiest”) in tone and inflection.<\/p>\n

“Just like you learned your first language”<\/span> \u2014 Those words sound so spontaneous. She’s just trying to explain to the guy, not pitching the product.<\/p>\n

“There is<\/span> one thing”<\/span> \u2014 The up note on the last word that makes it sound like a question (and makes her sound like a real person)? Brilliant. Delicious.<\/p>\n

“In less than 10 minutes”<\/span> \u2014 She adds a gentle teasing quality that makes us love her.<\/p>\n

DIRECTION #2: “Do it as someone who really wants THIS guy to learn a new language.”<\/p>\n

\n<\/p>\n

<\/center><\/param><\/param><\/param><\/param><\/param><\/embed><\/param><\/object><\/center><\/p>\n

At the end of her very first line, notice that she has to catch her breath after such a wordy greeting. Instantly that tells us the call is being answered by a live human, not a recording.<\/p>\n

“Excuse me?”<\/span> \u2014 A different inflection. Hear that hesitation on the first word? She’s slightly taken aback by the question.<\/p>\n

“We’ll give you a free demo CD”<\/span> \u2014 Seductively. She wants<\/span> this guy to hear the CD.<\/p>\n

“Well, Rosetta stone is a completely natural way to learn a new language.”<\/span> \u2014 She’s not reciting a pitch. She’s responding to his doubts about being able to learn a new language. Notice her breathiness on “Rosetta.”<\/span> She’s coaxing him, reassuring him.<\/p>\n

“Oh, but there is one thing”<\/span> \u2014 Compare her deliver of “Oh”<\/span> to her first version. Both are good. This one is more specific \u2014 certainly more specific (and therefore more “real”) than the original. THIS real person has a real personality.<\/p>\n

“In less than 10 minutes”<\/span> \u2014 Hear the smile? She’s happy at the idea of the caller learning a new language so quickly.<\/p>\n

DIRECTION #3: “Do it as someone who’s really proud of the product and courteously taken aback that this guy would doubt their motives.”<\/p>\n

\n<\/p>\n

<\/center><\/param><\/param><\/param><\/param><\/param><\/embed><\/param><\/object><\/center><\/p>\n

This person isn’t so concerned with the caller. She’s just doggone proud of how her employer’s product helps people.<\/p>\n

“Excuse me?”<\/span> \u2014 She hesitates on “excuse”;<\/span> she’s surprised that the caller is suspicious. Why should he be? The Rosetta Stone is so wonderful.<\/p>\n

“Oh, no catch!”<\/span> \u2014 Again, she’s taken aback by his doubting.<\/p>\n

“Just like you learned your first language”<\/span> \u2014 She’s slightly on the defensive, but only because for some bizarre reason someone has doubts about this product. So she tries to explain it to him, to convince him.<\/p>\n

“You could start speaking a new language in less than 10 minutes.”<\/span> \u2014 Not playful, as the others were. Rather, she’s offering more proof that the Rosetta Stone really works. She’s boasting about the product’s effectiveness but without turning the commercial into a bragging spot.<\/p>\n

And did you hear her add a word to the script, over the caller’s voice? “Yeah.”<\/span> Look how far we’ve come, from a patently false radio commercial to a believable human conversation.<\/p>\n

So, which do you prefer? The original version? Or Ann’s first, second or third approach?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Story: This guy simply cannot believe that a business would offer a “demo CD” of its products for free. Let’s think about that a moment, shall we? What part of “Give us your address and we’ll send you a sales pitch for our products” seems improbable? If you heard that “call us for a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-118","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-uncategorized"},"yoast_head":"\nMONDAY COMMERCIAL SMACKDOWN: Rosetta Stone Needs Polishing - DAN O\u2019DAY TALKS ABOUT RADIO<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/danoday.com\/blog\/2008\/10\/monday-commercial-smackdown-rosetta-stone-needs-polishing\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"MONDAY COMMERCIAL SMACKDOWN: Rosetta Stone Needs Polishing - DAN O\u2019DAY TALKS ABOUT RADIO\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Story: This guy simply cannot believe that a business would offer a “demo CD” of its products for free. 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