{"id":19367,"date":"2016-11-28T00:12:47","date_gmt":"2016-11-28T08:12:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/danoday.com\/blog\/?p=19367"},"modified":"2016-11-28T00:18:18","modified_gmt":"2016-11-28T08:18:18","slug":"spectrum-radio-ad-cliches","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/danoday.com\/blog\/2016\/11\/spectrum-radio-ad-cliches\/","title":{"rendered":"Spectrum Radio Ad Promises “Fresh Start” with Stale Clich\u00e9s"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Meaningless<\/a>I’ve searched and searched, and I can’t find the FTC or FCC regulation requiring all cable TV companies to produce 100% content-free radio advertising.<\/span><\/p>\n

Listen to this radio commercial, and you’ll see what I mean.<\/span><\/p>\n

http:\/\/danoday.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Spectrum.mp3<\/a><\/audio>
\nOkay, let’s examine what we just heard.<\/span><\/p>\n

Meaningless Clich\u00e9s<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

It’s a new day. A fresh start. <\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Oh! I thought today was a rerun. Thanks for the heads up.<\/span><\/p>\n

Welcome to America’s fastest-growing TV, Internet and voice provider.<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

So…It’s not America’s most popular<\/em> TV, Internet and voice provider. <\/span><\/p>\n

(In fairness, the closest a company could be to “America’s most popular TV, Internet and provider”<\/em> would be “America’s least hated TV, Internet and provider.)”<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

“Fastest growing”<\/em> is a face-saving way of saying, “Not the biggest.”<\/em> <\/span><\/p>\n

If I owned a TV\/Internet\/voice provider company that had one customer yesterday but has two today, mine would be America’s fastest-growing TV, Internet and voice provider.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Just Plain Meaningless<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

Redefining what a cable company can be, with promises to make and promises to keep.<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I’m pretty sure that’s what Robert Frost<\/strong><\/span> was aiming for in “Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening.”<\/em> <\/span><\/p>\n

If only he’d had the assistance of whatever advertising agency created this radio slop.<\/span><\/p>\n

With over 90,000 employees working hard every day to earn your business.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

1.\u00a0<\/strong><\/span> I didn’t realize consumers judge a cable company by its number of it employees.<\/span><\/p>\n

2.<\/strong>\u00a0<\/span> “And every one of them unavailable at the moment, but your call is important to them so please listen to this delightful music for a few hours.”<\/em> <\/span><\/p>\n

Internet speeds fast enough to get you where you want to go instantly.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Really? <\/span><\/p>\n

Actually, that’s probably true…as long as you don’t slow things down by using some sort of hardware (computer, cable modem, etc.).<\/span><\/p>\n

What Every Other Cable Company Says, Too<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

Crystal-clear HD picture and sound<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

That really sets Spectrum apart from their competitors, who advertise a hard-to-see picture and static-laden sound.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Thousands of on-demand choices <\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<\/blockquote>\n

1. <\/strong><\/span>…mostly devoted to “real housewives” of thousands of different cities.<\/span><\/p>\n

2.<\/span> <\/strong>Of their competitors who offer on-demand programming, how many offer fewer than “thousands”?<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Delivered over the most advanced, fiber rich digital network in the nation.<\/strong> <\/span><\/h2>\n<\/blockquote>\n

That “fiber rich digital network” certainly differentiates Spectrum apart from its competitors, all of whom apparently still use analog networks and copper wiring.<\/span><\/p>\n

Gives Two Calls-to-Action<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

This is a “branding” ad. <\/span><\/p>\n

Not a very good one, but its goal is to make people realize, “Time-Warner Cable now is Spectrum.”<\/em> <\/span><\/p>\n

The desire to get consumers to think of the company as “Spectrum” may or may not be related to the fact that Time-Warner Cable has the lowest customer satisfaction level of any business in America.<\/span><\/p>\n

Tell people that over and over again, and eventually “Time-Warner Cable” will recede into the consumers’ repository of “Oh, yeah, they were awful”<\/em> memories. <\/span><\/p>\n

(Remember MCI? Worldcom? Awful, weren’t they? Now we have good ol’, friendly “Verizon,” which has only happy customers and a shiny bright reputation.)<\/span><\/p>\n

After 55 seconds of “branding,” why do they give a Call to Action?<\/span><\/p>\n

Why do they give two<\/strong> Calls to Action (call them or “visit” them online “for more details”)?<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0(via telephone) “Hello, Spectrum? Do you really have over 90,000 employees?<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 (via online visit) “Okay, I’m here. Where’s that list of the names of their 90,000+ employees?”<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I’ve searched and searched, and I can’t find the FTC or FCC regulation requiring all cable TV companies to produce 100% content-free radio advertising. Listen to this radio commercial, and you’ll see what I mean. Okay, let’s examine what we just heard. Meaningless Clich\u00e9s It’s a new day. A fresh start. Oh! I thought today […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-19367","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-uncategorized"},"yoast_head":"\nSpectrum Radio Ad Promises "Fresh Start" with Stale Clich\u00e9s<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"How do you write an effective radio commercial? 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