• Get involved.
    We want your input!
    Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.

    After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
    If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.

    After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
    https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/

    Thanks in advance and have fun!
    RadioDiscussions Administrators

Barbera's cringey ads

radiodx10

radiodx10

Really?

Making the KYW traffic hosts say "yipee yay ohh ki-aye"? Can you not just...sell your cars? Barbera has the absolute most annoying, horribly produced and written ads. I always turn off the radio when I hear "I'm Gary Barbera...no I'm Gary Barbera and we approve this message" come on my radio.

CAVEAT- I get it, ads keep the transmitters warm and the lights on. But for the love of god, can someone PLEASE tell them how to make a less annoying and more effective ad? I don't know anyone who wants to listen to that minute long spot of nonsense clearly pieced together on Audition.

300 jeeps cheap!

You know what- a second caveat. One of the BEST ads I like to hear is Robbin's Delaware Diamonds. A quiet, relaxing voice, no music or dumb gimmicks. Just selling the store in less than thirty seconds. Take some pointers, Barbera.
 
I’ve hated the Barbeara ads since day one. But clearly the dealership believes that approach works. So be it. They’ve staked out a position akin tin Forman Mills.

If it resonates with the audience, more power to them. And yep, you take the money because that’s the business.
 
I was just in King of Prussia for vacation over the holiday weekend and Sunday morning I caught an infomercial on CW-57 for a Kia Dealership in Warrington where several of the employees were dressed as hula dancers. - Definitely not going to make me run out to their dealership to buy a vehicle. I also saw ads on TV for Barbera several times over the weekend.

As for the radio side of things - here in my home market of Hartford we have a Kia Dealership that has been using a sound alike of the current president of the United States in his ads since 2017. Major tune out factor and not going to make me want to buy a Kia from him. Their latest ad is to trade in your current vehicle and the president sound alike said he traded New Jersey in order to get Greenland.
 
MarcB said:
I was just in King of Prussia for vacation over the holiday weekend and Sunday morning I caught an infomercial on CW-57 for a Kia Dealership in Warrington where several of the employees were dressed as hula dancers. - Definitely not going to make me run out to their dealership to buy a vehicle. I also saw ads on TV for Barbera several times over the weekend.

As for the radio side of things - here in my home market of Hartford we have a Kia Dealership that has been using a sound alike of the current president of the United States in his ads since 2017. Major tune out factor and not going to make me want to buy a Kia from him. Their latest ad is to trade in your current vehicle and the president sound alike said he traded New Jersey in order to get Greenland.
Click to expand...

Excuse me for one moment while I sing. "Phila-del-fyuz credit connek-shuuuuuuuuuun!"

I definitely agree that Barbera's ads are annoying but they're not nearly as bad as the "paying more than a dime is a crime" or whatever with the Nanny sound-alike.

As for the Kia dealership using a Trump-alike: Maybe it's not that dumb. It might turn on folks who hate him as well as those who are too stupid to realize they're making fun of him. And some of the folks who watch old Gunsmoke reruns on MeTV.
 
they may be annoying.. but theyre doing something that they were intended to.. getting people to talk about them.

and the spots have good recall.. youre not gonna run out and buy a car right away.. but youll recall the dealerships name when you are ready to buy
 
SomeRadioGuy said:
they may be annoying.. but theyre doing something that they were intended to.. getting people to talk about them.

and the spots have good recall.. youre not gonna run out and buy a car right away.. but youll recall the dealerships name when you are ready to buy
Click to expand...

You know, it is funny. For as much as I have always loved radio, I don't think the advertising has ever been effective with me. I mean, maybe subconsciously? But I have never knowingly bought anything based on the company name or having heard it in advertising. I have bought many, many cars in my lifetime. All of them were researched on the internet and very few of them were dealerships whose names anyone would have heard on the radio.
 
"paying more than a dime is a crime" or whatever with the Nanny sound-alike.

THAT ONE I HATE SO MUCH

You know, that takes the cake. Way worse than the barbera ads. I mean, is it supposed to be funny? Like, am I supposed to find humor in a silly voice? Because it's not silly, it's egregiously annoying and stupid. Flat out stupid. You'd think grown adults working in advertising would figure out by now what is truly annoying.
 
radiodx10 said:
"paying more than a dime is a crime" or whatever with the Nanny sound-alike.

THAT ONE I HATE SO MUCH

You know, that takes the cake. Way worse than the barbera ads. I mean, is it supposed to be funny? Like, am I supposed to find humor in a silly voice? Because it's not silly, it's egregiously annoying and stupid. Flat out stupid. You'd think grown adults working in advertising would figure out by now what is truly annoying.
Click to expand...

I think what they've figured out that is, in the absence of a good idea, creating an annoying image (or in this case, a character) that sticks in peoples' heads will do the trick. If the company buys the idea, the ad agency gets their money without having to create a real campaign.
 
The nanny ads are usually on the radio one stations like 107.9, 100.3 and 103.9. Besides 107.9, i never listen to the others so I barely hear them. When 107.9 does play the nanny ads, I do two things. One, i vomit just a bit, and two, change the station.

You have to admit it's extremely lazy to just making an annoying character rather than put in actual effort to make a seriously compelling ad.
 
The Best They Could Do?

Is "Is Barbera the Best? Gee, I Guess" the most enthusiastic slogan they could come up with?

Sounds like a lukewarm endorsement at best.

How about "Is Barbera the Best? Philly says 'YES'."

No charge.

Bill
 
Bill Jacobs said:
Is "Is Barbera the Best? Gee, I Guess" the most enthusiastic slogan they could come up with?

Sounds like a lukewarm endorsement at best.

How about "Is Barbera the Best? Philly says 'YES'."

No charge.

Bill
Click to expand...

The original sounds like an attempt at humor. Here in Connecticut we used to have a DJ who would introduce himself at the start of his shift as "my mother's favorite disc jockey." Obviously, she wasn't his only fan, and he didn't believe she was. It was a funny catchphrase. I doubt whoever came up with the Barbera liner was going for a straight, old-fashioned hard-sell approach.
 
Status
This thread has been closed due to inactivity. You can create a new thread to discuss this topic.


Back
Top Bottom