I feel like the retired guy yelling "get off my lawn." Maybe I have too much time on my hands. But I just have to speak out about the annoying trend I'm hearing on commercial spots that need disclaimers. The producers of these spots are using an Adobe Audition (or other software package) function to speed up the announcement at the end. These tend to be the terms of an automobile deal or a "drink responsibly" announcement. The problem is they're not intelligible! A defy any listeners to be able to repeat what was said. So, that sort of defeats the purpose, doesn't it? If such an announcement is required by the FCC, I can't imagine this complies. Sure, we see the fine print in print ads. But at least you could use a magnifying glass to read it, if you were so inclined. But a listener can't go back and even try to understand what is being said. Either the FCC should relax its standards for radio ads so such announcements aren't needed. Or the FCC needs to stop stations from using this technique. Heck, it might provide much needed voice work for an announcer who can read fast. The bottom line is that this is really annoying. But of greater significance, IT'S NOT GOOD RADIO! Maybe I'm old school. I just think a medium that depends on the spoken words should ALWAYS have words that are intelligible.
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Commercial Disclaimers
- Thread starter Philip_Airtime
- Start date
Airtime...
If your're old school...you would know exactly why that annoying disclaimer is there, and why it sounds that way. ???
BTW - What commercial stop set ever made for GOOD RADIO anyway?
If your're old school...you would know exactly why that annoying disclaimer is there, and why it sounds that way. ???
BTW - What commercial stop set ever made for GOOD RADIO anyway?
Tax, title extra, 15 hundred down with approved credit, first and last payment on signing plus security fee, 36 monthly payments, 12.9 per cent interest late fee. Oh yeah, they give you three seconds at the end of the commercial for that tag. As if. And they don't want it at the same volume as the commercial. There isn't a production guy in or out of the business who likes those blasted things. They just come with the territory. There oughta be a law.
Besides the FCC, the Attorneys General in each state and the FTC would have something to say about fradulent and misleading claims in radio spots. Disclaimers enable claims to be made in spots that put a little muscle in the call to action. We may not like it but it's the reality. People may claim to hate them but the techniques work.
I heard a disclaimer during the Bills game yesterday that was completely indecipherable. I'd bet that you couldn't understand it even if you recorded it and slowed it down. We know that disclaimers are there at the behest of the lawyers, but even they'd insist that they be intelligible.
Thanks, Rox. That's what I'm trying to say here. I'm not a moron, Hey Day. I know why disclaimers are required on certain spots. I'm arguing the disclaimers in these cases are useless because they're not intelligible. And if that's the case, I would suggest they're a violation. Maybe, maybe not. Perhaps the FCC has signed off on this technique, and I'm not aware of it. I'm just saying the disclaimers on these spots sound like a computer malfunction.
There's a car ad that runs here in Rochester (numerous stations) that refers the listener to a toll free number or website for full details. I wonder if that counts as a disclaimer these days?
Don't blame the FCC. The disclaimers wouldn't need to be so long and drawn out, and some might not be needed at all, if the advertisers were honest in the first place.
The biggest offenders are car dealers who offer prices or payments you can't actually get, or which are available on one vehicle which will already have been sold before you get there. The disclaimers are filled with weasel-words which qualify the claims as true in a very narrow, technical sense, but these spots are still designed to mislead.
So, all disclaimers should be intelligible, but for me, the ones that are not serve as an easy way to tell who the liars are. (I define a lie as any attempt to mislead, even if it's done with statements which in isolation are true.)
One of my favorite disclaimer lines of all time is one I've only ever heard in New York State:
"This is not an offering which can be made only by formal prospectus."
The biggest offenders are car dealers who offer prices or payments you can't actually get, or which are available on one vehicle which will already have been sold before you get there. The disclaimers are filled with weasel-words which qualify the claims as true in a very narrow, technical sense, but these spots are still designed to mislead.
So, all disclaimers should be intelligible, but for me, the ones that are not serve as an easy way to tell who the liars are. (I define a lie as any attempt to mislead, even if it's done with statements which in isolation are true.)
One of my favorite disclaimer lines of all time is one I've only ever heard in New York State:
"This is not an offering which can be made only by formal prospectus."
Airtime..I was NOT implying you're a moron!
I was taken aback by the "trend" portion of your post. These disclaimers have been like this "forever"..so it's not a "trend". That's all! None of us like them, they are compliance only, irritating (thanks Paul for the backing!) ..but a "necessary evil". Not quite as eye-catching as the Wardrobe Malfunctions to the FCC..but hey...McDonalds didn't think their coffee was THAT HOT either.
Reality...sell what ya got in :26 (or :56 if you're a big spender) ...and CYA in the last :03 and hopefully nobody notices. ;D
HDBG
BTW: When I hear 'em...I try to catch the "hitch"!! Talking about unique ways to add TSL!!!
I have to give you guys credit for listening to those things. When that gasbag from Grand Island or any of his magpies start up, it's the scan button that becomes huge and my hand can't reach it fast enough. The car dealer commercials with the kids yelping "just great deals" have become today's version of "fun wow." The worst.
heydaybegone said:
Airtime..I was NOT implying you're a moron!
I was taken aback by the "trend" portion of your post. These disclaimers have been like this "forever"..so it's not a "trend". That's all! None of us like them, they are compliance only, irritating (thanks Paul for the backing!) ..but a "necessary evil". Not quite as eye-catching as the Wardrobe Malfunctions to the FCC..but hey...McDonalds didn't think their coffee was THAT HOT either.
Reality...sell what ya got in :26 (or :56 if you're a big spender) ...and CYA in the last :03 and hopefully nobody notices. ;D
HDBG
BTW: When I hear 'em...I try to catch the "hitch"!! Talking about unique ways to add TSL!!!
Yes, disclaimers have been around forever. But it's only in recent times that commercial producers have been using a computer program such as Adobe Audition to compress them, so much so, THAT YOU CAN'T UNDERSTAND THEM. That's my problem. And it started this fall. One spot I heard during Sunday's Bills game had a disclaimer that sounds like what would happen when my software program would malfunction. And that's what I have a problem with. It can't be understood by any listener. So, I'm arguing here that such an announcement is not meeting the FCC standard that's behind the reason for running the disclaimer. THE LISTENING PUBLIC CAN'T UNDERSTAND IT! That's wrong and needs to be fixed. As you would say, Hey Day, that's all!
Touche' (ouch) 8)
Now I get what you're saying. With all the creative people out of work (see the posts about retro-advertising)...there aren't many minds out there to do a better job with this. It would be an "oh-wow" when it happens.
(Savage et. al. could chime in ----has anybody re-visited the wording on the rules of disclosure ???) Any out-of the box creative thinking on this?
That's all
HDBG
heydaybegone said:
Usually it's up to the client.
Some clients have become more sensitive to the sound of disclaimers at the end of their spots and have either asked for those points to be worked discreetly into the copy and/or re-worked their sale prices and deals so as to not require a lengthy disclaimer. Others have simply put the disclaimer up front.
Anyway, now off to write some copy for a client...and yes it will have a disclaimer at the end.
These disclaimers bring to mind the credits that roll at the end of a show like Access Hollywood (and others). Ever try and read them? First of all I have no respect for producers that can't time a show well enough to allow for normal speed credits. So what results satisfies the word of the agreement to display names but not the spirit of it.
Thispostingistheopinionoftheposterandnotintendedtocuredisease....
Thispostingistheopinionoftheposterandnotintendedtocuredisease....
Element9 said:
As bad as "HUGE" might be there's a series of ads running on Rochester stations that irritate me every time I hear them. They advertise "oh-eleven" and "oh-twelve" vehicles. WHAT? ??? The sad thing is that they are agency spots, not made by the dealer. Do I have to hear "oh-___" for the rest of the decade? Argh!
I can see "oh-eights, nines", etc. for the last decade but would much prefer "twenty-twelve" or "two thousand twelve", etc. for this decade. I'm irritated enough with the ads that I don't even know if there is a disclaimer at the end of them! John C said:As bad as "HUGE" might be there's a series of ads running on Rochester stations that irritate me every time I hear them. They advertise "oh-eleven" and "oh-twelve" vehicles. WHAT? ??? The sad thing is that they are agency spots, not made by the dealer. Do I have to hear "oh-___" for the rest of the decade? Argh!
That's just plain bad, IMHO.
But a number of Pittsburgh dealers do the same thing and yes, they are agency spots. And yes, they are like fingernails on a chalkboard to me.
It's "twenty-twelve" or "two-thousand-twelve" when I write/produce a car spot. I would only do
oh-twelve" if the client absolutely insisted.
BTW Fuccillo is pretty well known among car dealers outside WNY/CNY for that "HUGE" campaign. Yes those spots may look/sound like they were cut on a budget of $1.62 but he is the very definition of effective branding.
I do a boat load of these, and the disclaimers are added to the FRONT Of the spot to make it sound like the disclaimer is from the previous spot. (sounds really good especially when piggybacked with another car spot that has thier disclaimer at the end..nearly 90 seconds of speedy disclaimer.) another fun thing is to add a lush Mantovani or slow George Shearing track under the extremely fast disclaimer.
I am seeing a lot of my clients putting the disclaimers on the websites "..for model and payment details in your language visit Calichevdealerinfo.com" and apparently that is perfectly legal in as far as clarity goes. I think the FTC/FCC has backed off on the actual spoken disclaimer for radio spots..also the addition of Spanish language disclaimer on the website covers multicultural markets..also TV spots have to display the disclaimer information for at least 50% of the spot on screen.
There have been some legal issues from groups actually claiming that the published disclaimers on websites discriminate against those who cannot read. Opposition sites that reading is or should be a prerequisite for getting a drivers license..then the illiteracy support league files suit claiming that road signs are symbols and that those who cannot read do not need to know how to read to safely drive a car.
Makes your head hurt..kinda like when you hear those disclaimers huh?
So..a recent spot was only 14 secs, and the disclaimer is the rest of this 60 sec gem!
At least five available at this price including new old stock 2010 Aveo sticker N-1227752h, 2500 down requires FICO score of 795 or greater for very qualified applicants and 399 desert tint package plus 500 dealer prep and satellite radio activation. Lease only includes 7500 miles per year for 6 years and 22 cents per mile for each mile over yearly limit each year, dealer retains all rebates and incentives. Free smartphone offer exclusive of these advertised specials..not available for vehicles offered in the
"savings zone" total time in dealer's "Cash Whirl Contest" machine based on total selling price of vehicle not including trade in value of customer's equity vehicle. Offer expires 12/12/11 not available for residents of Ocoa, Palmer, Marion, Keene, Valle, Bronson, Union, Riveralde, or Thomlinson Counties.
I am seeing a lot of my clients putting the disclaimers on the websites "..for model and payment details in your language visit Calichevdealerinfo.com" and apparently that is perfectly legal in as far as clarity goes. I think the FTC/FCC has backed off on the actual spoken disclaimer for radio spots..also the addition of Spanish language disclaimer on the website covers multicultural markets..also TV spots have to display the disclaimer information for at least 50% of the spot on screen.
There have been some legal issues from groups actually claiming that the published disclaimers on websites discriminate against those who cannot read. Opposition sites that reading is or should be a prerequisite for getting a drivers license..then the illiteracy support league files suit claiming that road signs are symbols and that those who cannot read do not need to know how to read to safely drive a car.
Makes your head hurt..kinda like when you hear those disclaimers huh?
So..a recent spot was only 14 secs, and the disclaimer is the rest of this 60 sec gem!
At least five available at this price including new old stock 2010 Aveo sticker N-1227752h, 2500 down requires FICO score of 795 or greater for very qualified applicants and 399 desert tint package plus 500 dealer prep and satellite radio activation. Lease only includes 7500 miles per year for 6 years and 22 cents per mile for each mile over yearly limit each year, dealer retains all rebates and incentives. Free smartphone offer exclusive of these advertised specials..not available for vehicles offered in the
"savings zone" total time in dealer's "Cash Whirl Contest" machine based on total selling price of vehicle not including trade in value of customer's equity vehicle. Offer expires 12/12/11 not available for residents of Ocoa, Palmer, Marion, Keene, Valle, Bronson, Union, Riveralde, or Thomlinson Counties.
He may be well known, but this poster would not buy a car from his store. Reminds me of the guy who shakes your hand and the first thing you do afterward is count your fingers. Car dealers have to make a living and no customer gets a car for free, that's why they make money on the financing more than the sale. When you walk onto a car lot, you're fair game, but if you can say "no," you'll always be in control of the deal. Whether they're at the front or back of the commercial, said disclaimers set off my bull-sh*t-detector and make the station appear to be complicit in a sidewalk shell game.chas108 said:
Question....(I have those once in awhile )
I don't subscribe to XM or Sirius...but do these same rules apply for disclaimers?
Do they even run spots? (Subscription listening must be fun and non- irritating- hmmm)
If yes, then it's still a level playing field for broadcasting.
If no....well "hello"!
Chime in....
HDBG
)I don't subscribe to XM or Sirius...but do these same rules apply for disclaimers?
Do they even run spots? (Subscription listening must be fun and non- irritating- hmmm)
If yes, then it's still a level playing field for broadcasting.
If no....well "hello"!
Chime in....
HDBG
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