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"One-Take-Wonders" (aka In YOUR FACE Ads!)

A

argytunes

Guest
Is it my imagination, but are there MORE "IN YOUR FACE" advertisements (than usual)airing in commercial spot clusters these days?

This past weekend--while running errands and heading for 3 different musical gigs, I had an opportunity to listen to several "commercial stopsets" for at least 10 different radio stations----all formats (including, MPBN). In nearly every case, 2 or more of the ads (in the stopsets) were of the "screaming, yelling, in-your-face" nature!

Not only was some of the 'copy' very lame, but the announcers (both men and women) couldn't read the words that were written...CONVINCINGLY! [One spot was even a national ad for a MCDONALDS Fruit Salad, in which the interplay between the man and woman sounded INCREDIBLY STUPID!]. It was frustrating to listen to "professionals"...who obviously knew nothing about the product they were trying to sell...attempt to sound as if they did?

While I've been lucky enough to 'voice' an occasional agency spot (or two) from time to time, I've honestly wondered if the standards for writing radio and TV copy...and having an announcer read it...have reached at an ALL-TIME LOW???

If a voice-over talent (or announcer) gets through his (or her) first read without making a single mistake...IS THAT "THE TAKE" THAT GOES OUT OVER THE AIR? Or even if there's a slight fluff present, do they assume that NOBODY IS LISTENING and just let the spot go out with the flaw?

While I'm not trying to sound cynical or coming across like a smart a**, I'd love an answer to this question. Because if "rip and read" has now become S.O.P. (standard operation procedure) for commercials at your radio station (or for your radio group in general), I'd HONESTLY be a little nervous about advertising my product with you!

Having an uninterested copywriter knock out a 30 second spot, or an unconvincing announcer "attempt to sell my product" for me, seems to defeat the purpose of buying radio (or television) airtime.....doesn't it?

argytunes
 
> If a voice-over talent (or announcer) gets through his (or
> her) first read without making a single mistake...IS THAT
> "THE TAKE" THAT GOES OUT OVER THE AIR? Or even if there's a
> slight fluff present, do they assume that NOBODY IS
> LISTENING and just let the spot go out with the flaw?
>

having just spent 3 loverly hours in production producing a whopping 3 minutes of commercials, i can assure you that at least some of that on-air product was not done in one take.

and to be honest, and not that it makes it any better, but 99% of spots today require an mp3 or cd copy for client approval. (not unlike the old days of making a cassette in which it often took longer to type the label than it did to make the commmmc... er, commerciiiii..., um, commercccciial... (damn!) commercial. if the client likes it, then hopefully his/her prospective customers will like it.
 
> > If a voice-over talent (or announcer) gets through his (or
>
>
> and to be honest, and not that it makes it any better, but
> 99% of spots today require an mp3 or cd copy for client
> approval. (not unlike the old days of making a cassette in
> which it often took longer to type the label than it did to
> make the commmmc... er, commerciiiii..., um,
> commercccciial... (damn!) commercial. if the client likes
> it, then hopefully his/her prospective customers will like
> it.

Erie...I KNEW I could count on you for an accurate response interspersed with a little humor. THANKS SO MUCH!

I guess my point was this. With so many ads (including radio station promos) crammed into a 4-6 minute spot cluster, the least a few of the "radio/audio spokespeople" could do is check for pronounciations and sound a little more 'believeable?' If they were, skeptical listeners (like moi) might be tempted to at least check out the local supermarket, hardware store or the 'widget specialist' that an announcer is attempting to promote.

For some strange reason (maybe it's an announcer's style of delivery or perhaps his or her ego), I find very little incentive to bother doing the 'follow-through' on the product or service after hearing the ad. Many of us have heard the "promises" too many times....only to discover that the item(s) we were interested in are no longer in the store...and replacements won't be available until a week from NEXT Tuesday!

But what really drives me nuts...and probably a thousand other radio listeners...are the 'car hucksters' (aka AUTO DEALERS OR MANAGERS) who often INSIST on doubling as the primary spokespeople for their showrooms! Several of 'em, particularly the ones who also buy print or television ads, seem to come across as a little.......err........goofy!]

Wouldn't it be fun to be a "fly on the wall" during a Monday Morning staff meeting and observe them chewing out their sales staffs---whenever car sales are REALLY OFF? I'll bet very few of them would be as 'jolly' as they are in front of a camera or a microphone?

argytunes
 
So if you feel this way about the spots....what are your thoughts on live remotes?



> > > If a voice-over talent (or announcer) gets through his
> (or
> >
> >
> > and to be honest, and not that it makes it any better, but
>
> > 99% of spots today require an mp3 or cd copy for client
> > approval. (not unlike the old days of making a cassette
> in
> > which it often took longer to type the label than it did
> to
> > make the commmmc... er, commerciiiii..., um,
> > commercccciial... (damn!) commercial. if the client likes
>
> > it, then hopefully his/her prospective customers will like
>
> > it.
>
> Erie...I KNEW I could count on you for an accurate response
> interspersed with a little humor. THANKS SO MUCH!
>
> I guess my point was this. With so many ads (including radio
> station promos) crammed into a 4-6 minute spot cluster, the
> least a few of the "radio/audio spokespeople" could do is
> check for pronounciations and sound a little more
> 'believeable?' If they were, skeptical listeners (like moi)
> might be tempted to at least check out the local
> supermarket, hardware store or the 'widget specialist' that
> an announcer is attempting to promote.
>
> For some strange reason (maybe it's an announcer's style of
> delivery or perhaps his or her ego), I find very little
> incentive to bother doing the 'follow-through' on the
> product or service after hearing the ad. Many of us have
> heard the "promises" too many times....only to discover that
> the item(s) we were interested in are no longer in the
> store...and replacements won't be available until a week
> from NEXT Tuesday!
>
> But what really drives me nuts...and probably a thousand
> other radio listeners...are the 'car hucksters' (aka AUTO
> DEALERS OR MANAGERS) who often INSIST on doubling as the
> primary spokespeople for their showrooms! Several of 'em,
> particularly the ones who also buy print or television ads,
> seem to come across as a little.......err........goofy!]
>
> Wouldn't it be fun to be a "fly on the wall" during a Monday
> Morning staff meeting and observe them chewing out their
> sales staffs---whenever car sales are REALLY OFF? I'll bet
> very few of them would be as 'jolly' as they are in front of
> a camera or a microphone?
>
> argytunes
>
 
> So if you feel this way about the spots....what are your
> thoughts on live remotes?

I'M GLAD YOU ASKED!

Live Remotes can be a great tool for introducing an audience to a new or existing business or client.....OR...THEY CAN BE A "DOORWAY TO DISASTER!"

When a jock does his LIVE SHOW from a car dealership, supermarket, or wholesale supply store....he (or she) has to be able to keep his show moving...making it sound as fresh and as "solid" as if it were being done from the regular on-air studio. At the same time, he (or she) has to CONVINCE LISTENERS that the location of the broadcast is a business (or has a product) they should DEFINITELY check out!

Here's the problem.

Most of the time, there's very little PRE-PREP WORK between the jock, the Account Executive who sold the remote, and the owner who bought the entire 'remote package!'

The AE who presold a 4-6 hour remote has promised the car dealer, supermarket manager, or undertaker(?)....EVERYTHING! So the on-air people are stuck "delivering" on those 'advance promises!' As a result the format and pace of the radio station gets completely bastardized!

What's even worse is when a store manager....who doesn't understand how radio works....insists on being a part of EVERY SINGLE BREAK DURING A REMOTE! It doesn't matter if the owner or store manager sounds intelligent or stupid, the AE "promised" 'em they could "be on the radio" during their remote! So whether they sound great or mediocre doesn't matter...THEY'RE ON THE RADIO!

Here's something else to kick around.

After a listener has put up with 3 minutes of 'client babble' followed by another 3-6 minutes of commercials in the stopset....do you think they're STILL 'hanging around' for the next set of tunes?

[There might be an exception here if the advertiser who sponsored the remote was offering $100 bills to the first 100 people who showed up at his supermarket? Or perhaps a bag of free groceries?]

Here's my point:

If a businessman is hiring an ON-AIR RADIO PROFESSIONAL (who has done a little advance pre-remote prep work) to promote and get customers into the location of the remote...don't you think the jock should earn his pay and do HIS JOB?

An on-air personality can certainly make references to the staff (assuming they want to be mentioned), but "putting some of 'em on the air" can often become: THE KISS OF DEATH?

The on-air radio (or television) personality IS "the pied piper!" His approach at a remote is akin to luring the rodents....err customers....into the business that bought the remote in the first place! Once the 'potential customers' show up at the door, let the "regular employees" 'work the crowd'-----OFF THE AIR!

argytunes
 
> > So if you feel this way about the spots....what are your
> > thoughts on live remotes?
>
> I'M GLAD YOU ASKED!
>
> Live Remotes can be a great tool for introducing an audience
> to a new or existing business or client.....OR...THEY CAN BE
> A "DOORWAY TO DISASTER!"
>
> When a jock does his LIVE SHOW from a car dealership,
> supermarket, or wholesale supply store....he (or she) has to
> be able to keep his show moving...making it sound as fresh
> and as "solid" as if it were being done from the regular
> on-air studio. At the same time, he (or she) has to
> CONVINCE LISTENERS that the location of the broadcast is a
> business (or has a product) they should DEFINITELY check
> out!
>
> Here's the problem.
>
> Most of the time, there's very little PRE-PREP WORK between
> the jock, the Account Executive who sold the remote, and the
> owner who bought the entire 'remote package!'
>
> The AE who presold a 4-6 hour remote has promised the car
> dealer, supermarket manager, or undertaker(?)....EVERYTHING!
> So the on-air people are stuck "delivering" on those
> 'advance promises!' As a result the format and pace of the
> radio station gets completely bastardized!
>
> What's even worse is when a store manager....who doesn't
> understand how radio works....insists on being a part of
> EVERY SINGLE BREAK DURING A REMOTE! It doesn't matter if
> the owner or store manager sounds intelligent or stupid, the
> AE "promised" 'em they could "be on the radio" during their
> remote! So whether they sound great or mediocre doesn't
> matter...THEY'RE ON THE RADIO!
>
> Here's something else to kick around.
>
> After a listener has put up with 3 minutes of 'client
> babble' followed by another 3-6 minutes of commercials in
> the stopset....do you think they're STILL 'hanging around'
> for the next set of tunes?
>
> [There might be an exception here if the advertiser who
> sponsored the remote was offering $100 bills to the first
> 100 people who showed up at his supermarket? Or perhaps a
> bag of free groceries?]
>
> Here's my point:
>
> If a businessman is hiring an ON-AIR RADIO PROFESSIONAL (who
> has done a little advance pre-remote prep work) to promote
> and get customers into the location of the remote...don't
> you think the jock should earn his pay and do HIS JOB?
>
> An on-air personality can certainly make references to the
> staff (assuming they want to be mentioned), but "putting
> some of 'em on the air" can often become: THE KISS OF DEATH?
>
>
> The on-air radio (or television) personality IS "the pied
> piper!" His approach at a remote is akin to luring the
> rodents....err customers....into the business that bought
> the remote in the first place! Once the 'potential
> customers' show up at the door, let the "regular employees"
> 'work the crowd'-----OFF THE AIR!
>
> argytunes
>
Did anyone hear the remote Oldies in Portland did at Mardens in Biddeford a while back? The announcer was interviewing a guy about mattresses and he sounded like he was just in a hurry,reading questions abruptly and moving along too quickly.It sounded like a newsman doing an interview.
 
> Did anyone hear the remote Oldies in Portland did at Mardens
> in Biddeford a while back? The announcer was interviewing a
> guy about mattresses and he sounded like he was doing Gary
> Owens with his radio voice,reading questions with no effort
> put into it.
>

actually, yeah. and considering those interview breaks were "studio quality," while the other "on-site" breaks were on a cellphone... makes argytune's point that the client may get what they think they want when they think they need to be on the air. (station must've pre-produced the spots as i know some portland area stations actually have a "no client on the air during remotes" policy)

thought the "real" live breaks (albeit on a cell - must've been out of marti range?) sounded better and more lively. that was just the jock, no client.
 
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