The lips that changed radio advertising on TV forever...

[Memories_Radio]

Howdy folks! I'm a relative newbie here on the site, but I've been a radio promotions enthusiast for several years now. Chuck Blore and his "Color Radio" format really drew me into this fascination, and though I'm an amateur in this field (that is, I haven't studied broadcasting in an academic setting or trade school), I've been trying my best to learn and document his influence on radio through online research. One of the projects I've undertaken over the last few years is a YouTube channel that acts as a sort of archive for perhaps the most famous and impactful of his concepts for station campaigns: The "Remarkable Mouth".

About a year and a half ago, I inquired about finding specific spots in the San Diego subforum, to which I received a nice reply for Bernie Wagenblast (a VO legend in his own right) with a link to WABC Musicradio 77 spots for which he provided the voice for "Jack Packard". I'd like to be able to gather as many spots as are available so that they can be saved in one place on the internet. Beyond that, I would like to be able to document the history and legacy of the spots, as well as compile several snippets of its golden era - late 70s to 80s - as sort of a tribute to the Blore-Richman Company of yesteryear. This is where I kindly ask for your help...

I have been trying my best to find these commercials throughout the internet, both digging through YouTube commercial compilations and on Facebook groups. Would anyone here have any leads as to find some of the spots online? Are there any on the internet that you know of that haven't been added to my "Favorites" page? In addition, if you have any memories of a specific model tied to a station's promotion, I'd appreciate if you could reply with whatever you can remember. This can help fill in some of the blanks for my own work and the public record. Here's what I have so far:

1. Kelly Harmon was widely remembered as the spokeswoman for KBPI in Denver and WRIF in Detroit (the spot for WRIF had also been revived at least twice, first in 1992 and then again with a local personality, Karen Newman, around 1998).
2. Lorelei Shark was best known as the Loop Rock Girl for WLUP in Chicago, but also filmed spots for WNDE in Indianapolis, WISN in Milwaukee, KOY in Phoenix, KSLQ in St. Louis and KQRS in Minneapolis, among others.
3. Christine De Lisle's biggest hit was in DC for WRQX/Q107, but also filmed spots for WABC-AM in NYC and KFOG in San Francisco.
4. Future Dallas star Deborah Shelton was featured in dozens of spots, the following of which are currently known: 92 PRO-FM in Providence; K-Earth 101 in Los Angeles; WNOK in Columbia, SC; possibly KGB in San Diego (?)
5. Bree Bushaw (later known as news personality "Bree Walker") was featured in spots for KPRI in San Diego around 1980 or so.
6. Popular Kansas City DJ Frankie filmed a very popular spot for KYYS (KY-102) around 1982, possibly as a follow-up to Deborah Shelton.
7. An up-and-coming model named Ann Bell starred in ads for KFI-AM in Los Angeles starting in 1979.
8. A model by the name of Denise (last name unknown) worked as one of the rotating models for Chuck Blore Productions in the late 70s/early 80s.
9. Symba Smith became the de facto mouth model from around 1995 to 2002.
10. A few Playboy Playmates, including Teri Harrison and Alison Waite starred in a select spots between 2003 to 2007 (Harrison for KDKB in Phoenix and WLZR in Milwaukee; Waite for KXXR in Minneapolis and 96K-Rock in Southwest Florida).

I've also read that these started airing in 1975 for WTAE in Pittsburgh (source) and believe that these originated as part of ABC Radio's marketing strategy.

If anyone knows any information that can add to this list, it would be greatly appreciated! And again, it may be a shot in the dark, but if you have links to any "new" spots to add to the YouTube archive, please add them here! I'm hoping that this could be a great community effort. Thanks sincerely for all your help.

 

[LKellerIII]

I don't know why this is stuck in my memory, but I still recall a commercial for KFOG San Francisco done by actor Patrick O'Neal - when KFOG was still a "Beautiful Music" station. I'm thinking it was late 70s. According to Wikipedia, KFOG became a rock station in 1982.

 

[WKRP_Cincinnati]

Ooooh yes I remember those from around 1980 or maybe the next year. WEBN did one of those but I don't remember the actress so it could be one of those that you put up. There was a funny followup version with Pete Rose.

I visited a friend in San Fran and KSAN had a version in 1979 I think. I guess the KFOG one came much later than that (a quick Youtube search says 1984).

 

[Corky Marlowe]

I think Deborah Shelton did some for WMEE in Fort Wayne maybe around 1982 (Seems like the background music might have been "The One You Love" by Glenn Frey and "Take It Away" by Paul McCartney). I remember a line in one of them where she said something like, "I went out with a guy who wouldn't let me put WMEE on the car radio...I can't remember his name." On topic, I bet they pop up on YouTube eventually...Keep trying, I guess.

 

[seatownmedia]

Not sure I understand the topic here. But if we are talking about sexy female voices, then that would be more clear. If this is the case, then I'm sure many more can contribute.

I have to admit that I am somewhat obsessed with a female radio voice in the 1969 movie "Midnight Cowboy", doing stock closings in a a british accent. Earlier in the movie, tracks from Ron Lundy on WABC were used, so I would guess this particular audio cut also came fron NYC radio.

My favorite all time female voice was the late Yvonne Daniels, overnights on WLS-AM in the 70's. Not only a groundbreaker, but my gawd, she sounded great.

 

[Memories_Radio]

I guess I took it for granted all the people here knew what I was talking about and wasn't clear enough about the specific concept I was referring to. A typical "Remarkable Mouth" spot has a female model that introduces a listener to a "remarkable radio station" in her own voice, followed by a shot zooming into a close up of her mouth lip syncing to snippets of banter by DJs, different songs and sometimes callers to the station. When the camera zooms out back to reveal the model's full frame, an offstage voice compliments her by saying that she has "a remarkable mouth", to which she replies "we have a remarkable radio station" in her own voice.

In case my description is too obscure, there are several examples on YouTube, including on my own channel which is linked in my original post.

That being said, now that you mention it, Chuck Blore's company also had another series in which Deborah Shelton would advertise the station by reciting its benefits - using her own soft-spoken and innocent (yet sultry) voice. I've seen several of these on YouTube as well.

 

[AKA]

KKZX Spokane: https://youtu.be/329YCoiPN-M

 

[LKellerIII]

Not sure I understand the topic here. But if we are talking about sexy female voices, then that would be more clear. If this is the case, then I'm sure many more can contribute.

I have to admit that I am somewhat obsessed with a female radio voice in the 1969 movie "Midnight Cowboy", doing stock closings in a a british accent. Earlier in the movie, tracks from Ron Lundy on WABC were used, so I would guess this particular audio cut also came fron NYC radio.

My favorite all time female voice was the late Yvonne Daniels, overnights on WLS-AM in the 70's. Not only a groundbreaker, but my gawd, she sounded great.

Also slightly off-topic, but "sexy female voices" jogged a memory. That KiiS-FM (Los Angeles) bumper with the sexy female voice saying"KiiiSSSS" was reportedly actress Lynette Mettey. She had a great deep voice - never got famous, but had a lot of guest roles in shows in the 70s and 80s like MASH, and IIRC - she was Quincy's (Jack Klugman's) girlfriend. That same bumper was used for awhile on Kiss-FM San Francisco (KISQ).

 

[Memories_Radio]

I was on my cell phone last night and had trouble linking one of the "Deborah" commercials I was talking about, but here's one she did for KOY in Phoenix. Over a decade later, it looks like she filmed another one for WYNK in Baton Rouge which combined ideas from the "Remarkable Mouth". Kind of makes sense if Chuck Blore was responsible for both concepts.

 

[anotherguyTN]

I remember Kelly Harmon doing ads for Rock 103 in Memphis, probably in the late 70's or early 80's.

 

[Memories_Radio]

A little more digging has shown that the commercial was aired in Buffalo on WBEN (presumably in the late 70s/early 80s), KZEW in Dallas with Lorelei around 1980, WXKS (Kiss 108) in Boston in 1980, WBLM in Portland, ME sometime in the 80s, Y-100 in Miami and again in San Diego on KSON in the 1990s.

 

[hamster]

I remember those Christine/WRQX TV spots. At the same time WPGC had their own "talking lips" spot with a girl "mouthing" the words of a general but the general appears along side the girl in the ad.

Somewhat related to this is WKMZ in Martinsburg, West Virginia. In 1989 WKMZ hired a male model for their TV ad. Same thing...out of HIS mouth one heard all the WKMZ jocks.

 

[Memories_Radio]

It looks like Cumulus tried to revive the spot for WLUP as a throwback to the Lorelei days, but paid the price after the company with the rights to the concept filed a lawsuit. I didn't realize it was still being used to promote stations.

Also, for anyone else interested, WNOE in New Orleans ran the spot, which won Blore/Richman an award in 1979. If only the Paley Center had some of their entries uploaded on its website...

 

[Memories_Radio]

I hope it's okay to bump the thread, but I've done some more research and would like to share some of my findings. It looks like the commercial was done with Deborah Shelton for WRVQ (Q94) in Richmond in 1982, and again with her for KHFI (K98) in Austin around 1984. Lorelei filmed one for WIKS ("Kiss 99") in Indianapolis not long after her WNDE commercials (perhaps the first time the spot was repeated in the same market in a short period of time). Also, the actress who filmed the revived ad for WRIF in 1992 is Teresa Blake of "All My Children" fame.

 

[davideduardo]

I hope it's okay to bump the thread, but I've done some more research and would like to share some of my findings. It looks like the commercial was done with Deborah Shelton for WRVQ (Q94) in Richmond in 1982, and again with her for KHFI (K98) in Austin around 1984. Lorelei filmed one for WIKS ("Kiss 99") in Indianapolis not long after her WNDE commercials (perhaps the first time the spot was repeated in the same market in a short period of time). Also, the actress who filmed the revived ad for WRIF in 1992 is Teresa Blake of "All My Children" fame.

The original Mouth commercial was done by Chuck Blore for WDAE in 1975 and then put into syndication.

I believe at one point that one of the big "Radio Station commercials for TV" houses like Filmhouse or Celestial Mechanix handled production.

 

[Memories_Radio]

The original Mouth commercial was done by Chuck Blore for WDAE in 1975 and then put into syndication.

I believe at one point that one of the big "Radio Station commercials for TV" houses like Filmhouse or Celestial Mechanix handled production.

I believe that's mostly right, if online sources are up to date. I think you may have meant WTAE in Pittsburgh, which at the time was a sister station to the ABC television affiliate in that market with the same call letters. I have a feeling that many ABC Radio affiliates took advantage of the campaign based on the marketing tape I linked in my original post. In many cases, they were probably able to air the spots on television for free provided that the owner of both the radio and TV stations was the same.

I think that Celestial Mechanix (or "CMI Films") now owns the rights to the concept, though they haven't updated their website in years. Chuck Blore is listed on there as a partner, or maybe a managing principal -- it's not clear. I'm guessing he's been retired for several years now.

 

[davideduardo]

That's mostly right, if online sources are up to date. I think you may have meant WTAE in Pittsburgh, which at the time was a sister station to the ABC television affiliate in that market with the same call letters. I have a feeling that many ABC Radio affiliates took advantage of the campaign based on the marketing tape I linked in my original post. In many cases, they were probably able to air the spots on television for free provided that the owner of both the radio and TV stations were the same.

I think that Celestial Mechanix (or "CMI Films") now owns the rights to the concept, though they haven't updated their website in years. Chuck Blore is listed on there as a partner, or maybe a managing principal -- it's not clear. I'm guessing he's been retired for several years now.

Sorry about the typo. WDAE, of course, was 1250 in Tampa at the time... same frequency!

WTAE got Blore to do the spot through the contacts that Ted Atkins had... Ted was responsible for the very successful programming on the station back then. WTAE, despite being an AM on the upper part of the dial, was third in the market after KDKA and WDVE (FM) in both 18-34 and 18-49 (Spring 1976 ARB right after the Mouth ads ran.

WTAE had Hearst's TV, also WTAE, to run the spots on. WTAE was well known in media circles for its "Take Tae and See" trade publication ads. That affiliation got the radio station loads of spots.

http://user.pa.net/~ejjeff/wtaeTedAtkins.html has a good bit of information on Ted.

 

[LKellerIII]

The original Mouth commercial was done by Chuck Blore for WDAE in 1975 and then put into syndication.

I believe at one point that one of the big "Radio Station commercials for TV" houses like Filmhouse or Celestial Mechanix handled production.

I remember that "mouth" commercial in the SF Bay Area, too...but can't recall what station. KOIT, perhaps?

 

[Memories_Radio]

WTAE got Blore to do the spot through the contacts that Ted Atkins had... Ted was responsible for the very successful programming on the station back then. WTAE, despite being an AM on the upper part of the dial, was third in the market after KDKA and WDVE (FM) in both 18-34 and 18-49 (Spring 1976 ARB right after the Mouth ads ran.

WTAE had Hearst's TV, also WTAE, to run the spots on. WTAE was well known in media circles for its "Take Tae and See" trade publication ads. That affiliation got the radio station loads of spots.

Very interesting -- thank you for sharing that information! Like it did in Pittsburgh, I know that this ad concept catapulted several stations from relative obscurity to the top of their markets; Q107 in DC was probably the best example of this. WLUP, WRIF and KBPI also ran successful campaigns which are still remembered fondly to this day.

Do you know off the top of your head if the WTAE commercial was aired on other TV stations in the market? I also think that the commercial was revived in Pittsburgh for WXKX (96KX) around 1980 or so, but I cannot confirm.

This website also says that KIIS-AM in Los Angeles was among the first to use the ad.

I remember that "mouth" commercial in the SF Bay Area, too...but can't recall what station. KOIT, perhaps?

It definitely ran for KSAN in the late 70s and then again for KFOG some time between 1983 and 1985. Not sure if it was revived there in more recent times, though. Perhaps someone on here may be able to say for sure.

 

[hamster]

Do you know off the top of your head if the WTAE commercial was aired on other TV stations in the market? I also think that the commercial was revived in Pittsburgh for WXKX (96KX) around 1980 or so, but I cannot confirm.

I am not surprised that this type of ad was used for WXKX 96 KX since that station used to be WTAE-FM. I am wondering if the WTAE ad ran on the other TV stations in town too because by the 80s KDKA-TV wouldn't air spots for radio stations that were owned by WTAE and vice versa.. The other stations in town such as channel 11 WIIC/WPXI and WPGH I don"t think ever owned radio stations but since WTAE were the same call letters as their channel 4 something tells me they didn't run the WTAE radio spots either but I can't say for sure.

A radio station in Toronto ( I think it was Q107 ) also did the "talking lips" ad.