I just heard something this morning about a radio station in San Francisco playing Nelly's 2002 hit "Hot in Herre" in a stunt loop all last weekend as a lead-in to a format change from Spanish CHR to an English-language hip-hop format. This reminds me of numerous stunts on stations around here over the past few years, particularly in the Clear Channel stable. What radio stunts in the Raleigh/Greensboro area were the most memorable to everyone here? One that sticks in my head was the WFMX-to-WMKS "Kiss" loop in July 2006 (on what is now 105.7 The Buzz) that was later incorporated into a larger loop that Christmas when WRSN "Sunny 93.9" became WKSL "93.9 Kiss FM."
-
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
Wildest/craziest radio stunts?
- Thread starter berlin201
- Start date
Oldies 93.1 went off the air and a robot voice started counting down. This was the beginning of 93.1 the Wolf.
Big 102 began the same way when it changed from WWMO, with the voice occasionally announcing something big was happening.
When it became 102 Jamz, the station played "Jam On It" by Newcleus for several days.
When Whistle 100 became 100.3 the Buzzard, it played a song by U2 about New Year's Day repeatedly, since it was New Year's Day.
Big 102 began the same way when it changed from WWMO, with the voice occasionally announcing something big was happening.
When it became 102 Jamz, the station played "Jam On It" by Newcleus for several days.
When Whistle 100 became 100.3 the Buzzard, it played a song by U2 about New Year's Day repeatedly, since it was New Year's Day.
Having been in the business for 30+ years, none of the "stunting" or antics I have seen lately seem all that daring or creative. Not just around RDU and Triad, but across the country.
Playing a song over and over is pretty old hat. The robot-voice countdown was a thing for awhile. I worked at a station in the Midwest that ran one of those...it was actually a custom-built PC with software that "spoke" the countdown, and randomly spewed out catch phrases from TV shows and other pithy statements. It was kinda entertaining to listen to, just to see what the thing would say next.
The great DJ/programming pranks that stick out in my mind...well there are two. Some radio station in Louisiana came up with a promotional campaign for a shiny new mega-mall that was to be built entirely underground. The campaign was built up over a week, and the "commercials" ramped up in excitement as "opening day" approached. At the last moment, the station aired an announcement that due to an earthquake, the underground mall had to be relocated somewhere else, which was certainly disappointing to the crowd that showed up for the "opening".
The second creative stunt I heard about happened when the Space Shuttle was still flying. As an April Fools joke, a radio station in San Diego announced that NASA had decided to land the shuttle at a small airport just outside of town that day. As it happened there was not even a shuttle on orbit at the time, but naturally a big crowd of clueless listeners mobbed that airport and tied up traffic. The authorities were not amused.
Playing a song over and over is pretty old hat. The robot-voice countdown was a thing for awhile. I worked at a station in the Midwest that ran one of those...it was actually a custom-built PC with software that "spoke" the countdown, and randomly spewed out catch phrases from TV shows and other pithy statements. It was kinda entertaining to listen to, just to see what the thing would say next.
The great DJ/programming pranks that stick out in my mind...well there are two. Some radio station in Louisiana came up with a promotional campaign for a shiny new mega-mall that was to be built entirely underground. The campaign was built up over a week, and the "commercials" ramped up in excitement as "opening day" approached. At the last moment, the station aired an announcement that due to an earthquake, the underground mall had to be relocated somewhere else, which was certainly disappointing to the crowd that showed up for the "opening".
The second creative stunt I heard about happened when the Space Shuttle was still flying. As an April Fools joke, a radio station in San Diego announced that NASA had decided to land the shuttle at a small airport just outside of town that day. As it happened there was not even a shuttle on orbit at the time, but naturally a big crowd of clueless listeners mobbed that airport and tied up traffic. The authorities were not amused.
When WROQ 95-Q (rock) in Charlotte became Gorilla Radio (CHR) in 1990, they played Peter Gabriel's "Shock the Monkey" over and over. While that doesn't sound all that crazy, someone did call the cops, who showed up to investigate. A wacko could have taken over the station.
Same thing in Dallas during the early 1990s when KRSR flipped to KYNG, minus the TV show phrases. Instead it would say things like, "A new powerful stereo radio station is coming to this frequency soon". Of course the enunciation on the phrases left a lot to be desired...
R
- Status