Fifty-one years ago, Stan Freberg successfully sold radio’s cinematics to the ad community with an effectual audio promo.
By utilizing ingenious writing and sound effects, he drained Lake Michigan’s water and replaced it with hot chocolate and a mountain of whipped cream. Then six helicopters in formation dropped a giant maraschino cherry on that summit of whipped cream.
The closing line? Let's see them do that on television!
That spot was produced with a reel-to-reel, tape, a razor blade, and round pots. No multi-track, no digital read-out, no Pro Tools.
Why doesn’t radio do that today? Could it be because there’s no “creative” line-item? Who has the time to measure creativity’s role in generating revenue?
And that’s why creativity – radio’s most essential component - has gone from an asset to a liability in just one decade.
The only way radio can be saved is to entertain its listeners and sell its clients’ products to them. To do that it must restore the art of playing to one’s imagination. and, dare I say it, throw in some localism.
1 comment:
I agree...creativity is GONE in radio and therefor, we have "cookie-cutter radio" a term coined from the recent past due to mega-consolidation. I still search the AM broadcast band for "mom & pop" stations, hoping to hear some decent, lively, INTERESTING programming...and there's very little of that any more. There are two religious stations here in Mobile that have refused to sell out, WLVV and WMOB. Both broadcast national and local programming and are still programmed locally, with local Mobile flavor.
As for searching the FM band, it's almost all music...and, when traveling, I have only heard ONE FM talk radio station, other than a sports talk show here in Mobile on 105.5, WNSP. Not being a big sports follower, I don't tune there, but it's a lot of talk about national sports news, so...no Mobile flavor. Other than that, with only local ad spots on radio stations, there's NOTHING interesting to tune to. I mean, how many ways can you hear a screaming car sales ad, etc.?
I'll just keep twiddling the dial...maybe some mom & pop out there will buy back the local radio station somewhere where it's not making enough cashola for the big boys and return to down-home local broadcasting. THAT will be more interesting to me, to hear what's going on several states away in a little community, rather than hear the same programming over and over again, coast-to-coast! Bud, Mobile, AL
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