DAN O’DAY TALKS ABOUT RADIO

Straight talk about radio programming, radio advertising, radio production...Well, you get the idea.

Monday, June 8, 2009

MONDAY RADIO COMMERCIAL SMACKDOWN: Is It Any Wonder Radio Advertising Is Held In Such Low Esteem?


Welcome to the third in a series of critiques of award-winning radio commercials — those honored as "the best of the best" by the 2007 Radio Mercury Awards.

This spot was awarded $5,000 as a "General Category Winner."

My Critique:


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10 Comments:

Anonymous Efrain Gonzalez said...

Geeeze... what the hell was that? have to agree on your critique here Dan! LOL

June 8, 2009 at 1:14 AM  
Anonymous Sarah Jane Savoie said...

I believe they also ran this spot on television and the first time I watched it, I thought "Someone payed good money for that. What a shame."

June 8, 2009 at 1:14 AM  
Anonymous Klaus Graf said...

I think the idea is brilliant, but the execution is more than bad. 1.) A 60Second-Spot is way too long. Talking about fast *pfffrr*. Make it 20 secs + a 10 sec. reminder. 2.) The Voice is dying while talking. 3) The synthesizer underneath already is dead. 4) The female voice actually sounds bored and fits more the bulimic calvin-klein-perfume-spots.
Award-winning? My *bleep*

June 8, 2009 at 1:39 AM  
Blogger Unknown said...

Comcast has had a long and glorious history of running excessively stupid commercials.

I believe these commercials are highly effective for the idiots who think Comcast's service is worth the money they charge. When I had Comcast and when it wasn't down (which was just about every other day) it was the slowest internet service I've had since a 56k modem.

June 8, 2009 at 6:51 AM  
Anonymous Mike Allen said...

What a Program Director I worked with used to call a long run for a short slide...The setup is interminable

June 8, 2009 at 10:05 AM  
Anonymous Lee Ann Taylor said...

Pretty bad. They should stick with the humorous ones. The one with the guy going from announcer voice to high & squeaky "Dad" voice was memorable. I call my Father "Dadster" now. lolol

June 8, 2009 at 10:05 AM  
Anonymous Arlene Tannis said...

THAT won an award? P-U !

June 8, 2009 at 10:06 AM  
Anonymous Chris Clare said...

Wa? (Full words are saved for things that don't destroy intelligence)

June 8, 2009 at 10:06 AM  
Blogger Blaine Parker said...

I feel for ad agencies (I'm married to a long-time agency copywriter), and I love the Mercury Awards (got two), so everything I'm about to say I mean in the nicest possible way.

I admit it: halfway through, I was thinking, "Hey, I like this. Where's it going?"

Then, it got where it was going.

Wow.

It was going nowhere faster than a Comcast hi-speed internet connection.

It's also something of a, uh, "homage" to the brilliantly absurd existential monologues of Joe Frank--which might be why it got my attention in the first place.

Swing and a miss.

And if it won a Mercury Award, it means we have to recognize a couple of things. One, the Radio Mercury Awards recognize artistry over salesmanship. And two, Mercury judges have to wade through a lot of stuff much worse than this to get to the winners. (Been there. Done that. Love doing it. But it's work.) For awards that measure salesmanship, look to the Effies. There's an award competition to be reckoned with.

June 10, 2009 at 9:21 AM  
Blogger Rod said...

I remember this one, too. Got hooked at the beginning, started to fade when the copy turned silly (reminded me of the gradual deterioration of James Bond movies from early Connery to late Roger Moore, but that's another story), didn't care by the time it reached the end.

Could've been a damn good :15-second spot.

I think Blaine's insights are spot-on. (And I'll have to Google "Effies" - not familiar with them.)

June 15, 2009 at 5:27 PM  

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