Really, really, really, PAINFULLY bad commercials

Scott Pollak

Okay, so I'm up at the radio station right now, a really good station, in the top 10-12 stations here in the #8 market in the U.S. and I heard an abyssmally bad spot air earlier that - thankfully - was NOT produced by our talented staff here.

And I know there are a lot of us here on savvy who work at stations, so feel free to share some painfully bad spots that you're forced to run on YOUR station. Here's my contribution...

Robert Jadah · Posted: Mon Apr 07, 2008, 02:33 (GMT) Post subject:

Strangely, Scott, I first listened and was so immediately radio-fied that I didn't object much at all.
I mean, it is so typical of what we hear all day long.

Then I re-listened with sharper Savvy sensibilities, and could only imagine how much, much better Cira and Colin, or Maggie and Thom, would have filled those roles.
I mean, could those two have sounded any more disjointed or disinterested?

They may be going to wherever today (I can't remember the product), but they're heading for divorce court tomorrow.

Voices Off!

Melba Sibrel · Posted: Mon Apr 07, 2008, 02:39 (GMT) Post subject:

Hey! That's me.

No. Not really. But it did make me sort of shiver involuntarily. You think that's what they were going for? The announcer guy was okay. I'll buy ribs from him.

Scott Pollak · Posted: Mon Apr 07, 2008, 02:45 (GMT) Post subject:

The 'announcer guy' is our enormously talented and super-nice afternoon drive jock here at the station who merely overdubbed the tag. I utterly DESPISE "slice-of-life" commercials for this very reason. They're utterly unbelievable and usually horribly 'acted' as in this case. This spot just makes my skin crawl.

Really.

Melba Sibrel · Posted: Mon Apr 07, 2008, 02:55 (GMT) Post subject:

Well tell him to get my ribs ready. I'll be down there in five hours. Laughing

(oops almost forgot the smiley...how will I convey I'm kidding!?!)

Dave DeAndrea · Posted: Mon Apr 07, 2008, 03:18 (GMT) Post subject:

Scott,

I hear that kind of stuff pretty frequently. It usually starts with poor copy that makes the VT's try and sound natural while saying things in ways that NOBODY does naturally.

Sad thing here is, the copy isn't too unbelievable. I could actually see a couple having something pretty close to a conversation like this one. The actors probably could've pulled this one off... but fell pretty short. Bummer.

Lee Gordon · Posted: Mon Apr 07, 2008, 05:21 (GMT) Post subject:

Thomas C. Gass · Posted: Mon Apr 07, 2008, 06:55 (GMT) Post subject:

May I ask a stupid "non native English speaking" question from over the atlantic... I am familiar with the abbreviation "BBQ" and in print it can definitely make sense using these three letters instead of "BARBECUE" - but: both versions BBQ and BARBECUE consist of three sillables, why do they pronounce it then as "Bee-Bee-Cue"?

Thomas

Lee Gordon · Posted: Mon Apr 07, 2008, 07:38 (GMT) Post subject:

Bill Campbell · Posted: Mon Apr 07, 2008, 11:16 (GMT) Post subject:

I love Sonny's...from my Charlotte, NC days.

The "actors" in the spot don't even sound like DJ quality.
Perhaps they were two people from the sales department.

Deby Cedars · Posted: Mon Apr 07, 2008, 22:55 (GMT) Post subject:

Actually the wife sounded like a mediocre actress who did some high school drama thing and told some one at the station.....someone she's related to. I can just imagine the conversation......Uncle Ted, I was in the chorus of the Pirates of Penzance....you should let me do one of your radio commercials.

Allison Scussel · Posted: Tue Apr 08, 2008, 01:25 (GMT) Post subject:

I payed more attention to the copy rather than the acting at first. People don't talk like that. The VO's needed to ad-lib but they didn't. Maybe because they couldn't.

Then I listened a 2nd time to the acting and understand why Scott posted this in the first place. The whole spot sounds so "Leave It To Beaver". Oye-Vey!

~Allison~

J.S. Gilbert

Wow, you guys listened twice. I'm afraid that at about 18 seconds in I started to get so sick to my stomach that I had to turn it off.

Luckily I have placed that spot in a bright orange biohazards waste bag and will make sure it is buried where it will never, ever hurt another living sould again.

Lee Gordon

Lance Blair · Posted: Wed Apr 09, 2008, 05:01 (GMT) Post subject:

Ah, deafness...where is thy sting???

There are too many radio spots in which the wife is shrill and overbearing and the husband is insensitive and selfish.

Sad stuff.