While I haven’t stayed away from criticizing local radio advertising, here’s something from outside of the Idaho Ad Agencies Blog:
Dum adds: Weight Watchers, Body Wraps & Saturn — Don over at Idaho Radio has a few critiques about a few of the more recent spots that have been on the air as of late.
My two cents worth — it is this kind of continually bad advertising on the radio that has led to the fact that, on average, only 1% of the listeners are paying attention to a given commercial.
In regards to Don’s comments about the Zamzows spots — those spots work, even with Jim Zamzow doing the voice work, because they aren’t trying to explicitly use the spot to sell something. They’re offering advice on lawn care, pet care, etc. and what you may hear on the radio is the same information that Rick will tell me the next time I go into the Zamzow’s on State Street. Is it all part of some grand marketing plan? A little, perhaps. But more than that, it is Jim, and the rest of the Zamzow’s staff, offering up some good advice, telling the Zamzow’s story, and offering a subtle reminder that they’re the place that where you can get everything that you need. Call it neighborly advice that doesn’t have to try to sound like “neighborly advice.”
Technorati tags: radio advertising, idaho radio news, zamzows
Excellent point, those Zamzow ads do sound less “advertisey” than most, and are thus much more likely to stick in my mind with a warm feeling. I prefer the genuinely unprofessional sound of Zamzow than the over-acted crap that other ads feature. Maybe the advertisers are forgetting that this State, and even this town (Boise) is still somewhat old-fashioned.