And Now A Word From Our Sponsor….

THE FOLLOWING IS AN UPDATED ENCORE TIM MOORE BLOG


Being in the radio biz, commercials are a big part of my life. The afternoon extravaganza that IS the Tim Moore show (ahem) breaks twice an hour to play the commercial messages of 94.9 WHOM’s sponsors.

While commercials sometimes get a bad rap (sometimes deserved), it is a part of American culture that broadcasting has been funded by business. In many ways, it is democracy (and capitalism) at its best!

At the dawn of broadcasting, when the AM radio spectrum—then the only thing that existed—was a virtual “wild west”, commercial interests began to see the value in communicating with a vast audience. It was at this juncture that something interesting happened. Companies like Westinghouse, General Electric and others flocked to the new medium of radio.

Instead of the government “taking over” the airwaves (a la Britain’s BBC), the newly minted FCC decided that a better model could exist. Namely, private companies would put up the capital for the studios, transmitters and equipment and pay for the costs of producing the entertainment. A variety of voices would be a better than a central, government-controlled model. All these companies needed to demonstrate were service to their communities and responsiveness to their audiences.

Commercials are the price of admission. Unlike satellite radio or cable TV, commercial radio is totally free to the user. Our advertisers pay the freight. Part of our job as broadcasters is to not only provide entertainment that attracts an audience, but also create marketing campaigns for our advertisers that make their cash registers ring!

There was a time when the “commercial” was virtually inseparable from the “entertainment”—watch the following video clip of an early (1948) TV show where the Swift Meat commercial was part of the show:





http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_MYy_XqyKM

While claims by these old-time advertisers didn’t always square with the truth, the sponsor was often integrated into the actual name of the program (“Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom”). Then, the business gravitated away from hosts like Johnny Carson doing live ads within his show—there were merely “spots” within a show.

Now, the pendulum is starting to swing back-radio hosts are endorsing more and more products-and TV hosts are starting to do the same. If both laughs and “warm and fuzzy feelings” for the product can be achieved simultaneously, then everybody wins.

So—you may hear me endorsing a product or two in the future. I’ve done a few so far. When that is the case, it will be because I TRULY use and recommend the product or service. No DJ in this building is compelled to endorse an advertiser if they are uncomfortable with them.

While advertising has permeated every aspect of American life, we are getting better at “filtering” out those messages which do not interest us. Marketers are also getting better at creating award-winning spots that are :30 or :60 slices of entertainment. Often, it is the TV commercials that garner more chatter and excitement than the game itself during the Super Bowl!

I’d love to hear your thoughts on ads in our media—if you’d like my blog in your weekday inbox (commercial free!) just let me know: tim.moore@cumulus.com

And now, back to our program!