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On my way back from work these last few days I’ve repeatedly heard a radio commercial for comedian Roseanne Barr’s Las Vegas show that really ticks me off. Nothing against Roseanne, though. It’s more against the commercial itself.
The commercial is staged as an interview, where Roseanne answers several questions about her show. But the interview is not real. The original recording has silent pauses engineered into it, so that local DJ’s can fill in with their voice and “ask” the questions.
Clever, but fake. At the end, we hear the disclaimer: “the preceding segment has been a paid advertisement”.
The worse part is that the “interviewers” are well known local radio DJ’s who we’ve learned to like and trust. They are, nevertheless, lending themselves to a charade designed to fool their most loyal listeners as if to say: Ha! made you listen…..
Maybe I’m overreacting to a simple commercial. But again, maybe not. Maybe us, the consumers, are really getting tired of artificial, top down messages and the usual tricks and gimmicks of traditional advertising.
Maybe we are increasingly putting a heavy premium on authenticity and transparency. That would explain why people revolt when large corporations sponsor fake blogs or when they take over niche cult brands .
As we build our small business and personal brands, it would be wise to remember not to make the same mistakes that traditional media and large corporations sometimes make, and to communicate with our audience with authenticity and respect.
Just remember this rule of thumb: if you need a disclaimer, you’re probably not being authentic.
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4 responses so far ↓
1 Khyle // May 29, 2008 at 9:07 am
I just wanted to chime in and say I HATE HATE that ad. There have been a lot of others for the same type of thing.
The ads make me think two things. One, the real sponsor must be not confident of their product. I’m assuming I have to sit down for a time share presentation for 6 hours. Two, how far has Roseanne fallen?
2 Christine Kane // May 29, 2008 at 9:42 am
Here’s what I love about what’s happening now… Everyone is getting so much more tapped into authenticity. And how cool that you nailed this ad a mile away? It reminds me of Seth’s Meatball Sundae — people trying to use the whole idea of authenticity and new media - but in their old “ad agency” mindset.
3 Mario Sanchez // May 29, 2008 at 11:14 am
@Khyle: Glad to know I’m not the only one hating that ad!
@Christine Kane: Hey, I love your blog! What a great example of how an artist can use new media to share her talent with the world, build community and communicate authentically. Well done!
4 Miguel Cruz // Jul 17, 2008 at 12:16 pm
To be fair to the trustworthy DJs, there are things business-wise that they have no control over. Most DJs do commercial reads. It’s part of the job. The business buying the ad pays to have the on-air talent do the commercial. A DJ can refuse to do one out of principle, but they may as well start looking for other employment in some other industry.
Yes, these commercials are lame. There have been others with Tanya Roberts and Michael Madsen. I don’t find them nearly as annoying as the 30 minute snake oil infomercials our local guy-talk station airs on Saturday mornings. Those come complete with “listeners” calling in with questions for the shyster peddler.
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