On August 28 1922, radio station WEAF in New York ran the first-ever radio commercial for Harthorne Court Apartments in Jackson Heights.
SPOT: THE FIRST RADIO COMMERCIAL. HARTHORNE APTS
SFX: FAINT HEART BEAT • POND GURGLING
35 years after the Harthorne Court radio commercial aired, I was the unborn sole tenant of the womb of an unidentified woman. I spent my days floating pleasurably in silence, and sometimes swimming.
On the 3rd day of the 7th month, I began hearing strange noises.
I didn’t know what the noises were, but I would soon enough.
SPOT. SWAN BATH SOAP (Sound of spot muffled at beginning. Coming to full dynamic range quickly so we can hear everything clearly)
Once I was born, my family moved to a bungalow in Buffalo. There was a beautiful radio in the kitchen. It was always on. And that’s when I began listening. My favorite station was WKBW. It was a Top-40 station, so there were 3 or 4 commercials between every song.
Listening as intently as I did, I soon discovered all radio commercials were not the same. They were like pasta and came in different shapes and forms.
There were monologue commercials, dialogue commercials, DJ read the commercials, interview commercials and my favorite, musical commercials, called jingles.
But even to my tiny, tender ears, I noticed all the commercials had one thing in common. A certain lack of authenticity. The radio voices spoke with a cheery make-believe tone, one that said “everything is wonderful, it’s going to be great.” This was, however, a tone I never heard real people speak in. Except for one of the neighboring wives, Misses Cunningham. She was quite the optimist.
But then one day, when I least expected, I heard a radio commercial, that featured a little girl.
SPOT. BOSCO CHOCOLATE SYRUP
I can’t tell you what a powerful effect this girl’s voice had on me, because she sounded as real as the girl who lived in the bungalow next door to us.
A few days later, sitting in the backseat of the family car, we drove past WKBW in downtown Buffalo. I peered out the window at the station and wondered if the Bosco Syrup girl lived there. I mean how else, could the girl in the commercial be on the radio like that, all the time?
I did not know about the wonders of the tape recorder back then.
MUSIC CUE
While I pondered the whereabouts of the Bosco Syrup girl, 375 miles away in New York, was the man who made the Bosco Syrup radio commercial.
His name was Tony Schwartz. He was a radio producer and noted audio archivist.
Tony Schwartz specialized in recording commercials with real people, instead of recording actors trying to portray real people. Which meant, the Bosco Syrup girl was a real child and not a 35- year-old actor portraying a child. As part of his production philosophy, Tony Schwartz avoided the use of music, unnecessary sound-effects, and when he did work with actors, Schwartz directed them not to sound like actors. In this way, Tony Schwartz was radio’s first modernist.
SPOT. CLOSE THE DOOR FIRE PSA
SFX TRAIN
When I was 7, every summer I was ritually shipped to California to spend time with my cousins in San Francisco.
Like most children, I was fond of Saturday morning cartoons.
Now, the more cartoons I watched, the more familiar I became with the characters. And the more familiar I became with the characters, like Bugs, Porky, Bullwinkle, the more I took notice of their specific voices.
But there was one voice I liked most. Perhaps because he sounded so un-cartoon-like.
SOUND BITE: STAN FREBERG AS SAINT GEORGE THE KNIGHT
“This is the countryside. My name is St. George. I’m a knight. Saturday July 10th 8.05 PM. I was working out of the castle as the night watchmen when a call came in from the chief. A dragon had been devouring maidens. Homicide. My job? Slay’em.”
This was the voice of Stan Freberg. Freberg appeared in dozens of cartoons.
Of course, I didn’t know who Stan Freberg was, or how big a role he would play in the evolution of sound for radio commercials. But, whenever I heard his voice, it got my attention.
SFX Interior car motion.
One night, driving over the Golden Gate Bridge with my uncle to pick up some Chinese Food, Stan Freberg’s voice popped out of the car radio speaker. Stunned, I told my uncle to turn it up.
SPOT. WHO LISTENS TO RADIO? Freberg
“Who Listens to Radio?” was part of an advocacy campaign sponsored by the Radio Advertising Bureau of America to encourage clients to buy more radio time. Apparently, radio was going through a sales drought.
Nevertheless, Stan Freberg was the main voice of this epic radio commercial. And that’s what caught my attention.
Hearing Stan Freberg command a 700-foot mountain of whipped-cream being rolled into Lake Michigan, while the Royal Canadian Air Force towed a giant Maraschino through the sky, flipped a switch in my imagination as nothing had before.
This was bigger than the Bosco Chocolate Syrup girl. Although in hindsight, she was still pretty good.
SFX: TRAIN
At summer’s end, I returned home to Buffalo, only to discover that a new and unique character had appeared on the radio in my absence.
SFX: Feet going down stairs. Cave. Water dripping. Footsteps in echo.
You can meet him if you go down this secret staircase with me. Be careful, it’s dark.
We are now in a tunnel beneath The Green Mill Cocktail Lounge in Chicago. Built in 1908, The Green Mill, is a popular jazz club. The tunnel we’re standing in, was built at the request of mobster Al Capone, in the event he needed to make a quick getaway.
Of the hundreds of characters who passed through the Green Mill, one was a lanky Midwestern poet named Ken Nordine.
In the 50’s, with a few of the musicians he knew from the Green Mill, Nordine made a series of spoken word albums.
With titles like “Passion in the Dessert,” and “Sounds in Space,” Nordine called the hybrid of music and poetry, “Word Jazz.”
MUSIC CUE: KEN NORDINE performing “ORANGE.”
Word Jazz was weird and funny and some records sold better than others.
To supplement his income, Nordine began making radio commercials on the side.
SPOT. KEN NORDINE SHIRRIF FLAVOR BUD LEMON DESSERT.
Music Cue: Classical
When I was 10, I became addicted to jingles. If their only function was to sing the praises of a cat food, a canned spaghetti or an ugly car, I could have cared less. No matter how stupid it was, I loved jingles.
SPOT. PONTIAC G.T.O. JINGLE
Then, in 1967 came The Summer of Love and my relationship to jingles was seriously jeopardized.
Thanks in part to The Beatles and their record Sgt. Pepper, popular music suffered a massive disruption. With its sitars, barnyard sounds, peculiar harmonies and allusions to Alice in Wonderland, Alistair Crowley and Stockhausen, Sgt. Pepper landed with a bang.
And so big was the bang, Sgt. Pepper sent jingle producers on a mad scramble to copy the new sound any which way they could. The Beatles, of course, had always been badgered to endorse products, but, being The Beatles…it was not to be.
Meanwhile, back in California, Jefferson Airplane, still giddy from the success of their record “White Rabbit,” accepted an invitation to make a jingle. The invitation came by way of Levi Strauss, the clothing company, who were anxious to draw attention to their line of white jeans.
SPOT. LEVI WHITE JEANS – Jefferson Airplane.
Jefferson Airplane weren’t the only rock band to make a jingle. The Who, The Rolling Stones, Paul Revere and the Raiders, The Moody Blues, The Turtles and many others, joined the psychedelic jingle frenzy. Most of the rock artist jingles of the time, conformed to standard jingle formula. After all, if you wanted the money and exposure a jingle could bring, there was no point in writing a jingle that no one would buy.
That spot would be left to fill, by Frank Zappa.
SFX Electric Razor
In 1960, 20-year-old Frank Zappa got a job at an international advertising agency where he eagerly learned the tricks of the trade.
In 1968, years after his departure from the business, an ad agency called on Zappa to prepare a demo for Remington Electric Razors.
And why not? Zappa was young, fun and had his own unique brand of rock’ n roll.
“Hell yes, the kids are gonna love it.” I can hear the ad man saying.
Teaming up with then unknown singer Linda Ronstadt, Frank Zappa produced one of the most magnificently odd jingles in the history of radio.
SPOT. REMINGTON ELECTRIC PSYCHEDELIC – FRANK ZAPPA
Remington rejected Frank Zappa’s jingle. I don’t know why because it’s as original as original gets. Linda Ronstadt and Frank Zappa did, however, go on to achieve success in other areas of the music industry.
That winter, on December 31st, at 11:59 pm, the Times Square New Years’ Eve Ball dropped and 60 seconds later it was 1970.
SFX: Fireworks. Car Horns.
MUSIC CUE: Auld Lang Syne
THEMES: THE 1970’s WATERGATE VIETNAM AND FEEL ‘GOOD RADIO’ ADS
SFX: Soda bottles being opened montage.
Informed by mountains of market research, Coke-a-Cola was well aware of the subtle cultural shift sweeping the country.
Perhaps influenced by a lifestyle manual called “The Whole Earth Catalogue,” young Americans yearned for simpler times and as such began making their own yogurt and granola. Strange as it may seem now, Coke-a-Cola saw a place for themselves in this organic new zeitgeist.
After a year of creative exploration, Coke unveiled a new jingle, called “I’d like to buy the world a Coke.”
The simple words and melody suggested sipping a Coke is a prerequisite to Utopia.
SPOT. COKE – HILLTOP
SFX: Sipping the last remaining drops of soda out of a can through a straw.
On February 12th 1971, the new Coke jingle debuted on every major radio station in the United States and Canada. Within days, it would be heard around the world, sales would sky-rocket and the jingle would quickly be turned into a hit song by The New Seekers. Of course, the Coke references were removed from long format version.
SFX Helicopter
NEWS CLIP John Mitchell. “No one had responsibility for it.”
Watergate. Vietnam. Watergate. Vietnam. (Whispered, like Ken Nordine)
When I was 14, I heard 2 things on the radio every day. Watergate and Vietnam.
Like many listeners, the more I heard, the gloomier I became.
There was nothing the new Coke jingle could do to stop it.
Ad agencies noticed this of course. And hit back with commercials designed to pull at your heartstrings.
The “feel good” radio commercials said little about product benefits, or price but instead focused on heart-warming stories, giving listeners a 30 or 60 second respite from the bad news emanating from Washington.
The “feel good” radio commercial is potent stuff. When well executed, it lulls listeners into complacency and warms them up to buy the sponsors product or service. And if nothing else, it’s a pleasant distraction.
SPOT. AT+T: Rock-a-bye Baby
Of course, feeling good is subjective: so, it’s no surprise that for every “feel good” radio commercial that worked, there were those that did not.
SPOT. WHIRLPOOL. Vision statement.
SFX: Eagle cry
THEME: ARMY RECRUITMENT
MUSIC: Trumpet. Military snare. Marching soldiers.
On 27 January 1973, the United States government announced the end of the draft.
From that day forward, all military vacancies would be filled by volunteers.
To entice new recruits, a new, groovier image of the military was cast.
SPOT. Army Recruitment B Ken Nordine
When Ken Nordine’s recruitment ad went too far, a more mainstream approach was tried.
SPOT. Army Recruitment a Thoughtful approach
Despite the recruitment campaign, and the millions of dollars spent, volunteers were hard to find. Had the Vietnam war continued, there would not have been enough soldiers to fight. A moot point in retrospect, because on 30 April 1975, the war in Vietnam came to end.
THEMES: ANTI-DRUG PSA’S
MUSIC Bongo music
SOUND BITE: “You might say I smoke my pot religiously.”
Although the psychedelic era was short-lived, recreational drug use continued to escalate.
This prompted President Nixon to declare a new war, called, “The War on Drugs.”
The weapon of choice? The public service commercial. The theater of engagement? All media: with a special emphasis on late-night radio.
As far as commercials go, the “War on Drugs” was like nothing before in the history of advertising.
Never have such energy, talent and resources been devoted to getting people not to buy something.
SPOT MONTAGE. Anti-drug PSA’s. Jonny Winter. Paul Williams. Peter Yarrow. Jon Anderson.
Of all the anti-drug radio commercials produced, one of the weirdest featured Classical Indian musician and peace advocate, Ravi Shankar. Sandwiched as filler between songs like “Stairway to Heaven” and “The 6 Wives of Henry the 8th,” Ravi Shankar’s anti-drug commercial was out strangely out of place.
SPOT. Anti-Drug PSA Ravi Shankar
When the War on Drugs committee, recruited Beatle Ringo Starr for the campaign, the Whitehouse must have been delighted…if a little suspicious. Obviously, they hadn’t heard Yellow Submarine in the Oval Office.
Ringo Starr Anti-Drugs Radio Spot
Today, there are a greater variety of recreational drugs than ever so the “War of Drugs” campaign continues unabated.
Ringo Starr has been sober for over 25 years.
THEME: FIRST JOB + IMPROV RADIO
After my freshman year, on Thursday 10 June 1976, I started, what I thought was a temporary job at a recording studio in Toronto.
I was the lowest man on the ladder.
My duties included vacuuming, running errands, cleaning ashtrays, and pouring wine, made in Niagara Falls, for the clients who came and went throughout the day.
For me, the studio was an amazing opportunity, because it specialized in making two of my favorite things: radio commercials and jingles.
SFX: Analogue phone ringing in the distance. Typewriter sounds in the distance.
The studio was cozy and outfitted in chocolate brown shag rug. The walls were appointed with vintage barn board. The halls were adorned by certificates but I wasn’t sure of their purpose.
So I asked the receptionist.
“Are those certificates on the wall awards for the radio commercials we make?”
“Yes” she replied.
“They give out awards for radio commercials huh?” I asked.
She glared at me in silence, and answered the phone.
SFX: Phone picked up. Typing stops.
After lunch, I went to look at the awards again and wondered if I would ever win one.
Just then the studio door blew open.
SPOT. Harland Auto – Alan Bleviss John Candy.
I’d heard the voices before on the radio before, but didn’t know their names. I would find out that day they were John Candy and Allan Bleviss.
In those days Allan and John were just a couple of starry-eyed kids from Canada.
Candy was a member of 2nd City. And Allan Bleviss was a local actor, who later, would move to NYC and become the voice of Chevrolet and American Express.
After the session ended, the producer invited me into the control room.
The air was rich with the unmistakeable aroma of Ampex 456 recording tape and cigarette smoke.
Curious fellow that I was, I picked up the script and read it.
Seeing no lines for Candy, I asked producer, Doug Thompson, “How did Candy know what to say? There’s nothing written here.”
Scribbling on a tape box, Doug said, “John made it up. He improvised. You know, like, Bob and Ray, Stiller and Meara… Nichols and May.”
“Nichols and who?” I asked.
SPOT. JAX Beer – Mike Nichols + Elaine May
During their heyday in the early 60’s, Mike Nichols and Elaine May were two of the most successful improvisational performers in show business. After they parted ways, and not because of it, the popularity of the improvisational radio commercial would be overshadowed by new the new sounds of Tony Schwartz, Stan Freberg and Ken Nordine.
Like fashion, radio is cyclical.
In the mid-1970’s, Toronto’s 2nd City caught the attention of radio producer, Marc Giacomelli. To avoid writing more commercials, Giacomelli invited Andrea Martin, John Candy, Martin Short, Dave Thomas, and company to the recording studio. There, Giacomelli would brief the actors about the product, give them a scenario to improvise around and let the tape fly.
Here’s an outtake from an un-scripted session with Catherine O’Hara, Dave Thomas and John Candy. It’s called “How to get people involved with politics.”
SPOT. 2nd City – How to get people involved in politics.
THEME: MAL SHARPE • LAST MAN ON THE STREET
SFX: City ambience
Not long after starting my new job, I learned there no reason everything had be recorded in the studio with actors. In fact, sometimes, we would do the opposite.
Instead working with actors, we’d work with ordinary people. And instead of using a script, we’d have a conversation with strangers.
This recording style is called, “man on the street.”
“Man on the Street,” sounds fun but it’s difficult. Distractions abound. A car accident here. A fire truck there. The Hare Krishna banging drums and chanting.
In the 70’s one name dominated the “man on the street” sound.
Mal Sharpe.
Sharpe started doing street interviews for a show on San Francisco radio station KGO.
CLIP: SHORT CLIP FROM MAN ON THE STREET NON-COMMERCIAL.
As his popularity spread, Sharpe was approached to make the street scenes and pranking with strangers, into radio commercials.
“Man on the Street,” commercials can take days to record and even longer to edit. The result should sound effortless. They are easier said than done.
Here are Mal Sharpe, and sidekick Ernie Anderson, for Bell Brand Potato Chips.
SPOT. MAL SHARPE Bell Brand Potato Chips
THEME: THE GOLDEN AGE OF JINGLES.
SPOT. WHEATIES. “Have you tried Wheaties.”
What began as an audio experiment for a waning breakfast cereal in 1926, would, over the next 5 decades become a distinct musical form.
The jingle.
Although jingles have been around since radio’s beginning, in the 1970’s, we hit “peak jingle.” At that time, every other radio spot was a jingle.
But what exactly is a jingle? And how do you know you are hearing one?
Well, jingle’s have a catchy melody.
Jingle’s extoll the virtues of a product, such as, it’s cheap, faster, sexy, fun, stays fresh, lasts longer, or when you’re desperate for something to say, are easy to open.
Traditional jingles come with a chorus of singers who repeat a catch phrase near the end.
SPOT: BURGER KING. Tag line only. “Aren’t you hungry for Burger King now?”
Of most importance, a jingle binds an emotion to a product or service.
SPOT: AMERICAN AIRLINES. (tag only) “We’re American Airlines, doing what we do best.”
By design, jingles bypass the analytical side of your brain and burrow into the pleasure center of your brain: and once there, they to create an itch, you can’t stop scratching.
CLIP: McDonalds. “Two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions, on a sesame-seed bun (the phrase once)
Between 1970 and 1980, thousands of jingles were made.
And there were good reasons for this.
Jingles are entertaining, emotional and they test well in research groups.
Jingles are to advertising what the Holy Grail was to the Last Supper.
SFX: Outdoor ambience. Highway. Car passing.
For example, the first time I heard the Dr. Pepper’s jingle “Be A Pepper” on the radio in 1977, I had to pull over to the side of the road.
Written by Randy Newman and Jake Holmes, “Be A Pepper” begins with,
“I drink Dr. Pepper cause I’m proud, I use to be alone in crowd.”
It sounded as if, Dr. Pepper bottled a cure for alienation.
Because of the abundance of recording studios and talent, in the 70’s, New York City was the center of the jingle business.
But it’s easy to forget but 40 years ago, New York was run down, burnt out, crime-ridden, rat-infested, dangerous, the sidewalks were covered in dog shit.
If anything was in need of a makeover, it was New York.
Wells Rich and Green, then a major Madison Avenue advertising agency, was tasked with the re-branding.
There were two key components.
One, a logo, “I HEART New York,” and a little jingle called “I Love New York.”
Co-written by Grace Jones and composer Steve Karmen, “I Love New York” is everything a jingle should be.
It’s catchy, memorable, and easy to sing. And it has a weird intangible quality that makes a jingle stick in your mind.
SPOT: I Love New York.
Very soon after “I Love New York” hit the air on Valentine’s Day 1978, there were some 93,800 requests for the New York tourism brochure, hotel occupancy went up by 90 percent, Broadway shows were selling out again.
But “I Love New York” did more than spur interest in New York as a travel destination: it awakened something dormant in New Yorkers: something astonishing and fine.
Where once New Yorkers didn’t pick up after their dogs, now they did. And the sidewalks of New York, were clean once more.
