I have a couple of radio commercials I would like to share with you…but first!
As I’m writing this post I am listening to my “Tip Of The Freberg” box set, featuring the brilliant comedy records and radio commercials of Stan Freberg. Freberg was one of the innovators in the use of humor in advertising in the 1950s.
Freberg had a couple of things going for him. For one, from his years making comedy records he had top flight musicians and singers at his disposal. He also had a marvelous lineup of radio actors including Jesse White, June Foray, Daws Butler, Peter Leeds and others to play the various roles in his commercials.
I am fortunate to have access to a great commercial music production library and, as we’ll note shortly, the redoubtable Mighty K-Cow Art Players. With those assets and a script that doesn’t stink, we can make some pretty keen stuff.
First, here’s a commercial for Kloch’s Liquor in Alliance. I’ve been doing “funny commercials” for Steve for years, and it’s always fun to work with his ideas to create something unique. This spot is a “public service announcement”, complete with the kind of melodramatic music one hears in these types of spots.
I was concerned for a moment about the basis of the humor in this spot. I try to be really fine-tuned to anything in a script that could be interpreted in a hurtful or inappropriate way. But I kept thinking about something I saw John Wayne say on an old TV special, and it seemed to apply in this case.
“Countries are like people. Some take themselves so seriously that you won’t get a laugh out of them in a hundred years. Others are more apt than not to stick their tongues in their cheeks and tell funny stories about themselves. America, thank God, is one of those yarn-spinning places.”
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This commercial, for Dave’s Pharmacy, is an example of the kind of spot you have to do every year, but different. So this year we get up close and personal with a lovely married couple.
Our cast features Mike Glesinger as the Interviewer and Tammy Griffee, in an award-caliber performance, as Mrs. Mosquito. Typically I do the “announcer/interviewer” type role in something like this but I had a very specific voice type in mind for Mr. Mosquito so I saved that role for myself.
I should note that when I write a (one hopes) humorous commercial I more often than not produce it with in-house voices, and usually cast myself. This is not because I’m necessarily any good; there are literally dozens of voices in our company better than me. But line readings are EVERYTHING in ads like this. The correct accent on a certain word (or syllable even), the right character attitude…these are hard things to communicate in print. And my Alliance gang, from doing these commercials with me for 20-some-odd-years, almost always knows what I want. And if necessary I can offer a suggested line reading. But I almost never have to do that.
A couple more random thoughts: One, the technology has made “pitching up” voices sooooooooo much easier. Back in the day, if we wanted our mosquitos to have that chirpy, higher-pitched sound yet still be understood, weeeeee woooould haaaaave toooo recoooord allllll theeee woooords reeeeally sloooow, then adjust the pitch. That’s how they did the Chipumunk records! You want some nightmare fuel?
I’m sorry about that.
And a final thought about music. Usually when I do multi-voice spots I don’t add music. Because most of the time, at least in my experience, there isn’t phantom music playing in the background when you’re having a conversation with someone. But something about this one made me think a little snappy, jazzy music would fit in. Our commercial production music library is an embarrassment of riches, with tens of thousands of tracks to choose from. Sometimes you get lucky.