Yesterday I heard an ad for JC Penny on the Dan Patrick Show (mother’s day focused). Today, if I’m not mistaken, I heard a station voiced ad for Rolaids. Endorsement radio spells relief.
Monthly Archive for May, 2008
Take a listen to this ad. Wow.
It’s from Astelin, which is a nasal spray and I’m assuming a pretty good one. But how the company is going to sell any spray through this endorsement is beyond me.
Let’s see how many rules of radio they violated:
Pack way too much information in the ad? Check
Put in terms that nobody uses? check
Use complex medical terms when they don’t need to? check
Make an ad that should take a minute and thirty to read only 60 seconds? check
Mention that you’re advertising somewhere else to seem bigger? check
Have a name that is hard to spell (and don’t spell it for people)? check
Let the lawyers take over the copy (“as little as fifteen to forty-five minutes” Um, I think you can just say “as little as fifteen minutes”)? check
Make the side effects sound worse than the symptoms that the product is trying to relieve? check
Ask the listener if they are part of their target as opposed to assuming they are? check
Use an endorser but not have them say they use the product? check
Have a URL that’s hard to spell? check
don’t have an offer? check
Wow, it’s like the perfect storm of bad ads!
If you can’t hear the ad, here is what my army of beautiful secretaries transcribed:
“…you got allergies? Then this message is for you. Your nasal congestion, sneezing, itchy or running nose and post-nasal drip could be due to a mix of both seasonal allergic rhinitis and something called non-allergic vasomotor rhinitis. Non-allergic vasomotor rhinitis. Now what’s that? It’s when you’re sensitive to stuff like cigar smoke, cold air, cologne, even cleaning products. As many as 50% of all seasonal allergy sufferers may have a mix of both seasonal allergic rhinitis and non-allergic vasomotor rhinitis. You could be one of them. Ask your doctor about Astelin Nasal Spray with Asal Astine Hydrocholoride. Prescription Astelin. It’s approved for the treatment of nasal symptoms from seasonal allergic rhinitis and non-allergic vasomotor rhinitis. With Astelin you can start to feel relief as early as fifteen to forty-five minutes. Astelin is for people 12 and over. Common side effects may include bitter taste, headache, nasal inflammation or burning, and drowsiness. Visit Astelin.com. Call 1-866-Number or find information in InTouch Magazine. Don’t delay. Ask your doctor for allergy relief with Astelin today.
Here’s what I would have written (Astelin can have this one for free):
“It’s springtime and you are miserable: you’ve got nasal congestion, you’re sneezy, you’ve got an itchy throat or constantly running nose. You can’t get rid of it no matter what you do. Let’s face it, this isn’t just seasonal anymore…cold air, cleaning products, pet hair, even cigar smoke can give you the same symptoms all year round. I’ve got to tell you about Astelin, A-S-T-E-L-I-N. Astelin treats both the seasonal and non-seasonal allergic symptoms that drive you nuts. I live by this stuff…Astelin has drastically improved my life, and it starts working in about 15 minutes. It’s been my best kept secret for a while now.
I can breath better, no more itchy throat or constantly wiping my nose. No more frequent sneezing in important meetings. Well, I’ve got to let you in on this secret.
- You’ve
got to try Astelin. That’s Astelin. It’s a prescription so you’ve got to ask your doctor. Ask for Astelin Nasal Spray.
You’ll be glad you did. For more information, including any side affects, go to icanbreathe.com*.
Astelin. A-S-T-E-L-I-N. I just had to tell you about it because it’s made my life so much better. And if you go to icanbreathe.com right now, you can even download a free guide to common things in most peoples’ houses that drive their eyes, nose and throat crazy! So stop being miserable. Start breathing like a normal human being. Get your Astelin today.”
Ok, I’ve got to admit that I wrote that in about four minutes but it’s so much better than what they have. It needs to be cut down a bit and we could probably hit some specific points harder. But it would sell some Astelin for sure. Imagine if we had a half hour to write this.
Achoo.