Lazy, Crappy Production

We have met the enemy, and he is a bad production department!

I was just listening to a major station in Phoenix, Arizona. They were airing a 60 second spot for Safeway. Okay, maybe it was a 30 and it just felt like a 60. Not important to the story.

It was a standard voiceover, talking about the holiday sales, hams for Christmas, and so on.

But the background! They simply rolled Bellamy Brothers, "Let Your Love Flow" in the background. Yes, vocals and all.

Why?

It had nothing to do with the copy. I found myself not hearing the spot, because my ears kept trying to lock in on the words playing in the background.

Is it that hard to edit out the vocal parts?

It was unacceptable crap. And I really think I'm hearing more and more examples of low quality, uninspired commercial production,

I won't point the finger at the specific station. It wouldn't be cool. But I'm left thinking, "If this is how we operate today, then we in radio deserve every bad thing that is happening".

And I'm left thinking that we have an opportunity. TV is expensive. Radio production can be compelling. We can give businesses, in a bad economy, a different, less expensive yet still effective way to make people aware of what they can provide.

But we had best raise our standards to new heights, not reduce them to the level of what I just heard air in a major market of over 3 million people.

Let's be amazing!