Side A opens with BENMARadio's demo tape, featuring several samples of commercials from this month's interviewee, Mark Margulies, and his staff. Mark notes that all of the production, and most of the voice work on the demo is from him and partner Greg Bennett. Cut 2 is a spot from KRBE which won a 1992 Silver Microphone Award in the Night Clubs category; and we follow that with another cut from KRBE which made it to the finals in the Entertainment category. We get some nice sampler work from KZFM in Australia on cuts 8 and 9.
Side B opens with three cuts from WEBN in Cincinnati. See Joel Moss's notes below for the scoop! We fill out the rest of side B with more great promos from subscribers, plus a couple of bits from WCDJ, and three PSAs from our friends at KRBE!
from Joel Moss, Production Director, WEBN-FM, Cincinnati, OH
...an example of a spot that would fall into the category, "...this time you've gone too far." The strange thing is that the commercial is really quite tame...mild, benign! I think the client may be overreacting a bit. The spot is for "Car Scope," a little local publication for those buying or selling new and used cars, boats, jet-skis...you get the idea. Every city has at least one of these free magazines featuring black and white photos. The production order came with a "sort-of" script which was to serve as the basis for a new spot that we would write. I thought it might provide an opportunity to do something a little different. Wrong. Apparently, the client is a little skittish...involved in some kind of litigation over an ad that appeared in a previous issue. The "publisher" felt that the spot we did might somehow exacerbate their current problems. Go figure. I thought the thing we came up with targeted their demo nicely (18-34 male), and also positioned them as being slightly "out there," with a sense of humor -- this wasn't an ad for The New Yorker. What I ended up doing was an exercise, and you know what? That's okay. I think it was Dennis Daniel who once said, "just to feel those creative juices surging through my veins lets me know I'm alive and one of those
chosen, gifted artists...." Yeh. Anyway, the spot never saw the light of day, or a place on the program log.
By the way, for those who still believe that much of what is really significant about being a production person emanates from a typewriter, get in touch with the RAB (Radio Advertising Bureau) and request a copy (on CD!) of the first annual "Mercury Awards." These are the best-of-the-best national/local radio spots created by agencies (both large and not so large). Granted, the forty pieces represent work by big-time talent -- the best voice-over performers, writers, producers, you name it. Very impressive, and it offers an interesting perspective as to what many of us do on a daily basis and a level of creativity to which we all should aspire. I found listening to this material nothing less than inspirational.
Finally, check out the work by my associate (much more than assistant) Eric Chase who joined WEBN this past December. He's a terrific writer/producer, and what's amazing is he never worked in radio, having come from a small room with a tape recorder somewhere in Atlanta. His "garment promo" is on the reel. Also, a piece from the '92 WEBN Fools Parade, with me as Al Vitale interviewing David Shula, head coach of the Cincinnati Bengals and the youngest head coach in the NFL. By the way, the part of David Shula is played by my son Josh, who is eight years old.
Side A
Cut 1 - Demo from Mark Margulies/BENMARadio, Inc., Denver, CO
Cut 2 - "Bayou Mama's" - Larry Whitt (wp)/KRBE-FM, Houston, TX
Cut 3 - "Hyatt Regency" - Donnie Marion(wp)/KRBE-FM, Houston, TX
Cut 4 - "Livermore Muffler Shop" - S.DeAngelo(pwv), M.Davis(w), KKIQ-FM, Pleasanton, CA
Cut 5 - "Johnny's Japanese Jamboree" - J.Wallingford(wpv), KNLT, Walla Walla, WA
Cut 6 - "Dick Lewis Ford" - Chapman/Sanders(wv), T.McNamara(vp)/KUIC, Vacaville, CA
Cut 7 - "Music Loft" - M.Ward(wv), B.Ivey(pv)/WWWB, High Point, NC
Cut 8 - "Pet's Paradise" - G.Sinclair(p), S.Cosgrove(v), C.Long(w)/KZFM, Carlton, Australia
Cut 9 - "Fast Fit Mufflers" - G.Sinclair(p), D.Legge(v), C.Long(w)/KZFM, Carlton, Australia
Cut 10 - "Paralegal Eagles" - Gary Van Allen(wpv)/WMMO, Orlando, FL
Side B
Cut 1 - "Car Scope" - Joel Moss/WEBN, Cincinnati, OH
Cut 2 - "Spring Frog Shirt" - Eric Chase/WEBN, Cincinnati, OH
Cut 3 - "David Shula/Fools Day Interview" - Joel & Josh Moss/WEBN, Cincinnati, OH
Cut 4 - "Batman Returns Weekend" - Bob Lawson/WIOG, Saginaw, MI
Cut 5 - "Bulls Tickets" - David Esch(wpv)/WPNT, Chicago, IL
Cut 6 - "Do U a Favor" - S.Moore(wp)/KSJO, San Jose, CA
Cut 7 - "Blood Count" - D.Youngs(p), S.Phillips(wv), M.Guinta(v)/CHEZ, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Cut 8 - "Deliverance" - M.Erickson(vp), J.Richards(w), M.Craig(v)/WSNX, Muskegon, MI
Cut 9 - "52 Minutes of Music" - Rob Riley(wpv)/WZPK, Berlin, NH
Cut 10 - "Harry & Gladys" - L.Bear(vp), F.Truatt(p), D.Elliot(v), J.Frank(v)/WNNJ, Newton, NJ
Cut 11 - "The First Phone Call" bit - R.Schuller(vp), D.Cross(wv)/WCDJ, Boston, MA
Cut 12 - "Tyson's Down For Dinner" bit - R.Schuller(pv), M.McDonald(w)/WCDJ, Boston, MA
Cut 13 - "Trash" PSA - S.Wyrostrok(w), L.Whitt(p)/KRBE, Houston, TX
Cut 14 - "Vote" PSA - S.Wyrostrok(w), L.Whitt(p)/KRBE, Houston, TX
Cut 15 - "Styrofoam" PSA - S.Wyrostrok(w), L.Whitt(p)/KRBE, Houston, TX
Cut 16 - "5 O'Clock" ID - John Marshall/WOMC, Detroit, MI
