Watching the commercials during Superbowl LI made me realize that the art of writing copy is waning which must of began when I moved to America. When I worked in Canada every radio station no matter the size of the market had a copy department. In Toronto at CFTR I remember hiring a guy by the name of Bill McDonald (pictured above on the left with his award winning partner Doug Thompson) whose job it was to come in at night and write nothing but “spec spots.” Bill wrote so well that occasionally when I would hit the station at night I’d be surprised to find a few of my jocks patiently sitting there waiting to record one of Bill’s spots so as to have it on their demo tape.
One of Bill’s commercials which he wrote for a local spa was so damn good that the client turned it down because he claimed that his place wasn’t as good as the one Bill wrote about.
OH YEAH, I ALMOST FORGOT THE FOLLOWING…
I think I may have begun to lose my radio chops way back when I started consulting in ’81. Before then I was the National PD of Fairbanks Broadcasting where each and every one of my ideas quickly got on the air. Now I’m lucky if half of them do.
When was the last time your bank did anything good for you?
Most of what I know today I learned in a pool hall on my way home from school.
The law doesn’t change because you disagree with it.
Taking too long to figure out what you should do with your life results in your already having lived it.
Has any musician ever not been ripped off by Mr. Businessman?
I’m for human rights, most of the rest is just noise.
I’m also for equal rights but am totally against anyone having one more right than me.
As I look back on my career I must have missed the part where I was a privileged white guy.
My folks who had a hell of a lot more to protest than we do were unable to do it because they were too busy working.
Why do both the Democrats and the Republicans suck up to the Saudi’s
Having the right to be wrong leads to wondrous accomplishments.
Have you ever noticed that people who suffer from depression seem to always have the best smiles and many are also the life of the party?
Even though I have no extra money in my jeans I keep hearing that the economy is getting better but I think it’s only better for the folks who hang out with Trump and Obama.
He who is afraid to ask must suffer the consequences of not receiving.
No matter what you imagine your image to be, the positions you’ve held, the places where you used to work, none of it will have anything to do with where you’re going. To be successful one must find something they like to do and simply become the best at doing it.
To be secure, unfortunately, you’re going to have to give up some freedom.
The secret to your success on the radio may be in using fewer but memorable words like Eastwood, Stallone and Arnold did in their hit movies.
As important as this moment is sometimes it takes a whole hour to come together in order for you to have a decent show.
Trying to justify a mistake merely turns it into a lie.
Have you ever noticed how loud it sounds when the crickets stop chirping?
All women have much better naughty stories than men but unfortunately, they just don’t tell ’em.
Here’s the secret to all entertainment … Attention getting open, drama in the middle, killer close. Even Sir Paul doesn’t fade “Hey Jude” in concert.
If the above is too much for you, just go with the killer close.
It’s very difficult to cheat an honest man.
Did we see the biggest comeback or the biggest choke of all time during LI?
Seldom if ever do we remember the name of the team who lost the Superbowl but this year may be an exception.
Lest we forget, it was February 8/96 that Bill Clinton signed the telecommunications bill which created consolidation. Thanks, Bill, we all wish you had spent more time with Monica instead.
It all began with the election and continued with the Superbowl. What’s next?
Much more @ GeorgeJohns.com and on twitter @GeoOfTheRadio.
George, on your comment about no American stations had a copy writing department, in 1966, when I came to KFRC, programmed by Tom Rounds, we had both a copy writing dept. as well as continuity dept., besides the traffic dept.
Good to hear Joe but when I came to America in the early 70’s they were all gone and the sales folks wrote them. No award winners ever came out of there.
Now the definition of “copy” is just that…repeat, cut and paste, even the movie industry can’t find any new ideas, just reboots, do-overs, and prequels of sequels.
I write the best copy, now if someone would listen…Get off your phone!!!!
I love great copy Jeff because to me languaging is an art form.
The two words in copy I hate the most… indicating a total lack of creativity and caring about the client : “……And More.”
But ya gotta love … But wait there’s more! 🙂
The Health Spa you mention was a ‘Happy Ending’ establishment,
I produced it, Don Parrish the then President of ACTRA & CHFI/CFTR announcer voiced it & it won a CLIO in 1973.
I very much doubt that the judges in NYC had any idea of the true nature of the business.
I was lucky enough to work & learn from both Bill & Doug
That’s great to know Bruce, thanks for checking in and always remember that “CHUM SUCKS”