Shell Like

A pair of Magpies have taken up residence in the tiniest of trees on Whitfield street, and its directly outside our office window. The whole thing was built in about 3 days and is a real wonder to behold. Bill Oddie and the Springwatch team are on the way, but we’re just confused. Is this lucky or not? Do we have to say any rhymes to ward off evil spirits? Answers on a postcard to -

Hello Mr Magpie!, c/o B.Oddie, Superstitious Street, London

A new Sony TV ad is about to break with lots of foam floating around Miami. Which, apart from reminding me of some night club visits that I’d rather forget, is beautifully shot and has a really ‘nice’ feel about it.

Now, you may have thought Cadbury’s ‘Trucks’ was more ‘Grease 2′ than ‘Godfather 2′ in terms of sequels, but how can the current trends in TV be reflected (i.e. effectively ripped-off) on radio? It would be a brave man to try and make a radio commercial entirely of cake, but my recommendations would be: -

• Pacing. All the TV examples that I’ve mentioned are slooow. This may be a clever tactic to combat PVR proliferation, but in radio terms ‘slow-ness’ makes your commercial stand out amongst the wall-to-wall shouty-voice dross, and it means clear communication. If your script contains dialogue, time allowed for pauses and reactions will really help with the believability and comedy (if there is any). Try and push for the longest slot you can get, and if you only have 30” don’t put more than 90 words in it and leave a decent amount of time for sound effects.

• Music. All the TV examples use music to up the cool factor. Pop music can be expensive for radio, so go for composed. There are loads of young composers spewing out of music tech courses who would jump at the chance to write for you. Also studio engineers are often closet composers. They might have a track in their drawers that’s right for you. Ask.

• Brand Vs Offer/Promotional. The cooler TV spots never scream offers, indeed sometimes it’s hard to tell what the product is, but if you think radio is just for price / sales promotion because its quick to turn around, that’s a misconception. It’s an undoubted strength, but Brand ads can work just as well as on radio. A cool piece of content is something people will want to talk about and share, no matter what the format.

Cheers! - Mike

After Belle De Jour & The Secret Blog of a TV Controller comes Man In The Morning - the latest blog (‘factional’, of course) to blow the lid on the goings-on behind the scenes of a particular industry – in this instance, radio.

Now, before I get started, I would like to point out that despite current trends radio is still an extremely effective advertising medium – just click HERE to see why. And, despite the thrill of the new digital wave, it’s still pretty cool (or does pointing out that something’s cool actually prove otherwise?).

The blog, brought to us by DJ Zak De Luxe (an assumed identity), highlights numerous problems with commercial radio such as bland, homogenised content, rigged competitions, falling profits, useless MDs, PDs, presenters and, shock horror, poor commercials (something you’d never get with Shell Like, obviously).

What I have to wonder is why it has taken a blog to tell the public what has really been going on when those at the top should have realised, and taken action, a long time ago. Radio, it seems, has long since ceased to be about the listener and content and more about ‘the brand’ and, ultimately, profits.

When was the last time you read anything about Global or Gcap without a side note summarising their latest falling profits?

Here’s a free tip to the industry: content is key. Good content attracts advertisers. Advertisers mean money (slashing costs in order to make it seem as though you are making more money doesn’t count). The more successful the advertising, the more the advertisers spend.

And, as we recognise here at Shell Like, it is down to producers and advertisers to make the best content / commercials possible, with regards to both creativity and effectiveness. After all, why else would you bother?

-Rich

Shell Like have been mentioned in dispatches once again (well not explicitly, but you get the idea). This time it came in the March 2008 RAB Media Briefing, in which one of our productions Carlsberg “Tactics” gets bigged up in the following fashion;

INSPIRING RADIO ADVERTISING - Carlsberg, Tactics.

Carlsberg have been using the same creative thought now for 35 years. It still seems fresh and the simplicity of the copy and late reveal of the brand works well.” - Gary Goodman, Marketing Director, Pricerunner.

Cheers Gary! We will never use another price comparison website again!

For those of you who are not football fans, the voice on the ad is Barry Fry, probably (on and on it goes) the most famous manager in England for ranting at half time. He was throwing tea cups at players well before Fergie had even got a plug on his hairdryer. And a very pleasant chap he was too. We were thinking of posting some of the out-takes from the session, but our mothers really wouldn’t like it. - Mike

Hello everyone - Rich has been on holiday in Cornwall this week, and I was in France the week before. While I was away, Rich managed to find the time to write a very fine post with some great examples of radio from the fifties. In an attempt to top that I bring you the coolest guitar ever designed. Normal service will be resumed next week - Mike

The opening episode of the much-hyped “Mad Men” (Sunday, 10pm, BBC4) sees high flying exec, Don Draper, struggling with a brief for Lucky Strike cigarettes as new regulations have stopped the tobacco industry promoting its supposed health benefits.

In the real world, such issues ceased to be problematic with the phasing in of a ban on tobacco advertising and sponsorship some years ago.

But the episode got me thinking. How did the industry advertise tobacco products prior to any firm medical evidence suggesting the having a puff could actually do you in?

We’ve all seen the Marlboro Man billboards, but seeing as we’re a radio company, how about we check out some classic American radio from way back when?

First up, Camel and Philip Morris both play on the ‘health benefits’ of switching to that particular brand. Where Camel states that Doctor’s smoke their brand more than any other, Philip Morris actually suggest that the medical profession recommend switching brands (a case of ‘do as I say, not as I do’ on the part of the Doctors, maybe!)

Amazingly, “noted throat specialists reported not one single case of throat irritation due to smoking Camel”. The fact that they needed to stop for breath every two minutes on the way to the Doctor’s is neither here nor there.

Finally, the following two commercials (here and here) are quite possibly part of the most ingenious and unbelievable radio campaign I have heard (apologies if I’m a bit slow on the uptake with this one). While we’re used to TV shows being used to promote particular products (Paddington Bear & Marmite, The Simpsons & Domino’s Pizza), I never thought I’d hear The Flintstones crossed with Winston Cigarettes. Brilliantly of its time, and something you’re never going to come across again.

Try getting those scripts cleared by the RACC.

For more examples of ‘classic’ radio commercials (and by ‘classic’ I generally mean old) click here.

Rich

Upon the recent passing of voice over artist and radio presenter, Mike Hurley, this little gem of a video was brought to our attention. Filmed way back in 1994 when the Shell Like office ‘was all fields’ and You Tube wasn’t even a glint in its founders’ eye, I’m sure that those involved thought it would pass into history after its first broadcast. Oh well.

…is something we pride ourselves on here at Shell Like. I mean there’s just not enough of it going around these days. Look at this, taken this very morning up TCR on my walk in. Its probably the result of the road painter not actually being English (can’t you just hear the Daily Mail readers sharpening their quills?) but its indicative of a malaise in today’s society. Much of what’s produced (not just in our industry I hasten to add) is bodged together in a ‘oh that’ll do…’ type way. Now - I’m not suggesting a magical return to halcyon days when cute bunny rabbits frolicked across Haywain-like fields and all was right in the world. Imagine if you will, everyone making a personal note to take just a little bit more time to check those fine details and add a little finesse to the things they make and do, then we would all benefit as a result. Be the ball! Make it work Charlie! The campaign starts here people! - Mike

Yes indeed people, Shell Like has reached escape velocity and crashed through into the Blogosphere!

We’ll be writing occasional missives here about what we are up to, as well as other bits’n'bobs that inhabit our world and hopefully yours. You may see this as a shameless attempt to jump on the zeitgeist bandwagon in the hope of wringing every last ounce of new business from an unsuspecting public - and you’d be right! But we’re gonna do it anyway. Your guides along the way will be Mike or Rich, depending on who can be bothered to do the deed. So here goes…

Exciting us at the moment - is the Action Aid - Who Pays? - Campaign. This is a neat viral campaign that we played a small part in creating (insert your own joke about small parts). Its a bit of fun to encourage people to sign up, pledge support and put pressure on the Government to regulate UK supermarkets’ actions, thereby helping workers in developing countries. You get to upload a photo of yourself and star in a your very own mini ad campaign. Ideas came from Nonsense, design and build from Fuse, with audio recorded at Triangle Post and PK Studios. Sign up here. And big Bill Bailey fans should really go here.

Here’s my effort. Listen out for some great adlibs from Bill and Katy.