Unit Verse

Radio Frequencies

• by Angela Conlon 1 year ago
• 0 Comments

Every morning on my drive to work, I pass the time with a little help from my radio. Its usually just background noise that helps me make the short transition from home to work, but lately, I’ve noticed an alarming trend in radio commercials, at least in the Dallas area, to use car horns as part of their advertisements. I cry, “Poor design!” and here’s why:

1. The purpose of a car horn is to communicate with fellow drivers on the road, especially in a dangerous situation. The horns in these ads are crying wolf and undermine the importance of and desensitize us to the actual sound.

2. I am sure the creator of the ad intended the car horn to act as a way to catch the listeners attention and make their ad stand out, hopefully in a positive way. At least for me, this has the opposite effect. I get so irritated when I hear a horn misused on the radio that I immediately turn the station without listening to the rest of the ad and if I do happen to catch the name of the advertiser, I have negative feelings toward them for being so irresponsible.

3. C’mon poeple, be creative! How much more predictable can you get than using a horn sound effect for a car dealership commercial. You are not distinguishing your brand from any of the other hundreds of car-related business out there.

So please, Mr. Radio Ad Producer, spend some time to thoughtfully design the ads your clients are paying good money for. The result might just be an ad that actually works.