U. S. Radio (Jan-Dec 1960)

HOMETOWN U.S. A. commercial clinic 'Tiger In Your Tank' Theme Has Hard Sell Built Right In Who put a tiger in the gas tank? Oklahoma Oil, A\hen they lound out what a tiger could do for gas sales. Now they've set it to music and put it on the air in 15 cities in the Midwest. The result — a "Tiger in your Tank" theme with a hard sell beat. "What more can you want in a radio commercial?" says Don Zabel, co-producer with Lee Marsh at Needham, Louis and Brorby Inc., Chicago. "We've got an entertaining theme with the sell built right into it. "There are two parts of this tiger that everybody wants in his gas tank," he explains. "First, there's his roar — the roar of the engine as you step on the gas pedal. Then there's his purr — the purr of a smooth running motor propelled by Oklahoma's High-Q gasolines. .\dd a snappy rhythm with a light melodic touch and you've got a happy commercial." Inspired Theme "We started with an inspired theme," Mr. Marsh says. " 'Put a tiger in your tank' is the motif ol Oklahoma's current print campaign. We fitted this to radio and found they matched quite well. "For instance, we took the theme line, put it to music and used it to introduce all the radio commercials. It makes an effective — and, by now, familiar — opening. Our quartet gets things going with: 0 — klahoma I said 0 — klahoma ...will put a tiger in your tank ! Then comes the roar of the tiger. "We've calmed the roar down since the original series, which started last .\pril. At that time the commercial opened with the roar. The beat of the music was faster then, too, and the whole effect louder. The best way to describe it is to say that if you were carrying a pile of dishes when the commercial came on, you had better be holding on tight. Now that our listeners are more familiar with the music, we've slowed it down some and made it more melodic. New Effect "The purring effect, too, is new in the current scries, which began in September. It's a natural, both for the tiger and the motor. And it fits in well with the lyrics in the jingle," Mr. Marsh says: And your motor will purr, with perrrf ect perrrformance when you switch to Oklahoma High-Q gasoline ! Your motor will purrrr, and parrrticular people all switch to Oklahoma High-Q gasolines ! "That's the jingle we use," Mr. Marsh continues. "In some of the 60-second spots in our current Frank Blair series it's used twice, before and after the announcements. In others, the announcement comes immediately after the theme and the jingle follows the announcement. "The fast beat serves to keep the prose lively, too. We keep the music going in the background during Frank Blair's lines. Imagine these announcements, in rune with the tiger theme, with the music running along underneath: Frank Blair speaking ! Each month more than two million particular people drive in at the sign of Oklahoma. Join the ranks of people with tigers in their tanks 1 Here's another of the series that keej)s it entertaining, with the emphasis on the service: Frank Blair speaking ! Ever wonder why service is always so good at Oklahoma stations . . .why attendants are always such nice people? We ask what kind of service you want, what kind of people you like, then make sure you get them at Oklahoma stations everywhere I "And all the commercials end with a roar that sends them off the air in the same tiger tempo," Mr. Marsh concludes. Team Effort Getting a series like this together was a job that took the efforts of many people, according to producers Zabel and Marsh. "First," says Mr. Zabel, "our team of two producers, one writer and two art directors took the print media theme and used it as the basis for our thinking. We worked with an independent composer, Bill Walker, on the music. The roar came from a sound-effects studio in Hollywood. "We've had an enthusiastic response to the tiger. The public seems to have a sharp awareness of it. And the Oklahoma attendants at the service stations seem to like it. According to reports, they're having a wonderful time with the tiger right at the gas tanks." • • • 48 U. S. RADIO February 1960