U. S. Radio (Jan-Dec 1960)

enough to hear the coinmcrci;il is to use an exciting combination of sounds," said Mr. Burland. And although the type of nuisic Mr. Burland writes depends on the tauipaign and the product, he prefers to work with jazz. With the continued growth in the popularity and acceptance of musical commercials, more and more local and smaller regional advertisers are also including these spots in the radio plans. What has made this economically feasible is the growing number of firms specializing in the high volume production of low cost commercials. One of these firms is the Jingle Mill, New York. "We have about 600 pre-recorded tapes on file, Mort Van Brink, president of the firm, said, "from which jingles can be drawn. When we receive an order for a jingle we are provided with a data sheet from the advertiser listing the salient copy points and any additional information he would like to include in the jingle. "The client also tells us the type of music he would like, whether it be a waltz or a cha cha cha. When available, we can pick the music from our files. Or we write new music to fit the situation. In the latter case, the jingle goes into our file of pre-recorded tapes so that the music can be used again," Mr. Van Brink stated. Divided Opinion Moving into an area in which there appears to be some divided opinion, Mr. Van Brink declared that many advertisers tend to overemphasize the importance of the originality of the music in a jingle. "The main job of a commercial is to sell," he said. "The effectiveness of the jingle depends not so much on its originality as on its memorability. One piece of music can be used to sell several types of products. For example, a march might be just as appropriate for an ice cream product or a men's toiletry line as it could be for a sporting event or a political candidate. "We might be using the same music," Mr. Van Brink continued, "in four different parts of the coun try for four different products. Each commercial will be doing an effective job so long as the salient points are included and the music can be easily identified with the product. "The lyric, on the other hand," he said, "must be custom-tailored to the advertiser. In addition to the copy points, many advertisers request their names, addresses or company slogans. These can be included in the jingle, which then becomes more personally identified with the sponsor." Fresh Copy Approaches In addition to making more imaginative uses of music, radio commercials have also benefited from a fresh approach to copy. Many of the techniques used in the world of show business have been adapted to develop commercials that will attract and hold the listener. Commenting on the improvement in the general level of commercials, a spokesman for the D'Arcy Advertising Co. said "The younger generation today probably has committed more radio commercials to memory COVER FLORIDA'S ^<^' 2nd LARGEST MARKET and 29 Counties with 1 station! Tampa-St. Petersburg is Florida's second largest market, with a metro population of 772,453*! But that's not all! WSVN is the only station on Florida's West coast covering the entire 29 county area with 1,420,007* residents. ADD TO THIS WSUN's GREAT ADULT AUDIENCE (97.2%)** . . . the greatest percentage of adult listeners. This means ADULT BUYERS throughout the entire 24 hour broadcast day! REACH ALL OF FLORIDA'S 2nd LARGEST MARKET ON THE ADULT STATION! 620 KC "COVERS ALL THE SUNCOAST *I960 Census **Pulse 6/60 WSUN U. S. RADIO AIRFAX 1961 109