U. S. Radio (Jan-Dec 1961)

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t 4 * s ii il I lili -ill Selling teens with 'kookie' commercials COMMERCIAL CLINIC The millions of American teenagers who are not blinded by the glare of television, but remain resolutely glued to their portable radios, are generally acknowledged as one of radio's most profitable audiences. But once you agree that teenagers spend many of their waking hours listening to the radio, the problem pops up of how best to sell a product to this audience. One agency, Fletcher Richards, Calkins & Holden, New York, probed into the problem and came up with a radical approach to teenage selling that may shock many adults — but also may sell a lot of sneakers. Sneakers are the product the agency is pushing for its client, U. S. Rubber, which manufactures U. S. Keds. The agency wanted to try radio because, as Sy Frolick, vice president in charge of radio and television, explained: "No other medium does such a good job of catering to the desires and tastes of the teenager." Frolick maintains that teenagers are not big television watchers or readers of mass magazines and newspapers. "The average teenager is full of energy and he doesn't like to sit for long periods of time in front of the tv," he said. The agency convinced the client to use radio in reaching kids in cars, on streets and at the beaches with their transistors. FR.C&H proposed to U. S. Rubber that it sponsor week-day afternoon and Saturday morning disc jockey programs. This was fine, Frolick recalled, but the toughest task was convincing the client to revamp its theories of selling to teenagers. The agency persuaded U. S. Rubber to use commercials that talk to the teen in his own language. In developing the announcements, FR,C&H teamed up with Narwood Productions, which specializes in the problems of tapping the lucrative teenage market. Frolick explained some of the pitfalls in selling to teens that many advertisers have previously tumbled into. "We had to watch out for (1) talking down to the teenager and (2) using slang expressions that adults think are in vogue, but actually died out years ago." This is where Narwood came in handy. The agency wanted to talk to the teenager in his own language and Narwood provided FR,C8cH with current American teenage slang. The result, as Frolick puts it, was a "zany, irreverent, off-beat, approach that uses two madcap Bob and Ray type of characters, doing the kind of material found in Mad comics." The commercials, called Bulleteens, were devised with these basic ideas in mind: (1) to use the language of the teenager, (2) to talk about things that interest him and her, and (3) to entertain the teenager by making him laugh. Commercials were broadcast as a test campaign during July and August in more than 60 major markets. The commercias were delivered in a rapid-fire, high-pitch manner, liberally spiced with noisy sound effects. The humor might be described as the closest thing to sick jokes for teenagers. The copy talks about things nearest to the teenager heart: dating, basketball, school and the many little problems that only the teenager can understand — for example, having to wear white shirts and ties in school. The commercials are written to win over the teenager to the side of U. S. Keds, and the jokes lacerate individuals who give teenagers the most trouble: parents, school principals and little sisters. A sample of one of the commercials illustrates the irreverent approach to selling sneakers. (Rk h and Leon are the two protagonists.) Rich: (Singing) School Days . . . Leon: (Interrupt) Nol Rich: School Days . . . Leon: (Interrupt) Stop it! Rich: Dear old golden . . . (Covered) Leon: (Interrupt) Knock it off! Rich: But its back-to-school time! Leon: (Interrupt) I hate school! I'll blow it up! Sound: (Blow up the school for five seconds — end with boinng sound and beginning of kookie fanfare.) Rich: Hey, what's that last noise? Leon: It's another teen bulleteen! Leon: Fads for the lads! At Wilbur Grunt High in California, boys are planning to wear white shirts and ties when they go back to school. Rich: The principal is discouraging the fad. He is holding out for pants, socks and shoes too! Leon: You mean Keds with the blue label. That's Keds. Spelled K . . . Rich: As in Ack-ack . . . Leon: E . . . Rich: As in sneaky . . . Leon: D . . . Rich: As in fiddle-faddle . . . Leon: And Zizz . . . Rich: As in Bizzzzzzy! Wear 'em all the time! Leon: Don't wear Keds in your beds — wear 'em to school. G TGKF ! ! ! Rich: GTGKF what? Leon: Get That Great Ked$ Feeling! If you can't be bright — be smart! Get Keds with the blue label! Rich: Yeah — they even look good clean! ■ 40 U. S. RADIO/ September 1961