I gotta vent a little today, because there’s a breaking tradition in radio advertising I simply just don’t understand. That tradition is threatening slogans.
The first time I recognized this was Fram, a company that sells auto parts, but mostly deals in oil filters. So I guess business is good and they’ve launched this large radio ad campaign, as I’ve heard their commercials on at least three different stations. The commercials are decent, telling us that changing our filters regularly will help our gas mileage and extend the life of our cars. Then we get to the end of the commercial, the big slogan – “Fram: You can pay me now, or you can pay me later.” Huh? I don’t get that.
And THEN I hear Jack Astor’s new radio campaign. I guess rather than improve their abysmal food they’ve decided to gussy up their restaurants and thicken up the menu a little. Now, these commercials are kind of crappy, only because they resort to the age old penis-size entendre jokes, but then comes the big slogan closer: “Jack Astor’s: no reservations.” Really, is an unpopular policy a good slogan? I’m sure they want us to think they’re so busy they don’t need to take reservations, but let’s be honest – if you were busy you wouldn’t need to a) renovate, b) expand the menu, or c) advertise.
Cheers!