From the Inside Flap
Over the past fifty years, radio advertising has become more imaginative, more entertaining, and, especially, more humorous. This book presents the first in-depth look at some of the funniest-and most effective-radio commercials created during this time. More than an enjoyable part of popular culture, the commercials featured here illustrate how good advertising can leverage humor effectively to make a sale.
And Now a Few Laughs from Our Sponsor offers expert practical analysis from advertising veteran Larry Oakner; the accompanying free CD-ROM allows readers to listen to original recordings of the commercials. Oakner presents a social and historical context for each ad to put its humor into perspective for today's audiences. He offers detailed insights into the creative process behind the commercials, highlighting why they are effective through extensive interviews with the writers, producers, actors, account executives, and clients involved in the featured radio spots.
Informative and amusing, this insider's take on the development and success of contemporary radio advertising showcases a long list of unforgettable award-winning commercials and the legendary figures who created them, including Stan Freberg's seminal ads for Contadina tomato paste, Joy Golden's commercials for Laughing Cow Cheese, memorable Blue Nun wine ads by Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara, and Tom Bodette's folksy humor for Motel 6, along with current commercials still ringing in our ears.
These commercials make excellent case histories for advertising professionals and students. In addition, Oakner's commentary will enlighten and entertain fans of these legendary spots.
That these ads continue to amuse us even long after they first aired is testament to the power of radio. That they are remembered for generations is a tribute to the selling power of that singularly human emotion-humor. Through firsthand interviews, original radio scripts, personal anecdotes, and researched news articles of their day, And Now a Few Laughs from Our Sponsor presents the stories, the techniques, and the personalities that built a legacy of laughter on the radio.
From the Back Cover
PRAISE FOR And Now a Few Laughs from Our Sponsor
"The most brilliant people in commercial radio (and television, too) are often the ones who do the commercials. They can pack more imagination and wit into thirty or sixty seconds than you'll find in most of the actual programming they interrupt. Larry Oakner is a savvy veteran and his book is enlightening, instructive, and entertaining."
-Charles Osgood, Anchor, CBS News Sunday Morning and the Osgood File, CBS Radio
"Can a book talk? I swear I heard the voices of Bert and Harry Piel poking through the pages of And Now a Few Laughs from Our Sponsor. But Larry Oakner's book isn't just a trip down memory lane: it's a reminder of what makes great, lasting, brand-building advertising."
-Randall Rothenberg, Chief Marketing Officer, Booz Allen Hamilton
Author, Where the Suckers Moon: The Life and Death of an Advertising Campaign
"Most of us creative people are plain terrible at radio. We love film, we love the page-mediums with pictures-but, sadly, creating 'theater of the mind' has become a lost art. The thing is, great radio can be so powerful and immediate. There are still a few brilliant radio people out there who know how to do it; they're represented in this book and there's a lot to learn here."
-David Lubars, President & Executive Creative Director, Fallon
"A wonderful primer that will help increase the effectiveness of radio ads. It certainly will help to keep radio alive and well in a highly fractionalized media environment."
-Ben Hoberman, former president of ABC Radio
"A must-read for all students and teachers of radio advertising. Larry Oakner has seamlessly merged the history of great radio advertising with the 'how to' necessary to write successful radio advertising copy for today's audiences. In advertising terms, this is a product that delivers on its promise. And Now a Few Laughs from Our Sponsor will have readers chuckling out loud."
-Professor Roberta Elins, Chairperson, Advertising & Marketing Communications Department, State University of New York @ Fashion Institute of Technology
