Clients as Spokesmen

I've long been a proponent of using advertisers' voices in their radio commercials whenever it seemed appropriate.

This used to incur the wrath of program directors and indignant DJ's who felt that only mellifluous "professional" voices were worthy of a listener's attention, but the opposition seems to have mellowed of late. Even in my home market local broadcasters and advertising folk that once disdained the idea now have no problem letting their clients participate freely in their own commercials.

Done well, a client-voiced commercial offers several advantages to the advertiser:
(1) It provides a unique and distinctive sound, unlikely to be mistaken for any other personality or advertiser on the air.
(2) The authority and expertise of the spokesman may enhance the credibility of the message.
(3) Over time the advertiser becomes a familiar voice, no longer a stranger to people who have yet to patronize his business.
(4) And yes, all other factors being equal, the client is more likely to have people mention hearing the ad. What's wrong with that? If it makes his investment in Radio more tangible, that's just great.

No, not every client belongs on the air. And yes, getting most clients to speak to your listeners with authenticity and appeal, as opposed to stiffly reading or talking at them, typically requires more time and effort than simply handing the copy off to a station voice.

First, the copy has to be fine-tuned to fit the client's individual style of communicating, his personality. In my experience, this often involves editing on the fly (during the recording process).

Second, in most cases the client will need to be coached and directed to bring out the most effective interpretation of the copy, involving equal measures of persistence and patience. It can be frustrating for both client and coach to do 15 or 20 takes, fine-tuning to get everything right.

Modern digital editing tools have greatly lessened the need to get one "perfect" take. More often than not, I'll take portions of several takes and combine them into the final voice track, a best-of compilation, so to speak. Back in the days of reel tapes and splicing tape, this posed a much greater challenge, with a very small margin for error - and no Undo function. Here's a funny example from back in the day (18 years ago), a short piece I cobbled together from outtakes of the legendary Chuck "Bobo" Brayton struggling through numerous takes to voice a spot for a local Mexican restaurant. It's a hoot.)

But getting back to the issue of coaching - after many less than stellar takes, it can be tempting to throw in the towel and let a substandard reading pass. Resist the urge at all costs! If necessary, come back for another session when you're both fresh. Because if you let the client get away with a subpar reading, it'll come back to bite you every time that commercial is aired!

Take the pains to do it right, so that when the spot airs you, your client, and your listeners can enjoy it and benefit from a job well done.