Is it the beer talking?
“Just ask the barman, for Staropramen”
This D&AD award-winning campaign of three sixty-second radio ads for Staropramen beer was recorded at Capital Radio, Leicester Square, London in the summer of 1997.
These ads, and in particular their strapline: “Just ask the barman, for Staropramen” was quoted by the Radio Advertising Bureau in a paper on Harnessing the Power of Radio for Alcoholic Drink Brands as being: ‘A good example of how to establish a familiar and comfortable relationship with the spoken name of the brand’.
The voice on these recordings is Cliff Parisi, best known for playing the character Minty in Eastenders.
PLAY ADS HERE
Track One: Barrister
Track Two: Foreign Legion
Track Three: New Pub
Going to the dogs
Just for the hell of it, I thought I’d include another two radio ads of mine – the first one here for Eukanuba Premium dog food. Although this ad was done only as a demo and never actually went out on air, the recording session with Malcolm Ironton at Crocodile Music was particularly memorable. Not only did we have a lot of fun with the background sound effects, there was also a bit of a last minute chase around when we decided we needed a second voice over to read the strapline: Eukanuba – superior nutrition for every breed of dog.
Beginner’s Luck?
Eventually we roped in some poor chap who just happened to be around at the time, and who had never done a voice over in his life before. But we needed someone who sounded entirely different to the professional v/o playing the part of the race commentator, and boy, did this fellow provide what we needed. See if you agree.
PLAY EUKANUBA AD: Greyhound Grand Prix
Thanks Johnny
The third radio ad here is for Dramamine, a travel sickeness remedy. The proposition for this product was that it would give sufferers of this condition the freedom to travel everywhere.
Before long I was remembering an old country & western song called ‘I’ve Been Everywhere’. I could recall Johnny Cash, among others, recording it many years ago. In its original form the song consisted mainly of city and town names rattled off quick fire. Okay for a novelty song, but perhaps a bit boring for a 60 second radio ad.
But, the thought continued, what if I wrote new lyrics mixing in such things as different reasons for travel and perhaps some whacky modes of transport? That might work.
Apparently the powers-that-be did indeed like the scripts I later presented, and this early demo tape was recorded at Tot Taylor’s Poppy Music in 1998. Only later did I discover that all my rhyming lyrics were then going to be translated into French. I wished whoever got landed with that little job good luck and played no further part in the process.
PLAY DRAMAMINE AD: Everywhere