Yard Games Blog

I teach radio commercial writing, how to sell radio advertising, and how to create effective radio advertising.

 

Recently I critiqued two radio commercials for a client.

 

I was typically meticulous in my critique.

 

I’ve never told anyone this, but as soon as I’ve e-mailed an advertising critique to a client, I become a little nervous.

 

What if they’re offended? I do not want to offend someone. Especially people who…well, who pay me.

 

So when my e-mail inbox included two messages from him this morning, I took a deep breath before opening them.

 

The first was in response to my first critique:

 

“Awesome! Thanks for the fantastic job … This is REALLY helpful. I’ll be sending you some new commercials soon for your critique.”

 

The second message, responding to the second critique, said:

 

“Thanks again … great suggestions and points.”

 

It was a nice way to start the morning.

 

Usually I critique commercial copy before it’s produced. That makes sense to me, because that way the client has time to change the copy before going into production. But this time I had critiqued commercial copy that already had been recorded.

 

One hour and 16 minutes after I received the client’s second “wow, thanks!” response, I received a very long e-mail from someone I don’t know.

 

That someone appears to be the guy who wrote and produced the commercials I had critiqued. It was a copy of a message he’d sent the client.

 

It was not what one would call a rave review of my critiques.

 

Two elements of his rant leapt out at me:

 

1. He defended the use of the lame voice talent (whom I had pointed out sounded like a schlocky announcer who clearly was simply reading the copy he was being paid to read) by saying, “With our budget, that’s all we can afford.”

 

Ridiculous.

 

Those particular spots didn’t require a voiceover superstar. It would have cost only $250 - $300 to get a much better voiceover performance.

 

I don’t know what they paid their voice over guy, but if they’re not willing to shell out $250 – $300 for a decent announcer read, they need to adjust their priorities.

 

2.It was a very long e-mail. I mean, this guy was upset.

 

AND THEN I DID SOMETHING VERY, VERY SMART.

 

I closed the e-mail without reading it.

 

I got the gist of it: “You don’t know what the heck you’re talking about.”

 

Why read further?

 

So I could become offended?

 

So I could catalog and rebut his evidence of my alleged incompetence?

 

Do you know what would have happened if I had taken two minutes to read his entire attack (or, from his perspective, his defense of his work)?

 

I would have spent hours mentally refuting his every point.

 

That’s how my brain works. If I think I’ve been unfairly attacked, my instinct is to defend myself — even if only within the privacy of my own mind.

 

But I had other stuff to do today. Why waste any of my sorely limited time (and even more severely limited brain power) marshalling an argument I never would deliver?

 

WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH YOU?

 

Maybe nothing.

 

Or maybe you’re a radio station producer and a thoughtless salesperson mentioned, while passing you in the hallway, “The client hates that spot you did for him.”

 

Oh? You mean that spot that was approved every step of the way and now is on the air?

 

Let it go. Getting all upset won’t help you at all.

 

Or you’re an account exec and the Traffic Director screams at you because you didn’t remind her that she had promised to change your client’s rotation, so she forgot to do it and it’s all your fault.

 

Let it go. Let her words float past you like a summer breeze. (You don’t bother to argue with the wind, do you?)

 

Or you’re a jock, and the station engineer(!) pointedly tells you the comedy bit you did on yesterday’s show “really wasn’t very funny.”

 

Should the radio station engineer be critiquing the radio air talent? No.

 

Should you care anything at all about whether the station engineer thinks you’re funny or your show is good? C’mon.

 

Let it go.

 

Use that time and energy for something constructive.

 

Why, look at me. The time I saved by not reading and then mentally constructing a devastating response to that e-mail?

 

I used it to write this article.