"Uh" Marketing
Over the past year or so, I’ve noticed a huge increase in the amount of what I’ve termed, “Uh Marketing.”
You can hear this annoying technique on national radio ads for products and services such as American Express’ Open Network, Skin-Zinc, and others.
It involves the use of a professional voice talent who plays the part of someone who has used the product or service being advertised. The part of the ads that’s so annoying and obviously fake is the insertion of the words, “uh,” “um,” and other vocal stops, at a rate far greater than a real person would actually use. This attempt to make the dialog sound more authentic and natural has exactly the opposite effect. It sounds like an actor reading a script. Which is, of course, exactly what it is.
The actor who read the Skin-Zinc ad copy even intentionally stumbles over the word “eczema” in an effort to sound like his is a real testimonial. (By the way, this particular word was recently removed from Skin-Zinc ads because of an FDA warning letter about the efficacy of Skin-Zinc.)
It doesn’t stop at radio ads. My answering machine is the recipient of at least three or four unsolicited marketing messages per week that use the technique. Usually, I’ll return home to find a message like this:
“Hi, uh, this Jeff Smith. Um, I’ve been trying to get hold of you guys for a week or so, to let you know about the great refinancing deals we’ve got going on right now. Because of your great, uh, credit, you’re eligible for a new low rate on your home equity loan.Now, uh, you need to contact us within the next 48 hours to take advantage of this offer, so, uh, I hope you’ll pick up the phone and, uh, call one of our representatives at (800) 555-5555.”
Every one of these messages has a similar “pacing” of the “uh’s” and “um’s,” a pacing the no one uses naturally, especially not when they’re supposed to be professional who’s delivering an important message, so it's clear that this is an actual, scripted technique that someone thinks will work. I think it sucks, and I think it's stupid.
But does it work? Is there a national marketing company behind this? Is this the latest hot trend in advertising? If so, somebody let me know, so I can write some letters to ask them to, uh, cut it out.
You can hear this annoying technique on national radio ads for products and services such as American Express’ Open Network, Skin-Zinc, and others.
It involves the use of a professional voice talent who plays the part of someone who has used the product or service being advertised. The part of the ads that’s so annoying and obviously fake is the insertion of the words, “uh,” “um,” and other vocal stops, at a rate far greater than a real person would actually use. This attempt to make the dialog sound more authentic and natural has exactly the opposite effect. It sounds like an actor reading a script. Which is, of course, exactly what it is.
The actor who read the Skin-Zinc ad copy even intentionally stumbles over the word “eczema” in an effort to sound like his is a real testimonial. (By the way, this particular word was recently removed from Skin-Zinc ads because of an FDA warning letter about the efficacy of Skin-Zinc.)
It doesn’t stop at radio ads. My answering machine is the recipient of at least three or four unsolicited marketing messages per week that use the technique. Usually, I’ll return home to find a message like this:
“Hi, uh, this Jeff Smith. Um, I’ve been trying to get hold of you guys for a week or so, to let you know about the great refinancing deals we’ve got going on right now. Because of your great, uh, credit, you’re eligible for a new low rate on your home equity loan.
Every one of these messages has a similar “pacing” of the “uh’s” and “um’s,” a pacing the no one uses naturally, especially not when they’re supposed to be professional who’s delivering an important message, so it's clear that this is an actual, scripted technique that someone thinks will work.
But does it work? Is there a national marketing company behind this? Is this the latest hot trend in advertising? If so, somebody let me know, so I can write some letters to ask them to, uh, cut it out.
posted by Buck Wyndham | 10:01 PM
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