What a Sale!

My recent NyQuil-induced radio dreams have reminded me of yet another story from my old days of being a DJ. Lucky you!

I was thinking back to my days as a DJ at WOMP-FM in Wheeling, WV. (With a name like WOMP, you know it has to be a quality radio station.) Come to think of it, I could probably fill a book with stories about this nightmare of a place.

There's the fact that it burned to the ground on New Year's Day, months before I began working there, and the station continued to operate out of the foundation of the burned building. And we had to use an outhouse for our bathroom. And we certainly can't forget the famous memo we received, reminding us that we shouldn't poop in the station's yard.

This time, though, I'd like to share the story of the best commercial I ever heard in more than a decade of working in radio.

After the fire destroyed the building, the station became one of the first in the nation to use new, digital equipment in its new studios. New automation equipment for WOMP's AM sister station required that all commercials had to be either exactly 58 seconds, or 28 seconds long. If you recorded a commercial that was longer, it would simply be cut off at either 58 or 28 seconds.

Well, this requirement came back to haunt at least one advertiser. As I was driving in one day, I was listening to the AM station. One of the ads was supposed to end with the phrase, "Our prices will blow you away!" However... the commercial was just a teeny bit longer than the 28 seconds allowed, and the word "away" was cut off. It certainly gave new meaning to the ad!