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WBUR: Get Your French Toast @ Trader Joe's
By laurence_glavin on Tue, 12/08/2009 - 11:33pm
Those messages you hear on WBUR that SOUND like commercials really aren't. They actual nomenclature is "underwriting messages". On Tuesday, midway between a past snowstorm and one-to-come, WBUR aired one for the upscale grocery vendor, Trader Joe's. The content: "get all the makings you need for the best French Toast ever at Trader Joe's." Hmmm...does somebody there read the UH?
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Comments
They're hawking products and services.
Which means they are COMMERCIALS, regardless of whatever trendy PC label WBUR decides to put on them.
And it's just one more way society is allowing the advertising executives to slowly take over by forcing their messages on the public. I wonder what George Orwell would have thought about the fact we increasingly have private concerns succeding in doing what he feared goverment would - influencing our thoughts and decisions through almost every medium available.
While there has been, and
While there has been, and continues to be, significant internal debate in the public radio world about the proper role (and nomenclature) of "underwriting," I do think it's worth mentioning that such announcements are subject to significant restrictions that do not apply to traditional "commercials."
There are a number of good primers on this out there; here's one.
As I said, they are promoting products or services offered by
private companies. That is called advertising.
Now, you can apply all the special rules and fancy PC terms like "underwriting" to this situation all you want, but the plain and simple fact remains that it is still a COMMERCIAL message being broadcast on a radio station. That is called advertising.
And the fact that public radio feels the need to sell advertising space, whether they call it 'underwriting' or some other term, only proves my earlier point that the advertising executives have truly taken over society and that society is all too willing to let ourselves be subjected to their messages no matter what we watch, listen, or read, or where we go and what we do. This is truly unfortunate, and I believe is one of the key factors in the general decline we've seen in much of society as compared to even thirty years ago.
Saving my TJ's French toast
Saving my TJ's french toast for when it sticks.
(Btw, I was skeptical about the concept, but their toaster French toast is the best!)
TJ's upscale?
You're kidding, right? It's about as upscale as Papa Ginos.
With prices lower than Shaw's
Most times, significantly so.
TJ may be consdidered upscale to Fregans...
but not to your average person. If I want to save money on groceries, I skip Stop & Shop and buy Trader Joe's own generic brand.
Trader Joes & WBUR
WBUR did not run anything of the sort. WBUR could never run any elements of advertising in the underwriting messages including calls to action, claims of quality, comparitives or references to price or value. The message below is the exact copy from the station's log that was broadcast and notorized.
TRADER JOES . . . A GROCERY STORE WITH HOLIDAY FARE LIKE BOXED
CHOCOLATES, COFFEE SPIKED WITH SPICES, AND BREADS TO MAKE FRENCH TOAST.
LOCATIONS AT "TRADER JOES DOT COM" -- HAPPY HOLIDAYS!