I moved out here from the US in 1996. I still listen to American music, watch American movies and TV shows. And certainly I’m as exposed to the “American” internet stuff as much as anyone in the States. I think my cultural awareness of Americana is pretty much in order.
But one place I do find myself in a bit of culture shock, is when I occasionally go back to the States for a visit or someone sends me a tape of an American show, with commercials.
When did the announcers on American commercials start talking like that? This is going to be difficult for me to explain without a source, but I hope somoene has some idea of what I’m talking about. It seems all the announcers on the commercials have this corny, goofy way of talking, kind of short sentences. This was not they way it was back before 96.
Are you perhaps referring to the way local ads often are like, “Come on down to Westfield Auto! We’ve got all the cars you need!” (Note: not an actual ad)
thought the same thing, that networks were purposely lowering the volume level during the shows, then cranking it back up during the commercials. I’m constantly raising and lowering the volume as I go from station to station or back and into commercials.
I seem to be having a difficult time explaining what I mean. Can anyone refer me to a site to download commericals? I used to go to AdCritic, but I don’t think it’s free anymore.
Think you mean the harsh,raspy voice, made popular by Don La Fontaine who does most of the movie trailer voice overs.“Coming -this summer… etc.” The same style is used for promos on FOX,MSNBC, ESPN, & many commercials too. One guy I particularly don’t like is Billy Vera who does Sizzler, AM-PM MIni mart, JIffy Lube & Gateway, w/ his faked “hip, black” speech.
Is Don La Fontaine the “In a world…” guy? I love that. I think every movie trailer should start with “In a world…”
“IN A WORLD, where time has no meaning and justice has no champion, ONE MAN has the courage to stand up for what is right. (Coming soon to a theater near you.)”
But, yeah, our commercials are really annoying. My dad’s a sound guy and he explained to me that they don’t turn up the volume for commercials per se, they just mix them differently so there are no quiet sounds, only loud ones. It’s supposed to make it exciting and make us want to run right out and buy their product. All it really does is make my dad mute the TV when commercials come on.
It’s a little hard to know exactly what you mean, curwin… here are two quick guesses:
Speed. This is just an editing thing - the announcers appear to talk faster because the pauses between the words are edited out, whichmakesthewordsblurimpossiblyclosetogether. Radio is even worse. I don’t think this started after '96, though, and I doubt it’s what you mean.
Volume. Laws were passed a couple of years ago that were supposed to prevent commercials from being WAY LOUDER THAN THE PROGRAMMING THEY FOLLOWED. Good idea. Unfortunately, advertisers figured out a loophole: they keep the volume the same, but boost the high frequencies way up, producing the same extremely annoying effect.
FNuff-you got it,“In a world etc…” That’s La Fontaine. Talk about easy HUGE bucks: I know Vera-he gets a minimum $2000/hour; much more if commercials go nationwide. Vera was the voice of ABC TV a few years ago. Theses guys all copy each other-also interesting to read their interviews- La Fontaine hates his competition. After all- you can do several promos/hour easily. That is, not enough work to go round. What happened to the mellifluous Gary Owens, or before him Art Gilmore? I know Owens is a DJ in LA. But , too smooth for commercials.
…before Krasinski made it big with his role on The Office, he was a prominent voice actor for brands like Verizon and Blackberry. In those commercials, many of which aired in the early 2000s (when Millennials were coming of age), he was famous for his extraordinarily casual, conversational tone. Think his laid-back Jim Halpert vibe. It’s a stark contrast to the way commercials were performed in the ’90s.
“It was basically just like, ‘Hey, I’m just a guy. I’m not really an actor. … You can trust me. It’s like you’re talking to a friend,” Platis says.
Platis says that for years, until very recently, almost every audition and job she went out for was seeking a “conversational read” exactly like Krasinski’s performances. They became genre-defining.
(I feel compelled to point out that Krasinski is not a Millennial, but a very late Gen-Xer.)
And yet I would not say it sounds conversational in the slightest. Compare how Plaits talks in the video versus how both the Millennial and Gen Z styles she gives.
It’s odd to me that they don’t seem to want the style that most people are most familiar with people talking—the way online video creators talk.
Its partly vocal character, but also carefully edited speech pattern and other sounds to create a specific effect:
Short, stripped back phrases which rarely go into a sentence
Strong ‘pattern’ of attention-grabber, subject and then obligatory details.
High-pitched tone, touch of lightness or levity aiming at familiarity and friendship
Layering voice, other sounds and silence
Clipping words so that each is distinct
Not sure if it was the intent, but the effect is that you will get the product name out within 6 seconds, and the sound clarity should be good enough to cut through ambient noise when you’re not paying attention to the tv or radio.
Online commentators are talking to people who specifically called up their content. TV and radio announcers are trying to break through to people who were only half-paying attention in the first place.
Breaking down Gillian Butler’s Door Dash ad, she’s not just emphasizing nouns and verbs, which is how most people speak naturally. She drags out the word “boring” both times she uses it. She alternates between raising and lowering the last word in sentences (question and answer). The part where she talks up Door Dash advantages is a more soothing tone, as if she were confiding a secret to the listener.
The ad is a 15-second primer on techniques it takes announcers years to nail and to know exactly how and when to use them in a script.
I’ve been able to avoid this painful experience by hardly ever watching commercial broadcast TV or any kind of TV that has commercials, and the only radio I listen to in the car is CBC, commercial-free public radio.
But one thing I cannot avoid is commercial announcements in supermarkets. I honestly cannot remember if it’s all of them or just one two particular ones, but the artificially cheery upbeat tone makes me want to punch them in the face, especially if I can’t find items I’m looking for or am otherwise in a bad mood. At those times, the cheerful man or woman attempting over the PA to cheerfully entice me into doing something to enhance the store’s profitability is fortunate that they’re not within the range of my fist.
ETA: But what about in-person reps, one might ask, like those offering product samples? Thing is, those tend to be low-key and lacking that aggressive artificial cheerfulness which can hide behind anonymity. I don’t mind those, and will sometimes even sample their product, or politely decline.
Funny how movie trailers stopped using voiceover narration altogether about 5-6 years after the OP (following the death of legendary announcer Don Lafontaine).
