# "announcer speak" in american tv commercials **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 27, 2003, 7:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/announcer-speak-in-american-tv-commercials/177727 "2003-05-27T07:47:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2026, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/announcer-speak-in-american-tv-commercials/177727/21 "2026-06-10T11:53:27Z")
So … _apparently_ … Don Lafontaine died. In a world where Don LaFontaine is dead, it’s hard to imagine anything else _really_ being worth discussing. Jesus. I’m utterly _lugubrious_ now. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2026, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/announcer-speak-in-american-tv-commercials/177727/22 "2026-06-10T12:28:50Z")
> [@Faerie\_Nuff](#): > > 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 every movie trailer starts with ‘in a world…’” ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2026, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/announcer-speak-in-american-tv-commercials/177727/23 "2026-06-10T12:37:20Z")
> [@curwin](#): > > 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. Yeah, I miss the old days when announcers weren’t corny or goofy at all. [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/4jOCzuuvmcs/hqdefault.jpg "K-tel Records "Block Buster" Commercial - 1976") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jOCzuuvmcs) ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2026, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/announcer-speak-in-american-tv-commercials/177727/24 "2026-06-11T04:46:12Z")
[quote=“Kent\_Clark, post:16, topic:177727, full:true”] > [@BigT](#): > > 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. I can see that. I was replying to Plait’s claim that it’s supposed to sound more conversational and casual. I just don’t really think it does. To me, it’s just as unnatural, albeit for somewhat different reasons. Those short sentences sound very affected. That call and response part? That’s very “ad copy” coded. It sounds to me like how a written ad looks on the page. And she is not an outlier: I hear that sound all the time. It seems odd to me to call this natural speech, and not to actually try something that sounds natural. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2026, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/announcer-speak-in-american-tv-commercials/177727/25 "2026-06-11T05:20:28Z")
> [@hogarth](#): > > … I miss the old days when announcers weren’t corny or goofy at all. Beautifully parodied by Dave Thomas as “Harvey K-Tel” on SCTV, back in the day. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2026, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/announcer-speak-in-american-tv-commercials/177727/26 "2026-06-11T06:30:16Z")
I **always** mute commercials when they come on my TV. They’re one reason why I now do most of my serious watching commercial-free with PBS or over my laptop. My current most hated commercial/promo is “Meet Me in the Middle” for Illinois tourism, which starts with a harpy screeching “BABY!” It replaces the Swifter commercial where the t\*\*t pushing the mop says “It’s a GAME-CHANGER!” in her annoyingly perky voice. (I would love to strangle whoever it was that introduced the phrase “game-changer” into the English language! 😡) ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2026, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/announcer-speak-in-american-tv-commercials/177727/27 "2026-06-11T17:23:54Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > (I would love to strangle whoever it was that introduced the phrase “game-changer” into the English language! 😡) But, without a game-changer how would we take things to the next level? ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2026, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/announcer-speak-in-american-tv-commercials/177727/28 "2026-06-11T18:35:37Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > But, without a game-changer how would we take things to the next level? It doesn’t matter, so long as **THEY COST NO MORE!** 😉 ---
**Author:** ![curwin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@curwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/curwin)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2026, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/announcer-speak-in-american-tv-commercials/177727/29 "2026-06-14T14:50:14Z")
And now I found an example of a Saturday Night Live commercial that uses that voice: [the perfect movie for mother’s day](https://www.youtube.com/shorts/4AF5FXV2jV4) ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2026, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/announcer-speak-in-american-tv-commercials/177727/30 "2026-06-14T23:46:43Z")
> [@Faerie\_Nuff](#): > > 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.)” Well, then you’ll love this … [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/zGjwZ3XMDes/maxresdefault.jpg "Comedian (2002) Original Theatrical Trailer [FTD-0589]") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGjwZ3XMDes) ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2026, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/announcer-speak-in-american-tv-commercials/177727/31 "2026-06-14T23:59:55Z")
And this: [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/3YIs-S-83kE/hqdefault.jpg "The 3 Trailers - Frank TV") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3YIs-S-83kE) ---
**Author:** ![OldManLogan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/oldmanlogan/32/5237_2.png) [@OldManLogan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldManLogan)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2026, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/announcer-speak-in-american-tv-commercials/177727/32 "2026-06-19T14:36:51Z")
Not to get too far off the beaten path, but without the phrase game-changer we wouldn’t have one of the better current game shows/ excuse for comedians to do funny stuff in Game Changer on [Dropout.tv](http://Dropout.tv) where the game changes every show. The host Sam Reich does affect an older style announcer voice at the beginning of each show so very, very tangential to the thread topic. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/announcer-speak-in-american-tv-commercials/177727.md?page=1)