Pansy-sounding voiceovers and other commercial complaints

The BBQ Pit
21

No, I mean that they sound very much like Michael Jackson. Or like the stereotypical flamers one sees sometimes in comedic telvision shows or movies. This is especially puzzling when one of the men I hear on the radio happens to be somebody that I already know, or have at least met, and I know for a fact that they have reasonably deep speaking voices. So I wonder why their voices change so drastically in their commercials. It’s especially confusing when the same guy does a “call in” interview commercial with a disk jockey, and sounds like his normal self.

Glad to be of service :wink:

Fear? I’m merely wondering why these men don’t sound like themselves in their commercials. And wonder if they even realize how they sound on the radio.

Well, I’m talking specifically about local businesses, not national or regional chains. Lots of local business owners are in their own commercials.

My point was that the people born in the '60s probably have musical tastes that lean more toward the 70s and later. Today’s teenagers really have very little emotional connection with the music of the 1950s-60s, so hammering them with that music is not going to draw them in as effectively as more “up-to-date” music. They’re also unlikely to be impressed with a business that’s saying “Remember the '50s and '60s? We’re still stuck there!” Heck, I’m nearly 40, and have no connection with that music. In any case, the worst offender in this category is a locally-owned fast food joint - hardly out of the price range of most “skate punks”.

Erm… for the record, I’ve been a professional cook for twenty years, the businessman in question was one I’d known for most of those years, and he was just drinking coffee.

Now that’s a good point. I suppose it’s not unreasonable to assume that the recording engineer is encouraging these guys to “Smile while you talk! It will make you sound happier and friendlier!” So I did a little experimentation. I worked my face into a big, shucks-eating grin and then attempted to speak in my normal baritone voice. The result was something that sounded like a cross between Mortimer Snerd and that big stupid dog in the old Bugs Bunny cartoons - the one who would always catch Bugs in a bear hug and say, “I’m gonna love him and hug him and name him George…” I can see why that type of voice would be undesireable.

Who said anything about excluding the older generation? I was talking about ignoring the younger generations. Simple fact of business: you need to constantly attract new customers. Little story:

A former coworker of mine was telling me about the sixteen years he spent working at one of the finest restaurants in town. This was a locally-owned 4-star restaurant that had been in business continually for several decades. The last owners of the restaurant were members of my parents’ generation. And they catered to people their own age and older. They completely ignored the younger generation. As a result, the people of my generation considered this particular restaurant to be a “place where the old people hang out.”

My friend said that a few years before the place closed up, he and the other employees used to joke about looking in the obituaries to see which of their customers died each week. He said that after a while, it wasn’t a joke anymore because they started losing regular customers to old age at an alarming rate. Their business started to slide. The owners realized way too late that they needed new customers to replace the ones who had passed. Frantic attempts were made in the last year they were open to attract a younger crowd, but it was too little, too late. They had so firmly established themselves as a place for an older, affluent crowd that it never occured to my generation to check the place out. Too pricey and high-falutin’ for us! There’s a vacant lot now where that 4-star restaurant once stood.

Anyway, with the voice thing - it’s not just men. Women do it to. The women simply end up sounding like they’re addressing a classroom full of kindergarten students. It sounds very patronizing.

22

No, I mean that they sound very much like Michael Jackson. Or like the stereotypical flamers one sees sometimes in comedic telvision shows or movies. This is especially puzzling when one of the men I hear on the radio happens to be somebody that I already know, or have at least met, and I know for a fact that they have reasonably deep speaking voices. So I wonder why their voices change so drastically in their commercials. It’s especially confusing when the same guy does a “call in” interview commercial with a disk jockey, and sounds like his normal self.

Glad to be of service :wink:

Fear? I’m merely wondering why these men don’t sound like themselves in their commercials. And wonder if they even realize how they sound on the radio.

Well, I’m talking specifically about local businesses, not national or regional chains. Lots of local business owners are in their own commercials.

My point was that the people born in the '60s probably have musical tastes that lean more toward the 70s and later. Today’s teenagers really have very little emotional connection with the music of the 1950s-60s, so hammering them with that music is not going to draw them in as effectively as more “up-to-date” music. They’re also unlikely to be impressed with a business that’s saying “Remember the '50s and '60s? We’re still stuck there!” Heck, I’m nearly 40, and have no connection with that music. In any case, the worst offender in this category is a locally-owned fast food joint - hardly out of the price range of most “skate punks”.

Erm… for the record, I’ve been a professional cook for twenty years, the businessman in question was one I’d known for most of those years, and he was just drinking coffee.

Now that’s a good point. I suppose it’s not unreasonable to assume that the recording engineer is encouraging these guys to “Smile while you talk! It will make you sound happier and friendlier!” So I did a little experimentation. I worked my face into a big, shucks-eating grin and then attempted to speak in my normal baritone voice. The result was something that sounded like a cross between Mortimer Snerd and that big stupid dog in the old Bugs Bunny cartoons - the one who would always catch Bugs in a bear hug and say, “I’m gonna love him and hug him and name him George…” I can see why that type of voice would be undesireable.

Who said anything about excluding the older generation? I was talking about ignoring the younger generations. Simple fact of business: you need to constantly attract new customers. Little story:

A former coworker of mine was telling me about the sixteen years he spent working at one of the finest restaurants in town. This was a locally-owned 4-star restaurant that had been in business continually for several decades. The last owners of the restaurant were members of my parents’ generation. And they catered to people their own age and older. They completely ignored the younger generation. As a result, the people of my generation considered this particular restaurant to be a “place where the old people hang out.”

My friend said that a few years before the place closed up, he and the other employees used to joke about looking in the obituaries to see which of their customers died each week. He said that after a while, it wasn’t a joke anymore because they started losing regular customers to old age at an alarming rate. Their business started to slide. The owners realized way too late that they needed new customers to replace the ones who had passed. Frantic attempts were made in the last year they were open to attract a younger crowd, but it was too little, too late. They had so firmly established themselves as a place for an older, affluent crowd that it never occured to my generation to check the place out. Too pricey and high-falutin’ for us! There’s a vacant lot now where that 4-star restaurant once stood.

Anyway, with the voice thing - it’s not just men. Women do it too. The women simply end up sounding like they’re addressing a classroom full of kindergarten students. It sounds very patronizing.

23

So what exactly is a butt monkey?

24

Flamers?

Sheesh.

A lot of those low budget commercials suffer from poor audio mixing, that could be a possible explanation.

25

“And I got to move off the fries to the grill TWO WHOLE YEARS ago.”

26

I’m gonna guess, though I wasn’t part of the original crowd, that citing Michael Jackson is not going to help things out;)

27

How does insulting my chosen profession advance this discussion?

28

Phase42: are you really blind to the fact that your choice of descriptors: “total pansies,” “limp-wristed, effeminate butt-monkeys,” and the like are somewhat offensive, in that they sound like you’re darwing some sort of parallel to gay men, and further that being gay is itself a slur?

In other words, what, exactly, is a “butt-monkey,” and why is it a shameful thing?

29

In regard to the sibilance (the effiminate sssss sound) we often hear on some poorly done radio and TV commercials, this can often be the result of bad studio work. Cheap microphones are a big cuplrit. They can make the s sound at the beginning and end of words more pronounced and drawn out which in turn makes the speakers voice sound bad.

30

At least he didnt use my personal favorite nonsensical homosexual slur, “butt-pirate.”

I see peglegs and parrots. ARRRRR, Scurvy Sailor!

31

The reason that male voices appear to be higher-pitched in radio ads, and even news clips, is simply due to the fact that the tape is often played at a faster speed. How do you fit 35 seconds of yada yada into a 30 second spot? Speed it up.

32

Bricker - No, I’m not blind to the fact. Apparently, my reading of numerous other posts here in the BBQ Pit led me the false conclusion that this particular style of posting was expected on this particular forum. That being said, I apologize to all who are offended. I will also withdraw the terms I used. Except “effeminate.”

The fact remains that these men come across on the radio sounding like deep-voiced women. While bad studio technique can be blamed to a certain extent for the high-pitched voices, microphone and recording techniques are not responsible for the manner of speaking. I have heard many men, in person, who are happy or excited about something. They still talk like men. Their phrasing, and the pacing of their words, and emphasis remain true to their normal manner of speaking. They do not suddenly start talking like women.

So why, when they get on the radio, do they start talking like women?

I can’t really demonstrate the difference in print. But I can relate an exchange I had with a woman boss. She asked me one day about some of the male customers.

She said, “Why do men always say, ‘HEL-lo’?” She pitched her voice as low as she could, and said the word ‘hello’ in a very crisp, clipped manner, with heavy emphasis on the first syllable.

So I answered, “Because it sounds really silly when men say…” here I put on my best attempt at a Minnie Mouse voice, “…Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!” (which was actually an impersonation of my boss’ usual greeting.)

That’s kind of the difference I hear on the radio. Men who would say “HEL-lo” in person saying “Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!” on the radio.

33

???

Why don’t they make 30 second spot instead of a 35 second one.

34

I know the answer. You’re totally fucking insane.

35

Not your profession, you, moron.

36

Money.

A radio engineer explained it to me once. My father had been interviewed for a business story. He has a very deep voice, but when you heard it on the radio it sounded as though he had taken a hit of helium.

There was only so much time alloted for the business news and they wanted to squeeze in the two sentences from my father, so they just sped it up. This wasn’t a rinky-dink little station, either. It was one of the big NY AM ones, but I have forgotten which.

Time is money. I guess.

37

Sure, I could see the occasional need to temporally compress some audio, but when I was a recording engineer in a studio, if the spot was a 30 sec spot, you recorded for 30 seconds.

38

I’m sure that’s done professionally.

But when some yahoo wants to do his own ad, then maybe corners are cut?

I don’t notice it that often, but I think I can tell when a voice has been speeded up. It just sounds a bit unnatural. Plus the other tricks they use, such as editing out pauses and breath-taking.

39

I suppose I should give the OP some credit for bringing this up, after all. I hate the way my own speaking voice sounds when recorded, and by god, it does sound a little bit like Michael Jackson! I’m reassured to know that what I hear is not necessarily what I say, in a manner of speaking.

That said, Phase42, you’re new here and would probably benefit by lurking some more to get a feel for the culture of this place. The moderators give us wide lattitude in the pit, but I believe slurs on race and sexual preference are discouraged even here.

40

Well there are all sorts of tricks that could be done, but why spend an hour whittling a 35 second ad into a 30 second spot, when you can spend 30 seconds recording a 30 second spot.

Like you said time is money.