Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band

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“For many fans, hearing Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band for the first time was a life-changing experience. Prior to its release in June of 1967, most of music being produced was for Top 40, AM radio play and for dance parties. Kids bought 45s and never thought of a collection of songs as a “concept album” or work of art. Sgt. Pepper’s was unlike anything anyone had heard before.”

You had to be there to appreciate “Sgt. Pepper’s” but this piece on today’s All Things Considered takes a good stab at explaining why it was a big deal. I was just finishing my first year of college when the album was released. Perfect timing.

Google Audio: About Your Ad form

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In another lifetime I wrote radio “spots.” A lot of ’em. So please feel free to skip this “shop talk” post.

TechCrunch is getting reports from advertisers that Google Audio Ads have been added as an option to their Adwords accounts. Interesting to see the data collected  with the “About Your Ad” form (Goal of ad; target customer; key messages; call to action; etc.).

And this from the comments on the post: “I’ve been using Audio Ads for months now. I like how you can listen to the actual snippet of your ad being played on the station. I don’t like how you can’t choose a specific radio station, only the type of format and DMA.”

Wonder how they’re getting the mini-air check? I can see how advertisers would love that.

Bonus link: “Analysts Peek Into Google’s Pitch to Radio” (Radio World)

“We’re hearing that a lot.”

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The following telephone conversation took place earlier today:

Caller: “Hi, this is Kevin with Dell and I’m calling about your Dell Dimension 100. Your three year warranty expries this month and I’m calling to see if you’d like to renew… and tell you about some of our special offers.”

smays: “Uh, I’m afraid I’ve got some bad news for you, Kevin.”

Caller: “You’ve switched to Mac.”

smays: (surprised) “Yeah, I have. Uh, how’d you know?”

Caller: “People always say, ‘We’ve got bad news…’ just before they tell us they’ve switched.”

Back to Niketown

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Nike'sExcept they don’t call it Niketown anymore. It’s now “NIKE iD” but you can still design your own sneakers. I still get compliments on the kicks I designed a couple of years ago but, every now and again someone will ask “…but why’d you get the old person style?”

So I tried for a little more “street” this time around. I’m gonna strap these babies on with my Tactical 5.11’s, buy me a case of Krylon and go nuts.