Saturday, May 3, 2008

New WCBS Spots









5 comments:

Victor said...

These are nicely done, but the problem I have with these is that they make the anchors and reporters out to be people that have some sort of unquenchable need to bring the news to The People.

Even before I ever worked in news, I knew this was ridiculous.

News people work in news because it's their job, and the better they are at it, the more they'll get paid (in theory). I have never ever met one news person that was in the business to HELP people.

So when I see spots like these that paint the picture of news anchors sitting around asking themselves "What can *I* do to make the lives of our viewers better?", it comes across as false and pretentious.


A better promo would be to start off showing a photo of Dallas. The bring in the anchor's voice. "See that? That's where I want to be in a couple of year's time... and to get there, I have to deliver to you the best darn news I can. I have to appear friendly and caring and interested in your little town's small-time news. And believe me, until I get that job in Dallas, I WILL... to the best of my ability. I promise you that."

Anonymous said...

You're right, Vic. A little pretentious. And not really exciting enough to capture and keep my attention either.

By the way, think the line "things can change in the blink of an eye" has become a promo cliche? Think again. There's something dangerous in your drinking water, and it's a parent's worst nightmare. Might as well say "film at 11."

Enough, already.

Anonymous said...

They look pretty...but there not saying or doing anything new. Just OK in my opinion.

Anonymous said...

Evil Monkey, I thought the same thing about the "blink of an eye" line. Nobody buys that anymore. And did anyone else find an odd contradiction between the b/w stills and the "HD2" tagline? I have a feeling these were done by someone who was producing promos in 1992.

Anonymous said...

I’ve often said local TV news is the most advertised product on TV. And you would think that in the #1 market of New York City, a station like WCBS, a network O&O, would have some of the best written, most polished news promos in the country. But in looking at WCBS’s latest efforts, you’d be wrong.
Sappy music over slow moving black and white still images while an announcer tries his best with some of the most clichéd news promotion copy I’ve ever heard.
Cliches like ‘in the blink of an eye’, ‘working hard to bring you the news that matters most’, ‘not just headlines, but real stories’, and of course, ‘the news shaping our world’.
OK, at least nobody is yelling at me, no bold, in-your-face-graphics accompanied by with Star Wars sound effects, and no one can accuse these of being over-produced.
About the only positive comment I could make is at least they’re consistent.
Paul Greeley
pgreeley98@aol.com