Hick Farmer: Hey, nay-bor...Whatzzat on yer roof? Smart Farmer: (obviously) It’s a satellite dish. Hick Farmer: Whazzit fer...? Talkin’ to Martians?

You can almost hear slack jaw in your head. And it makes you want to hear more. That’s your goal for radio.

Another ad for same product was even better.

Smart Farmer: Hey, neighbor... Why so glum? Hick Farmer: Aw... weeds, bugs, disease... my crops are about ruined... I’ve had an awful year. The wife has been pickin’ her tooth for leftovers.

Now, I’m not a farmer. I never heard of conditioning soil. But, you can bet I understood what it did after these ads. And did I mention I was wondrously entertained when receiving this information?

While I can only hint at hilarity of this ad series, one thing to make sure of is that you progress through to your benefit without losing audience. Tough, but a good writer can do it.

And, notice that word... ‘series.’ If you have a good concept, it may be worth your while to think in terms of multiple executions rather than just one.

To be fair, these ads were produced by an ad agency with a good sized budget. The campaign also won some ad awards and some industry awards. The point is-- a good ad isn’t loud, repetitive, trite, condescending, or tries to jam as many words possible into time frame. In fact, silence works to your advantage. Silence in radio (or even TV) is like white space on a print ad. It tastefully surrounds content for maximum effectiveness, drawing eye (or in this case, ear) in to read (hear) copy.

Voices are important, too. Ever listen to radio and hear same voice all over ads? That’s usually Mr. or Ms. Producer-- person who makes sure ad gets made. That’s why they don’t have time to write a good one for you. Many freelance writers, me included, know something about voices and casting, and can probably get you best talent for your dollar. Some writers can even voice their own copy. Yes, it'll cost more, but at least you can differentiate. And think twice, no, three times, before reading it yourself.

Oh, and if you’re wondering what length of ad to buy? In most cases, go for :60. For just a few dollars more, you get twice time to play with. If you are spending money on radio, use ALL resources available to you to create best possible ad. And that usually entails going outside radio station walls to get it.

If you do it well enough, you may even get a little backlash. Remember what I said before about being noticed? In addition to increased traffic, calls, and sales, you may get an increase in complaints. But it’s not all bad news.

Breakthrough advertising breaks some rules, and smaller minded people will complain. Never pull plug on an ad because of ONE or TWO complaints. These people simply don’t get it, and probably wouldn’t make good customers for you.

Either that, or they just really like bad advertising. Good... Day!