This may not be worth a separate post, but twelve hours later, I'm still shaking my head.
Last evening I saw the most appalling few seconds of video it has ever been my misfortune to view.
Can you guess what it is?
You got it on the first try!
It's the "Chariots of Fire" advertisement for RaGE.
Richie, Greg, Sybil, Armen, and a guy or two I don't know, running around on a football field and crashing into one another with the "Chariots of Fire" theme playing in the background.
The distance shots are in slow motion and quickly cut away from. You can't really fix on anyone's face.
The close-up shots are also slow motion and quickly cut away from. You can't really fix on anyone's face.
The running and crashing-into-each-other shots are shot so . . . You can't really fix on anyone's face.
It's around 20 seconds and they cut away so frequently that . . . You can't really fix on anyone's face.
So the point of doing a visual ad thing for a personality-based program is . . . ?
Let's play Fun with Adjectives: amateurish, ineffective, embarrassing, ill-conceived, irrelevant, cheap-looking, thrown-together, desperate.
There is only one part of RaGE I would want to embrace, and they didn't even manage to employ her charms to advantage.
They decide to do a TV spot, and this is the best they can do. Fake enthusiasm, fake camaraderie, and no indication of what these running-and-jumping-and-crashing people actually do.
Don't believe me?
Jaw-Dropping RaGE Ad
It's over. It's got to be over.
The most ill-conceived radio station with the most amount of money thrown at it...maybe in the history of DFW radio (?). And on top of that, toss on what might be the most overhyped, ill-conceived radio show with the most amount of money thrown at it...maybe in the history of DFW radio (?). What does it all add up to???? The Chariots of Fire advertisement.
ReplyDeleteDon't be surprised if it surfaces that the brains behind that 20 seconds of stupidity was a show member (eh, either Greggo's "creative" and I'm a star demanding side or of the girlfriend of the co-star, and said co-star angling heavy for it to happen).
This thing has to be on its last legs, right? Right? Has to be. I wish CBS would put RaGE out of its misery. Some of the other shows are salvageable. RaGE is not.
Stupid commercial...no big deal though. I still like RAGE. The Hard Line has -never- been as good as when Greggo was on.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that The Hardline hasn't ever been as good as when Greggo was on. But not because of Greggo, but rather because of Rhyner's (back when Rhyner was still alive--what an asinine bit, by the way) involvement in the show. He has now embraced the concept of "letting the game come to you" to the point that he's pretty much a non-factor in the show unless classic rock talk is involved. When I go back and listen to classic Hardline segments (yes, I have time on my hands), the times where Greggo actually contributes in a meaningful, constructive way are very few and far between. It was Rhyner that made the thing work; without him the show, and maybe the station, would've failed. Greggo was good for shock jock value. I'm not saying this out of spite toward Greggo. Indeed, I was under the impression from my memories of how I thought things were, that it was just the opposite; that without Greggo The Hardline wouldn't have ever grown into what it was/is. But after going back and re-listening, that isn't the case. Not by a long shot. I think Rhyner knew that; he knew what Greggo's worth was, and so, he knew that it was up to him to captain the hazed, grayed, and underway USS Hardline. Since Corby's rise (pre-Greggo departure...so, yes, I think Greggo's beef with taking a backseat to Corby had merit), Rhyner has coasted; letting Corby, and now Danny, take the helm. He's a passenger who becomes interested only where classic rock, baseball, and What's On Mike's Mind are concerned. And lately, he's even begun to sit in the backseat during baseball talk. For all intents and purposes, The Hardline is now Corby and Danny. Mike is merely a figurehead.
ReplyDeleteAnd now that I think about it, maybe this is by design. That the plan is for Corby and Danny to eventually take over the PM Drive slot. Maybe, subtly, Rhyner is grooming Danny to take over for him in the not too distant future. Maybe?
ReplyDeleteRichie, Greg, Sybil, Armen, and a guy or two I don't know, running around on a football field
ReplyDeleteIt's 1 guy you don't know and you don't know him b/c he is a listener. Did you not seem him in the beginning listening to the radio with his girlfriend? Wasn't that hard to figure out. Dumb a**.
Oh come now, Whitt, you shouldn't let a blog posting affect you so much. Don't you have better things to do on a Sunday afternoon than to Google your name?
ReplyDeleteBut wait, it has been over a month since Anon Troll has reared its ugly head. And It's about that time. So welcome back pathetic Anon Troll. Hope you don't stay too long.
Then again, maybe it is Whitt.
@2:54 Anonymous
ReplyDeleteHow does not realizing the no name is the listener at the beginning of the ad invalidate the criticism of the ad? I think you're the dumb a**. A dumb a** with an agenda.
Interesting thoughts ausgang. I don't think Mike is as detached as you seem to think he is, but I get your point. Same thing goes with Anon 11:43. What you say makes sense, but I can't see this being the end of RAGE. If so then why make the commercial in the first place? If that's a last ditch effort, it sure is a poor one. I can't believe that that's a last ditch effort to save a failing show. Let's be frank it is a failing show. I think even RAGE and FAN fans can agree about that. You might not think the show's content is failed, but it is a ratings failure in anyone's eyes.
ReplyDeleteI agree with everyone who thinks the commercial is awful. I don't think this is RAGE's last supper though. I lay my bet on the 105.3 signal remaining in its current format until the end of the year. Which includes RAGE. If ratings don't break through to and consistently stay in the 1.2-3 range by the end of November, I expect CBS to begin to wind things down and ready themselves to ramp up for a Christmas/New Years format change. What that change will be is anybody's guess. A Ticket takeover/FAN merger with both the 105.3 and 1310 signals like some have suggested? Greggo's Hits of the 40s, 70s, and Today station that he used to talk up?
What say y'all?
The unknown is Armen their producer aka guy who don't know his spot at all
ReplyDeleteI thought this was going to be about that god awful rapping Jerry Jones Papa Johns commercial. You must not have seen that one yet.
ReplyDeleteBut year, the RAGE commercial is pretty terrible too, but not out of line with the quality of their show.
Further proof that Bruce Gilbert is a double agent still loyal to The Ticket. How freakin bad and ridiculus can he make The Fan until the CBS bigwigs are onto him?
ReplyDeleteYou know something, 2:45 PM Anonymous? You're right -- I am a dumbass for not seeing that, but the way the car guy was shot in the car and the way he cut away from so quickly when the ad cuts to him on the field I didn't recognize him as the running guy.
ReplyDeleteDoesn't detract from the awfulness of the ad. And is it really an endorsement of the station for the wife to say "I'm so over sports" when the guy is obviously a RaGE listener?
Theater of the mind: Someone is begging for some TV spot for RaGE and some Fan muckety says "OK, we'll buy some spots but don't spend more than a couple large on concept, script, and production."
I'm not a RaGE hater and have had some nice things to say about it in the past. Although my conclusion is "It's got to be over," in fact I agree with those here who think it's going to hang on awhile longer. That they're throwing some ad money at it does seem to be some evidence of that, as a Confessor notes above.
The Jerry rapping ad was bad but at least had the benefit of being laughably bad.
Look, I don't want to bash the guy, I really don't, but -- is Richie becoming prematurely pink? No money for makeup in the ad budget, I guess.
Fake Bake tan + studio cake makeup = human pink piggie.
ReplyDeleteWhile I agree this new ad is ridiculous, the ad from some time back where Richie accosts potential listeners in an industrial section of Dallas really isn't that bad.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=FftEeQmuDWM#t=65s
I think Greggo on a three day coke bender could come up with something more creative than that - so I'm guessing it came from the carpeted offices.
ReplyDeleteOn another subject if I may - has anyone else noticed that lately Mike has been referring to his band as "A Petty Thief"? Their website still says "Petty Theft." I know there is at least one more Petty tribute band out there using that name. Is this Mike being unnecessarily obtuse, or is there something legal going on?
I'm pretty sure they called the band something different during concert calendar on Friday as well (I don't think it was A Petty Theft though, seems like it was something else). I can't remember ever hearing them call it anything but Petty Theft before so it struck me as weird.
ReplyDeleteFirst DeJohn becomes DiGianni, now Petty Theft is A Petty Thief!!!!! The end is near!!!!!
ReplyDeleteHoly crap. Was that Greggo in the do-rag? If the commercial wouldn't have been for the show, I wouldn't have recognized him. At. All.
ReplyDeleteWow. Just wow.
Incredibly corny. The Chariots of Fire slow run is like the most cliche concept of any commercial/skit ever but of course, RAGE/The Fan have zero creativity so we should not be surprised. The Fan is just awful, they try to be a poor-man's version of 103.3 and The Ticket. They fail at having any insightful sports analysis (at least 103.3 will give you the good stuff since that's all they focus on) and they fail at trying to do what the Ticket does because all the personalities at the Fan just aren't very cultured or smart enough to talk about a variety of topics.
ReplyDelete@Anonymous Ron: In case you haven't noticed, the concept of originality and Greggo are mutually exclusive. From the "country witticisms" to the Led Zeppelin return music, ain't nothing that man does is original. Now some of his more extravagant whoppers might be considered to be creative. But let's face it, cooking up "I played pro__you name the sport" or "I banged__you name the celeb" fish tales are pretty pedestrian, too. Even The Ticket Compound, which was his idea, wasn't original. He merely took the Big Brother concept and applied it to the station.
ReplyDeleteOkay, something positive about HeHoo (Plainsman's old moniker for Greggo way back during the "Where's Greggo" days). When he talks about clubhouse whispers and goings on, pay close attention. He knows what he speaks of. I've no idea who his source(s) is/are, but nearly everything he says eventually proves to be true. That, and he has many a kick arse bar and nightlife story from the 80s. I used to LOVE it in the old days when he and Mike used to have Confetti's or some such talk. Oh and one more, no matter his lack of creativity, he's a compelling personality with a perspective worth listening to. I wish he had a partner that was more of leader; Greggo's best suited for color, not play by play. It's the reason why the original Hardline worked so well.
@ Anonymous 7:21. That's exactly the reason why I will tune into RAGE, because Greggo used to bring it, and the listener is hoping he'll do that occasionly. I don't listen enough to have an opinion on it, but when I do, those times are few and far in between, so it's true again when you say he needs a good leader, because Richie ain't it.
ReplyDeleteBring on the grumpy anonymous's (Richie) to bring a dark cloud on the comments now.
Nice comment, 721. I've made the point numerous times that Greg Williams has a real talent for radio, and many of us recall his pre-downfall Hardline days with great fondness.
ReplyDeleteTruth to tell, I don't know what kind of host would suit Hammer's particular gifts. There are not a lot of Mike Rhyners out there (only one, in fact), but when we say that he needs a "stronger" co-host, I think that's about as close as we can come.
I will say that when I need a break from The Hardline, I turn to The Fan and not to ESPN.
They should team up Greggo with Galloway. I would listen to that . . . for the week or two that it lasted.
ReplyDeleteTBH, when corky starts another story with, "So we all met at the hotel bar and this middle-aged woman kept mumbling something to me..," or "My family went to Muscle Scholes before me and I thought my flight was leaving out of DFW..." I find myself happier when I switch over to greggo's "top ten natural disasters...Number 10 is..." Lesser of two evils I suppose.
ReplyDeleteGreggo and Grandpa Urine did work together back in the day.
ReplyDeleteI haven't seen the RAGE commercial, but none of the Ticket promos have ever been creative masterpieces, either. I get the feeling that the Don Drapers of the world don't design radio ads.
ReplyDeleteThe Ticket used to not only run a few ads on the local stations, they had their own Saturday night show. Both things were short lived. Both were every bit as poor as the RaGE commercial.
ReplyDeleteYou could make the argument that, like almost everything else they seem to do, was purposely designed to reflect the early Ticket days.
Anyone notice that the Hardline (and other shows) have been frequently mentioning Greggo/The Hammer lately? I thought I recall there being a ban on that. Anything to this?
ReplyDeleteThe one thing you guys consistently fail to recognize is that CBS is 100% committed to Sports Radio in their top markets. It aint going anywhere. Who do you hire after the best sports pd in the country? For better or for worse, The Fan is here to stay. The biggest problem i see is that 1310 has conditioned DFW to think all sports radio should sound like, or be as good as The Ticket. 1310 kills in DFW and isn't really Sports. Sports Radio kills over the rest of the country and doesn't sound like 1310. This is a different animal.
ReplyDelete