1 of 1- unclefester
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Ever Answer Your Home Phone By Saying.....?????
.....by saying....."I listen to CHUM...." ???
That had to be the greatest radio promotion ever don't you think...
I had some same-age cousins living in Toronto back then and I KNOW that's how they answered their home phone...
If you're an old timer did you or perhaps a family member or friend ever get in on this great Toronto centric promotion ??
Remember now....when your phone rings don't say hello....say I listen to CHUM !!!
Loved it !!!
Last edited by unclefester (March 31, 2016 10:48 pm)
- Old Codger
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Re: Ever Answer Your Home Phone By Saying.....?????
Ya...It worked...to a degree. I never answered my phone that way mind you. It 'felt' stupid to actually do it so...I didn't. I DID win 'It Hurts to Be in Love' by Gene Pitney by being the first caller through one night with 'The Battle of the New Sounds'. Good enough. My CHUM BUG number was never printed on any of the old CHUM CHARTS. That ended when they stopped the larger top 50 version and went to the single slip top 40 format. Giving stuff away on air was OK. Trying to over hype less than meaningful prizes kind of sucked though.
"Mary....YOU just won a fresh, crisp, brand new 10 dollar bill!!!!!"
...Screams of joy and ecstasy...
What's YOUR favourite radio station Mary?!?!?!?!?"
[Mary fills in the blanks...and hits the vocal]
That was OK...maybe it created a bit of fun and excitement. But what really mattered? The music and how much of it you played. Anyone with any measure of maturity preferred that the music NOT be 'fiddled' with. "Play as many songs as you can...make sure you play the right ones...and DON'T talk all over every intro and cut off the ends/fades of the songs." People listen to MUSIC radio for the music FIRST and foremost. It's always been that way. The formatting 'Drakes' of this world sure missed THAT boat...every trip. Stupid ducks.
I listen to CHUM? No one can say THAT anymore...at least not about the 'CHUM' which tried to get Toronto to say that every time the phone rang. Al Boliska heading to 580 didn't do CHUM in. BIG Tom checkin' in at 680 sure did. I guess certain 'jocks' mattered too. [PDs? Not so much]
- Radiowiz
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Re: Ever Answer Your Home Phone By Saying.....?????
There was no call display in those days.
If Chum FM were to try this today, they have no way of knowing if you always say that or only say it when the call display can't identify the caller's name.
Such a silly fun yesterday thing...way before my time.
RadioWiz & RadioQuiz are NOT the same person.
RadioWiz & THE Wiz are NOT the same person.
- RadioActive
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Re: Ever Answer Your Home Phone By Saying.....?????
"Don't say hello..." was a classic promotion, but for my money the all time greatest had to be "The Last Contest." It was created at KCBQ in San Diego in the 70s and quickly spread to other radio stations - including CFTR in Toronto. If you're not familiar with it, its sheer brilliance came in the form of what it promised but didn't always deliver.
An incredible array of highly pre-produced spots offered listeners astounding prizes, like airplanes, yachts, trips around the world, your own island, three Ferraris etc. etc. Each was offered as part of a numbered "prize package" and to claim it, you simply had to be the right caller at a secret phone number which would be given out on the air at "any time," and name your prize package.
The beauty of the thing was that they only gave the number out once, after months and months of hype, which means they gave away exactly one prize one time, but were allowed to promise a dazzling number of impossible riches worth millions which could never be claimed. And by promoting the hell out of it, the station gained high ratings and lots of publicity.
It was brilliant and remains my all time favourite promotion ever.