Gruen Transfer puts radio ahead of social media…
It’s official. The recent and rather excellent Gruen Transfer book has radio exactly 108 pages ahead of the social media section. They also asked me five more questions than Julian Cole. Not that I’m counting.
We can only assume that they’ve heard a few of the excellent ads we’ve been fortunate enough to work on recently.
Below you’ll hear what Kiwis think about digital radio, why voice talent should leave their phones on, and how Coopers killed a girl guide. Just click on the pictures and they will make noise.
Also, we introduce EarCandy where we spotlight a few excellent actors you’ve probably never thought of using.
Lots of lobe,
Ralph
AGENCY: JWT Melbourne

CLIENT: Vegemite
In this campaign we bring YouTube to the radio, and thanks to a happy accident mid-take (and sublime casting) this ad has been voted a hit by thousands.
AGENCY: Eardrum
CLIENT: Commercial Radio Australia
Digital radio is all about choice, so it made sense to cast a Kiwi for this ad. Oh, and if you really love someone, you’ll buy them a digital radio for Christmas. With so many new stations you’ll never have to speak to them again.
AGENCY: BMF
CLIENT: Football Federation of Australia
We knew this ad needed passion, drama, excitement and really, really bad singing. We also knew it had the potential to be an award winner. Congratulations Dean and Paul on picking up the Siren Ad of the Quarter. Next stop Cannes?
AGENCY: Eardrum
CLIENT: GraysOnline.com
How do you make a direct retail message for Gray’s DIY section entertaining? Add a randy mother-in-law of course.
AGENCY: KWP
CLIENT: Coopers Home Brew
Warning. Coopers home-brew can harm girl guides. We love this campaign for two reasons; the vivid pictures we created, and the Siren Award it picked up this quarter.
Ear Plugs
A few recent Eardrum related articles we sent to our Mums.
The Brass Section
We hate to blow our own trumpet but we’ve made more than our fair share of award winners recently. Six Lions, a silver Siren, silver London International and two out of three in the last Siren round. Big props to Josh Edge and Rikki Burns from The Brand Agency for picking up the $20k Austereo prize for the Perth Zoo campaign. Runner up was the HBF campaign by Meerkats – another Eardrum production.
Eardrum Casting has been responsible for tracking down many of the best voices currently on TV and Radio. We thought we’d share a few of our recent picks so you too can cast your net a little wider.
Mark Constable
We spotted Mark performing in West Side Story recently. His natural resonance and uncontrived gruffness gives his voice a lived-in quality. When you combine that with great acting ability and a few vocal quirks, you've got a very distinctive character.
Jean Kittson
Jean's ability to lend her own brand of whimsy to a project was what inspired us to cast her for this THRIFTY campaign.She got the most out of each beautifully written script and you can't help but be drawn in to the stories.
Linda Cropper
There's a vast chasm between the voices who simply make the words audible, and the actors who bring words to life. This is why actors like Linda are in such demand for TV, theatre and film. Book her before someone in Hollywood does.
