Any time a company wants to grab the attention of a prospective customer, a popular medium is Radio. There are so many kinds of radio commercial voiceover types (and they keep changing) that it’s often difficult to keep track: there’s the Hard Sell (SUNDAY SUNDAY SUNDAY!!!), made to grab the ear and essentially wrestle the listener to the ground; there’s the “Guy/Gal Next Door” read, meant to relax the listener, as if he/she is being addressed by a friend, relaying the virtues of the product; and nowadays we are faced with different generations of listeners–the Baby Boomers (1946-1956), Generation Jones (1957-1964, meant to cover the latter half of the Boomers, and in which I am a member), Generation X (1965-1984), and Millennials (1985-2000), and Generation Y (2001- 2020?) –and the things that appeal to each group is often very different from that which other generations will respond to.

Boomers, in the popular wisdom, are okay with the “in your face” reads, because that’s what they grew up with. Millennials, on the other hand, HATE to be “sold” to. So, the tone in commercials aimed at younger listeners needs to sound more real. That’s a challenge! Especially when the copy isn’t written like a “real person” speaks! But that’s the art of the Voice Artist. Funny thing is–I’ve noticed, for recent gigs, the Millennials I’ve worked for really like that cheesy, old-fashioned Announcer, which of course, in right smack-dab in the heart of MY wheelhouse. So–I’m not complaining!