Putting Words in my Mouth

You might hear my voice say this sentence on the radio but it’s not my fault!    A client made me do it.

“Summer is half over!”

I saw it on the script and let out a helpless peep of sadness.  Of course, summer isn’t half over yet but this is how it works in the radio commercial game.  It was what’s known as a “spec” spot for a client to approve.  The spot gets produced, the client listens to it and says Yay or Nay and then if it’s a go, it’s scheduled to make it to the airwaves.  Sometimes that can take a couple of weeks so smart sales and creative types plan ahead.  And that’s how it happened that I said, Summer is half over, this week.

One of the downsides of our business is that it can force you to rush past today and look way down the road. I suppose a lot of occupations are like that but a lot are not.  I like to live in the  moment and not worry about what’s to come.  In this case, snow, cold temperatures and ice.  It’s not ignoring reality, it’s savouring the “now” and letting the future come in its own good time.  It’ll get here!

So the next time you hear a “back to school” commercial in July or a “Christmas” ad in October, don’t blame the voice!  And if you’re feeling sorry that the thought has been put into your unwilling head earlier than you would have liked, pity the poor announcer who may have recorded those words weeks before you heard them!  We like summer to last and not think about its end, too.