Hasta La Creative!

Throughout life, people become programmed to react in certain ways to certain stimuli. Fire drills, car alarms, and air-raid sirens all mean imminent danger and usually make us spring into action. If you are like me, police sirens have a special place in your heart, and you have an uncanny ability to be the person singled out from a group of speeding cars, forced to begrudgingly hand over a license and registration. Anytime I hear a siren closing in, my heart jumps up into my throat and I take my attention off the road in front of me and start looking for those ominous flashing lights.

Just last week as I drove along on my way to a meeting, I heard a shrill siren that almost made me drive off the road into the storefront of a McDonalds. I strained to see a police car or ambulance through the rain, but there was none. The siren was from a commercial on the radio. This brought to mind an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm in which Larry David takes a friend’s new car out for a spin and hears a loud car horn. Thinking the sound came from the driver behind him, he slams on the brakes and is rear-ended. The two drivers holler for a while, and then Larry realizes the car horn was actually from an AAMCO commercial on the radio. It was a funny moment in the show, but it probably really happens to some unlucky drivers.

Seriously, how is putting loud sirens and car honking in radio commercials even legal? Faux sirens or car horns can be extremely unsafe for those on the road, causing unnecessary distraction and serious accidents. Furthermore, scaring the crap out of potential customers is definitely not going to get a company more sales or positive brand recognition. With all the energy the FCC expends fining DJ’s for saying “butts” on the air, it’s surprising the FCC hasn’t focused on an issue that potentially puts people in actual danger while on the road.

Anna Vortmanis a marketing and advertising manager specializing in branding and new media. Contact her at avortman@gmail.com.