A Tip and a Tribute Thanks to Don LaFontaine

By Propulsion Media Labs Talent #34 Jim J.

The Voiceover Legend:
Don Lafontaine

I remember early in my career being obsessed with equipment.  If I just got "the right gear" my sound would match the big movie trailer guys.  I constantly spent money (what little I had at the time) on the latest and greatest gear but never got "that sound".  After a tip from a book,  I wrote a letter to my voiceover hero Don Lafontaine just to tell him how much I loved his work and how much I admired him.

I never really expected a reply but a few weeks later, a panicked front desk receptionist transferred a call to me one day and yelled, "I think you need to pick this one up Jim!!!".   I picked up the phone nervously and heard,   "Helllooo  Jimmmm!!!"   Don said it in his full out movie trailer voice which floored me in my tracks.  

He was one of the nicest guys.  So humble and talked to me for over 30 mins.  I finally asked him, "Don? What equipment do you use? What microphone?"  This was it!!! I was about to find the missing secret to make me sound more  like him. His reply said it all, "Let me tell you Jim.  It's not about the equipment, it's about the delivery.  I could come right to your tiny radio station studio and sound , more or less, exactly like I would sound in my ABC session that I am about to walk into in 2 mins.  Dont worry about the equipment, worry about delivery"

I will never forget those words from "the man" spoken back many years ago.   While I still highly suggest getting a clean and nice quality studio setup, I no longer worry about having my gear MAKE my sound as much as having my gear TRANSFER my natural delivery and sound.

Thank you Don and may you continue to rest in peace,   Jim.

(For more on LaFontaine's work, check out this youtube video!)

New TV show on CNBC features both the car and production biz

It’s safe to say that Propulsion Media Labs is inundated with hundreds of projects each month that are courtesy of the retail automotive business:  If we’re not churning out a bunch of radio spots, we’re most definitely editing factory footage or filming a local dealer principal on our green screen.  In the midst of all of that hustle and bustle, it’s not often we have the opportunity to see either the car or the production biz as part of pop-culture (other than seeing/hearing our some of our finished work during commercial breaks of our favorite programming). That’s no longer the case thanks to a new TV show. . .

The Profit (airing Monday nights on CNBC) follows entrepreneur Marcus Lemonis as he takes over struggling businesses for a week to help get them back on their feet. It just so happens that the debut episode not only features a New York used-car operation (Car Cash), but also contains a segment in which the Car Cash Marketing Manager was given the task to record a radio spot!  See for yourself here:

 

Kudos to Doug at Ultra Sound Rehearsal Studios for being part of the action. . .Can’t beat the free pub on a national cable network.  We’ll have to track down Marcus so he calls PML next time!

Account Manager Lisa Jobs Joins the Propulsion Staff

Contact: Corey Dissin                                              FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Phone: 610-640-4040

Email: coreydissin@promedialabs.com

PROPULSION WELCOMES NEW ACCOUNT MANAGER

Account Manager Lisa Jobs Joins the Propulsion Staff

Malvern, PA – July 22, 2013 – Propulsion Media Labs is proud to announce that Lisa Jobs is joining their team as an Account Manager. Lisa brings over 20 years of professional media sales experience to the company as an Account Executive at Fox29 Philadelphia, KYW Newsradio and 100.3FM.  Most recently, she has been an adjunct professor at West Chester University’s Communications Studies Department teaching a variety of courses.  In 2005, she authored and self-published the successful cookbook Sensational Stevia Desserts. 

“I’ve known Lisa for many years, and I’m very excited to have her on the Propulsion team.  The sales experience she brings to the table is going to be a great addition to our company.” said Chris Craft, Owner and President of Propulsion.

Lisa is looking forward to getting started and very excited to be back in the media business again, but with a new twist--on the production side.  She earned a Master’s of Journalism and Bachelor of Arts (Communications) from Temple University and resides in the Main Line with her husband and two sons. 

Propulsion Media Labs is a Malvern, PA based audio and video production facility, working for a national roster of clients over the last 20 years. They provide commercial post-production, camera-crew services, and voice talent casting.

ATTENTION INTERESTED STUDENTS: Register to attend our two upcoming Intern Expo and Open House events! See the attached.

Then and Now: Spot Delivery

THEN:

Overnight delivery to stations using Beta SP tapes or via expensive 3rd party digital services that required specific equipment and added costs. 

NOW:

Similar to audio, we create high-resolution MOV or AVI files and upload them via Internet delivery.

Then and Now: Script Delivery

THEN:

Scripts were either sent to us via overnight delivery or faxed. 

NOW:

Digital files are delivered to us via email. 

Kmart “Ship My Pants” Ad: Childish Humor Brings Grown-Up Results

Some have called it childish, immature, and even vulgar.  The rest of the online world calls it over 11 million views on YouTube and one of the more successful and hilarious viral video campaigns to occur in this generation.  Kmart’s most recent ad, “Ship My Pants” is focused around a play on words where “ship” sounds like a much more inappropriate word.  It’s a quick paced ad about Kmart’s online free shipping with some childish sleight of mouth that is guaranteed to make any 12 year old boy crack up.

                

But the thing is that this ad didn't just hit the funny bone of middle school students.  It has lit up the social media world, taking off from its reveal on April 10^th to spiral into a massive viral campaign.  It has been shared over 18,000 times on Facebook and has received over 53,000 “likes” on the YouTube video (as compared to the 2,000+ “dislikes”).  Articles on the controversial ad have appeared CNN, ABC, and USA Today among many other well-read sites.  Immature humor or not, the fact is this ad got people laughing and, more importantly, got people talking.

                

Kmart took a big risk by doing such an out-of-character ad.  No matter how funny or clever, an ad that breaches the accepted image of a company can have a serious negative impact.  A 30 second dirty word joke is quite a step out of the family friendly style that Kmart has been known for, and they have certainly lost some fans from it.  However, the good greatly outweighs the bad here.  The risk certainly paid off, showing two things: that sometimes taking that leap towards edgy and controversial can be exactly the right move, and that one should never underestimate the simplicity and strength of a bathroom humor joke.