Radio commercials are often seen as an irritation to be endured while waiting for some music to come on, but what some people seem to forget is that they have been an important part of the entertainment business for nearly a century. Not only do they help to generate revenue for the radio stations, but they also provide employment for many people.
This is the perfect day to show appreciation for these ads that are played on the air, because it is time for Radio Commercials Day!
Radio Commercials Day was founded to commemorate the day when the very first radio commercial was broadcast on a New York radio station, WEAF. This took place on August 28, 1922 and the advertisement was for an American estate agent, Queensboro Realty.
While the US got its start with advertisements on privately held radio stations rather early on, it would take more than 50 years for this concept to spread across the ocean. In fact, it wasn’t until 1973 that the UK had its first radio commercial, which ran on LBC and the advertisement promoted Birds Eye frozen food.
Radio Commercials Day offers a super opportunity to change that dial, turn the volume up a little bit higher, and get listening to the radio!
A fun activity for Radio Commercials Day, especially for older students, might be to have a class project where they become writers for their own radio ads and then read them out loud. This would be a great project for a class that is focused on marketing, advertising or just business in general. For even more fun, give the students access to the school’s radio broadcasting studio and let them record the radio commercials that they have written, so they can also learn the skill of producing them as well.
