Big Boy Pumps Up Nationally Syndicated Morning Show

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Billboard ads have made the difference for Big Boy, the L.A. radio personality who just signed with ABC for a nationally syndicated morning program.


The radio personality was first seen in billboard ads in the 1990s when the station highlighted his nearly naked 500-plus pound body on billboards spoofing Hollywood ad campaigns. His accompanying weight loss also was documented in a billboard campaign.


This summer drivers in L.A. have seen Big Boy’s sourpuss in billboards as he waves away some flatulence, accompanied by the text “Big Boy’s Got Gas.” The campaign not only promotes Big Boy’s popular morning show but a KPWR-FM (105.9) fuel giveaway.


The bigness goes beyond imagery to the Arbitron ratings.


“Big Boy is a proven force and he’s gotten it done book after book in one of radio’s toughest markets: Los Angeles,” said Darryl Brown, executive vice-president of multicultural at ABC Radio Networks.


Helped along by high ratings for Big Boy’s popular morning show, KPWR, or “Power 106,” is the number two English-language music station in Los Angeles, with an average market share of 3.8 percent, according to Arbitron. The station ranks sixth overall in the L.A. market.


“We have a great morning show in Los Angeles and I’m very excited to work with ABC to share our show in other markets,” said the radio personality in a prepared statement.


But how well will Big Boy play in Peoria without the billboards?



Best/Worst Ads

The L.A.-based Parents Television Council has announced its list of best and worst advertisers for 2007, with some surprising results.


PTC mainly rates shows, but once a year the group rates companies based not on the content of their ads but which shows they choose to advertise on. Marketers need to “realize that their ad dollars do more than showcase their company , they are a tacit approval of the television show’s content,” according to PTC President Tim Winter,


On the Best Advertiser list, Burbank-based Walt Disney Co. placed second behind Procter & Gamble. But the best list also included Viacom, owner of Comedy Central and MTV, cable channels known for their edginess.


The worst list skews toward automotive advertisers, with Toyota and General Motors taking the top spots and Volkswagen in sixth place. While Limited Brands (parent of Victoria’s Secret) took third, other names on the list Payless Shoes, Dunkin’ Donuts and Bayer portray family-friendly brands while ranking as big sponsors of raunch in primetime.



CBS on Rails

CBS Outdoor has landed two contracts with the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, one for buses and the other for the rail system. While CBS has handled the county’s bus advertising for decades, this is the first time the company will sell space on the L.A. County rail system the third largest in the country.


Rail ads “target the hard-to-reach business audience, including corporate decision-makers and executive women,” according to CBS. To impress this demographic, CBS will offer the regular rail advertising vehicles interior car cards, platform posters but it also will wrap entire trains. Moreover, brands seeking full market coverage can “buy” an entire Metro station, enabling the advertiser to set up displays in high-traffic areas and turn the station into a commercial exhibit. CBS calls this approach “Station Domination,” and claims it works best for advertisers with “an umbrella message to impart with multiple facets.”


On the bus contract, CBS will continue to offer full wraps, full backs and side displays on Metro people-haulers.



Agencies & Accounts

CurtCo Media’s magazine Art & Antiques has hired JMPR Public Relations to promote a re-launch of the publication. Woodland Hills-based JMPR will target lifestyle and business consumer media as well as art industry trade publications. Until now, JMPR has served mostly auto clients, including Galpin Motors and the Petersen Automotive Museum. Fraser Communications in Santa Monica developed a campaign to reverse an increase of syphilis, gonorrhea and chlamydia in L.A. County. Paid for by Los Angeles County, the outdoor campaign presents a marketing challenge because the diseases are often asymptomatic, so people don’t know if they are the audience. Hence the tagline “Don’t Think, Know.” LA-based CarryOn Communication has won business from Zannel, an instant mobile messaging platform. Zannel will launch its MySpace-like functionality for phones this fall. CarryOn got the nod thanks to previous work for telephonic brands Yahoo Mobile, Mobile ESPN and JDate.com.



Staff reporter Joel Russell can be reached at

[email protected]

, or at (323) 549-5225, ext. 237.

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