Newstalk has removed its slogan "move the dial" from a television advertisement in order for it to run on RTÉ, saying it "can't forgo" marketing to its target audience any longer.
Its ad, called Don’t Hold Back, was rejected by RTÉ in April last year on the basis of internal Montrose guidelines, which say commercials for media sector rivals should not contain a “call-to-action” message such as “move the dial”.
The slogan appeared in the final frame of the original ad next to Newstalk’s brand name. RTÉ refused to run both it and revised versions that finished with the lines “m*** the d***” and “m106 the d108” – the latter being a reference to Newstalk’s FM frequency.
RTÉ’s in-house guidelines, in place since the advent of commercial broadcasting in Ireland, specify that ads for rival radio stations on RTÉ Television should not “exhort viewers to switch radio channels”. The broadcaster says this is a widely understood standard practice in the media sector.
Newstalk, which is owned by Denis O'Brien's radio group Communicorp, later complained to Europe that RTÉ's use of licence fee funds was in breach of EU rules on State aid and that its commercial activities were "not being carried out on market terms".
It also complained directly about the case to the Irish authority now called the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC).
But Communicorp now says it does not want to wait for the outcome of the complaint to the CCPC. It has modified the ad solely for use on RTÉ Television so that it no longer contains the line “move the dial”. This version will air on RTÉ from Friday night.
Disgrace
Clíona Hayes, Communicorp’s group marketing director, said RTÉ’s actions were “a disgrace” and reiterated the company’s belief that it abused its market position by rejecting the ad in its original form – a claim RTÉ denies.
“RTÉ is obviously in a luxury position if it can refuse to take our money,” Ms Hayes said.
The decision not to accept the original ad has diminished the effectiveness of Newstalk’s campaign, she added.
The call-to-action “move the dial” was first used by Newstalk to promote Pat Kenny’s show after he defected from RTÉ in 2013. Communicorp says it has submitted a new ad without the line as it would be “detrimental” to the station not to advertise on RTÉ Television in its 2015 marketing push. The original ad has run on other TV channels in recent weeks.
“At this stage we just want to move forward with our plans for the station,” Ms Hayes said.
Newstalk is spending "a significant six-figure sum" on a wider campaign, which includes both the Don't Hold Back television commercial and out-of-home advertisements it describes as some of its most provocative to date.
One of the new billboards suggests in a large font that its most popular presenters, Newstalk Breakfast duo Ivan Yates and Chris Donoghue, are in the habit of "taking the bullsh***ers by the horns" (our asterisks).
Complaints
Ms Hayes said it was possible this ad would generate complaints. “There is always the risk of not pleasing everybody.”
Another billboard ad reads: “Laugh. Cry. Question. And that’s just the traffic updates.”
Newstalk is in the process of recruiting a new chief executive, following the departure last month of Gerard Whelan.
Although the station was the success story of the national radio market in 2014, adding listeners throughout the year, its market share of 6.4 per cent is a long way behind RTÉ Radio 1’s 21.5 per cent. It has ambitions to close that gap.
