Brand New News Promos And Some Classics, Too

Before you watch this first spot, you need some history.

Its roots go all the way back to the 1980s when a concept promo called Home Movies was created for WPVI, ABC’s Philadelphia O&O.

The idea is that a family visits the Philadelphia area and shoots some home movies of their trip. Then they’re at home watching the movies when they notice that everywhere they went, a news van managed to work its way into the shot.

“It’s a great example of a simple, single idea that’s well-executed,” said Mike Davis, the man who originated the spot.

That was from an article I wrote about early local TV news promotion and two men who combined to create more than 1,300 local spots for more than 60 TV stations, mostly in large markets.

Here’s the original Home Movies:

Now here’s a spot from KNXV, the ABC affiliate in Phoenix owned by Scripps using the tag line, “There’s that news van again.”

WHBQ, Fox, Memphis, Cox
Good Morning, Memphis

WHBQ, Fox, Memphis, Cox
9pm News

KNBC, NBC, Los Angeles,
Investigators

A graphically driven spot highlighting the work of KNBC’s investigative/consumer unit. Kind of feels like the Ford 150 spots voiced by Denis Leary.

WBZ, CBS, Boston
WBZ and CBS This Morning
Care went into picking just the right bites and editing them into this spot. Nicely done.

KCRA, NBC, Sacramento, Hearst
4 p.m. Newscast
I’m not picking on KCRA, but the opening line in this spot is what I would call a hollow claim.

WPTA, Fort Wayne, ABC, Quincy
4 Degree Guarantee
Cute, memorable spot announcing that 4 degree guarantee campaign.

Here are some old promos I thought you’d enjoy:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AdxVbgaJvBM