'The Thing.' What Arthur Godfrey can
teach you about immediate online video success. A (mostly) laudatory
look at the man who brought intimacy to media.
Author's program note. I can see Arthur
Godfrey's domain so very clearly in my mind's eye. It was my
grandmother's kitchen, a place of succulent smells and apple- pie
order, the care and feeding of her extensive brood her primary, her
only objective.
There on the counter, under the wooden
cupboards filled with the essential ingredients for one gustatory
triumph after another, was the radio. It was oblong, plastic, two
shades of brown I recall, turned on promptly and early every day, the
clear signal that a brand-new day had begun, a day for which we
would be ready... thanks to her ample meals... and the upbeat
chatter of Arthur Godfrey, who cheered her at her labors, made her
chuckle and nod her head in perfect agreement as he delivered some
sage advice or admonition, always candid comments a long-time friend
might make... or a joke that just missed being blue... but wasn't.
The radio brought so many on-air
friends to the spotless kitchen on Belmont Road, people like
Gertrude Berg, Amos and Andy, Ralph Edwards, Stan Freberg, Bob and
Ray, Fibber McGee, The Ol' Professor (Kay Kyser), but none more
eagerly awaited or more warmly welcomed than Arthur Godfrey. This
article tells you why, and if you're one of the burgeoning number of
people worldwide who want to stay home and profit from online media
(like I do) you'll attend to every word in this article as if it were
celestial writ, explicated just for you, as it most surely is.
But first the music, wacky, humorous,
written by a wag (Charles Randolph Green), sung by a wag (Godfrey),
always sung raucously by its listeners, who often had to be shushed
by grammie who could be counted on to mind our wavering manners.
It's called "The Thing", and you'll find Godfrey's 1950
version in any search engine.
In a moment you'll be tapping your
feet to the silly little ditty, smiling. That was Arthur Godfrey's
talent... and it made him rich, the friend of presidents, and the
buddy and pal to folks everywhere who regarded him as the signal
companion and confidant of their often difficult and isolated lives.
He had a good time dreaming up what he dished out to America; he was
sure you'd have a good time listening to it... and he was right.
'"But this is what he hollered at
me/As I walked into his shop/ 'Oh, get out of here with that (knock,
knock, knock)/ Before I call a cop'."
Facts about Arthur Godfrey
(1903-1983).
Arthur Godfrey came near to not
existing at all. You see, his mother Kathryn Morton Godfrey was from
a wealthy family from Oswego, New York. Her family was adamantly
opposed to her marrying an older Englishman. Not only was he
significantly older; as a sportswriter and expert on surrey and
hackney horses, they deemed him rackety and unstable. She married
him anyway. Arthur was the first of five children, forced by
circumstances to work before and after school. He left home at age
14 to ease the financial burden on his parents, ultimately lying
about his age (15) to enlist in the Navy.
He was learning perhaps the most
important thing self-made people must master, that he could do what
was necessary to thrive, could take lemons and turn them into
lemonade... and so long as he kept people smiling, there was nowhere
to go but up. It was a supremely important thing to learn and until
the notorious day he forgot himself on air, he used this insight to
achieve colossal wealth and the affection of a great nation.
What he needed was what every
successful person needs... a break. He got it when he persuaded the
folks at Baltimore station WFBR (now WJZ AM) that he'd be the best
announcer the world had ever seen. They probably didn't believe his
bombastic assertion but that was irrelevant. Godfrey believed it. And
that's what counted. It was the beginning of a lifelong love affair
and changed the way smart cookies like Godfrey used media to maximum
advantage.
Pre-Godfrey media: Rigor Mortis,
pompous twits, unbearably dull and deadly.
As Godfrey was perfecting his folksy
style (a lifelong endeavor), mainline media were boring the nation
and the world witless. The announcers, for instance, adhered to the
regulation stiff, formal style. It was affected, conceited,
flatulent, presumptuous, pretentious, self-centered, self-important,
arrogant, egotistic, flowery, fustian, grandiloquent ... and in case
you missed the point, high and mighty, highfalutin, all so proper...
and excruciating.
This was most epitomized by John
(Lord) Reith who in December 1922 was hired to be the managing
director of the British Broadcasting Company, arguably the most
important media outfit on Earth, the voice of the empire on which the
sun never set. He wanted employees to look as grand and stately as
the imperium they served. Thus he wheedled and intrigued until
January 4, 1926 he imposed a dress code on BBC radio announcers.
They must wear evening dress to match the formal dress already
required of performing artists. He even forced war correspondents to
wear neck ties.
In this way the adamant positions of
each side were set; Reith stood for High Culture (think Wagner) and
Civilization (think Lord Kenneth Clark); Godfrey wanted to show the
folks a good time, some crooning, Ripley's "Believe It or Not"
type news features, jokes, double entendres, puns, riddles, all
financed by sponsors like Chesterfield cigarettes and Lipton tea..
Godfrey had a very special
relationship with these sponsors. At the beginning of his career, he
played it straight; he read the sponsor's copy as they wrote it.
However, at some point he had a crucial brain flash. He started to
tease the sponsors, poking fun at them. Of course those folks
squirmed and were concerned... but then an astonishing thing
happened. Godfrey teased... sales went UP!
People knew their "Old Redhead"
was teasing, liked him better for taking the wind out of the stuffed
shirts, and bought because he told them so, bluntly, honestly, with
tongue in cheek. It was a revelation Madison Avenue noted and ran
with all the way to the bank. Here are some other insights we owe to
Godfrey and his continuing education about enhancing the power and
influence of media; intelligence you can use right now as you build
your international empire at home with online video marketing, no
evening dress and polished pumps required!
1) Relax. Your audience will take its
cue from you.
2) Look at the camera, and talk
directly to your audience. (Here we have the advantage over Godfrey
because online video marketing gives you the actual names of all
people tuning in. This builds relationships fast.)
3) Laugh. Laughter is infectious.
Godfrey was the master of human mirth and merriment. You can hear it
in his voice; your audience needs to hear it in yours.
4) Tell jokes. But make sure they are
in good taste. Godfrey was always pushing this envelope. I'd suggest
you didn't.
5) Have quiz questions and contests.
Give small prizes and give them often. You want to foster
interactivity every chance you get.
6) Invite special guests to come on
your program. Variety is the spice of life.
7) Sing. Godfrey was famous for
bursting into song at a moment's notice. He had singing talent. I
don't, but I get a lot of credit for trying (and a few "don't
quit your day job" comments).
8) Cry. Arthur Godfrey was one of the
first major media personalities to cry on air. When describing
President Harry S. Truman's car in the 1949 inaugural parade, he
fervently said in a choked voice, "God bless him, President
Truman". He then broke down in tears and moved America. I say
along with Vice President Hubert Humphrey, "A man without tears
is a man without a heart."
9) Experiment. Godfrey learned his
craft from the bottom up. As he did he experimented to see what
would best enthuse the members of his vast audience, gaining their
attention... and keeping it. You will need to experiment, too.
10) Never condescend to your audience
or the staff that assists you be as good as you can be. Talk to
them, yes; confide in them, yes; embrace them with true affection
and love, yes. But never talk down to them or forget, these are the
people who made you as great, rich and influential as you will be if
you follow these directions. Sadly, Godfrey did just that to a
singer named Julius LaRosa. What he did is a lesson to us all.
It all started with a missed dance
lesson.
Like so many of the rich and famous,
Godfrey had his share of nostrums and craziness. For instance, he
insisted that all the on-air members of his "family" take
dance lessons. His "boys" didn't like this demand, viewing
dance as they did as effeminate and a waste of time. Julius LaRosa
certainly thought that way, and he missed his lessons, to Godfrey's
fury and rage.
Problem was, LaRosa was good looking,
a crowd pleasing singer (for all that his talent was thin), and
soon to be recording star, with a little number called "Eh,
Cumpari". LaRosa's fan mail soared, soon outdistancing
Godfrey's. Godfrey didn't like any of this one little bit, and so on
October 19,1953 paternalistic Godfrey fired LaRosa on air, to the
astonishment of LaRosa, his record producer and Mr. and Mrs.
America and all the ships at sea. They saw Godfrey's teeth, and they
were sharp. That reality didn't go along with his carefully crafted
Mr. Nice Guy image, friend of the people.
America knew you didn't treat
underlings the way big shot Godfrey treated LaRosa. Maybe Godfrey
wasn't such a nice guy after all. That was the beginning of the
end.... and the most galling thing about this matter was that
Godfrey had done it to himself, a point he never accepted.
It goes without saying, of course,
that you won't make this big boo-boo yourself when you're a video
star, graceful, agile, the master of nuance, a "natural"
who makes the world a better place every time you come up.
How can I be so sure? Because I will
work with you in my online video marketing class... and the most
astonishing thing of all, is that I'll train you for FREE. For all
the details contact the Dealer noted below. You are about to become
one of the world's stars, The Thing the world aspires to be and which
you will soon exemplify, you lucky dog.
About the Author
Harvard-educated Dr. Jeffrey Lant is
CEO of Worldprofit, Inc. a web-based company providing a wide range
of online services for small and-home based businesses for the last
20 years. Republished with author's permission by Vaurn James http://SuccessRoute.biz.
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