Kars4Kids

If you live around New York (or apparently anywhere else in the country), you know the song.

"One-eight-seven-seven Kars for Kids. K-A-R-S Kars for Kids. One-eight-seven-seven Kars for Kids. Donate your car today."

The original song, which serves as a commercial for a firm that receives used cars for donations to Jewish children and their families, is played numerous times throughout the day on radio stations. They also sponsor things such as the Yankees Radio Network (heard in New York on WCBS 880).

In other words, turn on the radio in New York and you hear it. A. Lot.  Like "Jack and Diane" a lot.

Now, I get it.  When I'm not writing, I'm still handling the programming logs for the Business Talk Radio Network and Lifestyle Talk Radio Network. I've been known to schedule certain spots, such as Geico, 55 times a day.

In their case, Geico has a rotation of commercials featuring the Gecko, Maxwell the pig, and others.

In the case of Kars4Kids, there are only two spots that I've heard. The original, and a newer rock version.

They're both, well, they're both, er, something.

If you haven't heard it, a boy sings the first verse, and a man (sounding like he's trying to be Johnny Cash) sings the second verse. After an announcer reads the details, they return and sing together.

In radio parlance, it is a classic "doughnut" commercial with singing surrounding the actual commercial read.  I practiced many of these at Connecticut School of Broadcasting.

At one time, I would sing the song in front of Sean and he would scream at me. I eventually tired of it myself. Where I would once turn it up loudly on the radio just to get a reaction from Sean, it soon became a battle to see who could turn the radio off the fastest.

It's like "Name that Tune," in that I can turn off the Kars4Kids commercial in one note!

So earlier this week, as I drove to pick Sean up from school for our weekly dinner, I heard the commercial during the Mike Francesa show (aka "Mike's On" or whatever he's calling it) on WFAN.

I decided to take to Twitter (when I wasn't driving) to write.

I truly loathe the Kars for Kids commercials. #StopNow.
— Rob Adams (@double5) April 23, 2013

I didn't tag them. Didn't direct it at them. But damned if they didn't search and find it.

@double5 sorry to hear that, maybe this article will make you feel better kars4kids.us/tejw0Y :-)
— Kars4Kids (@Kars4kids) April 23, 2013

The link they included was priceless.

What else could I say?

@kars4kids Well played.Truly well played.
— Rob Adams (@double5) April 23, 2013

A fellow Yankees fan, known on Twitter as YankeeMegs, reached out to me to say the song has also caused a similar reaction between her and her son, leading Kars4Kids to send her a pair of earbuds.

I mean, seriously, what else can you say, except bravo for having a sense of humor?

By the way, if you even slightly believe you're a Yankees fan, follow Megs now. Don't think twice.  go to Twitter, set up an account, and follow her. Whether you're a Yankees fan or not. She's cool, and tweets to everyone. And she knows her stuff.

And she has camped in a volcano.

There are reasons she has nearly 5,000 followers (just a mere, oh, LOT more than me).

But back to Kars4Kids. While the commercial will still drive me (there's a bad pun in there) to still change the station (and I'm mostly listening to satellite anyway), I have to say that, with a sense of humor, they've made a fan.

A laugh goes a long way. Especially the ability to laugh at oneself.

Well played indeed.