Call For Submissions: Commercials For Nicer Living 2017
All Things Considered is looking for suggestions for our revamped version of a 1972 project where we ask listeners to write commercials for things and experience that just make life better.
ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:
And now a reminder about a project that could give your inner poet - or your inner madman - a moment on the radio.
ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:
In 1972, when ALL THINGS CONSIDERED was just one year old, we asked our listeners to think about some of life's little joys and write commercials for them.
SIEGEL: We got scripts for apple pie, clean sheets and wading, as in wading in the water.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED BROADCAST)
UNIDENTIFIED MAN #1: Take your shoes off and find some shallow water, and try the safest water sport in America - wading. That cool, clear puddle from the latest cloudburst would be ideal.
SHAPIRO: That was one of the submissions we turned into a commercial for nicer living 45 years ago.
SIEGEL: Well, we wondered what an updated version of this project would sound like, so earlier this month we launched Commercials for Nicer Living version 2017.
SHAPIRO: Well, we've already gotten hundreds of short scripts about things that make life nicer, from hot coffee to internet cat videos.
SIEGEL: Dogs - so many ads for dogs - snuggling.
SHAPIRO: The cool side of the pillow.
SIEGEL: Saying goodbye to meat substitutes and embracing beef.
SHAPIRO: By the way, that one came from a former vegan.
SIEGEL: And singing pop songs in an Elvis voice.
SHAPIRO: If you're waiting for me to sing right now, it's not going to happen. We are still accepting ideas for our new Commercials for Nicer Living project. So here's what you do - write a script no more than 120 words and send it to us at npr.org/nicer.
SIEGEL: A panel of discriminating NPR staffers will choose five of the best, and we will then produce them for broadcast with sound effects and voiceovers.
SHAPIRO: If you write lyrics to a jingle, we will even come up with a melody, like this one in 1972.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED BROADCAST)
LINDA WERTHEIMER, BYLINE: (Singing) When you're seeking a solution to our mountains of pollution...
UNIDENTIFIED MAN #2: Don't drive. Don't ride. Walk it.
WERTHEIMER: (Singing) When your head is in a shambles, so much so that it just rambles...
UNIDENTIFIED MAN #2: Sort it out. Seek escapes. Take a walk.
SIEGEL: That was "Walking," one of our commercials for nicer living from 1972, featuring the musical stylings of one Linda Wertheimer.
SHAPIRO: We think you can do even better than her, so send us your ideas for our new version of this project at npr.org/nicer. The deadline is January 15.
(SOUNDBITE OF KAPELYE SONG, "TWO CENTS PLAIN")
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