OH NO......

If you’re a traffic coordinator or account executive, it’s your worst nightmare…

Sitting at home, relaxing after a crazy day at the office. Perhaps even enjoying a nice adult beverage. Time to watch some TV!

Click on over to a good “reality” show that makes you happy to eat popcorn instead of bugs, and… wait a minute! What was that?!?! That commercial shouldn’t be airing! That offer ended! The spot’s not in a paid talent cycle! Why does it sounds so awful and the grass is BLUE?? NOOOOOOO!

Ugh. Hopefully the client didn’t see that.

It happens to all of us, because mistakes happen. Sometimes a revision doesn’t get on the air in time, or sometimes there’s a technical problem with the audio or video that needs to be fixed. Sometimes a spot get put on the air and the talent hasn’t been paid yet.

The best thing to do in this situation is to take note of the channel and program you’re watching and the time you saw the suspect commercial.

Then, in the morning, the trouble-shooting begins.

Are the traffic instructions correct, so the right spot was scheduled for broadcast? If not, a revision needs to be sent to all stations on the buy immediately, and some begging may be in order.

If the campaign was trafficked correctly and if the station ran the wrong spot by mistake, or if it was a technical issue with the picture/sound, use the notes from the night before to contact your traffic coordinator, who can call or email the station directly to get the problem fixed.

It’s pretty crucial to  make sure you know the time, program and station you’re watching if you see something on the air that doesn’t look quite right. Without that information, it’s almost impossible to follow up and correct the problem. We do get calls from clients or agency folk, saying “I was watching tv last week and I think I saw/heard the wrong spot running. I can’t remember the program or the night, but I’m pretty sure it was the wrong commercial” and in that scenario it’s difficult for us to help fix the problem.

Most of the time, TV-watching is the fun, relaxing pastime it’s meant to be. On the rare occasions when the wrong commercial airs or the right one looks funny, give your favourite traffic person a call to get the problem solved. (And maybe keep a notepad on the coffee table, just in case.)