A big Heart but no sense of humour

Heart FM radio boasts light-hearted entertainment, but when it comes to its own advertising pitch, the independent station clearly doesn’t want to be entertained.

The Diary understands that Mellors Reay & Partners, the agency which helped launch Heart FM two years ago and has worked with it ever since, was miffed when it found out the station had put the account up for review.

So the agency with a heart sent a humorous, DJ-style recording stating the reasons why the broadcaster should stick with it.

Although the station found the tape “very funny”, Heart’s advertising suits did not think such frivolous merry-making suitable fodder for a pitch.

“Heart did not appreciate that it was essentially our pitch,” says Mellors Reay’s imaginative managing director Paul Richards. The agency then gracefully withdrew from the proceedings when it realised Heart did not get the joke. “It’s always sad when it comes to this,” says Richards. Could these be the tears of a clown?