Billboard Boys: The Greatest Radio Contest of All Time
99% Invisible19 Sep 2018

Billboard Boys: The Greatest Radio Contest of All Time

The year was 1982, and in the small city of Allentown on the eastern edge of Pennsylvania sat an AM radio station called WSAN. For years, it had broadcast country music to the surrounding Lehigh Valley -- an area known for malls, manufacturing and Mack Trucks.

WSAN was about to undergo a complete identity change, from a country station and to a "nostalgia" station -- meaning Big Band, and soft hits from the 1950’s. They wanted a gimmick to hook new listeners, so WSAN decided to launch a good old-fashioned endurance contest, reminiscent of the pole sitting stunts or dance marathons popular in the 1920’s. They secured a local sponsor, Love Homes, to donate a prize: a single-wide modular home worth $18,000.

It seemed like a simple marketing strategy, but WSAN had grossly underestimated just how much people would endure for a little economic security.

Billboard Boys: The Greatest Radio Contest of All Time

Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ to listen to new episodes of 99% Invisible ad-free and a whole week early.

Start a free trial now on Apple Podcasts or by visiting siriusxm.com/podcastsplus.


Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Episoder(779)

Search and Ye Might Find

Search and Ye Might Find

Adam Rogers has been thinking and writing about what’s known in the industry simply as "search." For the last decade, people have been grumbling about not being able to find things online, both in our...

14 Sep 202236min

Monumental Diplomacy

Monumental Diplomacy

In downtown Windhoek, Namibia -- at the intersection of Fidel Castro Street and Robert Mugabe Avenue -- there's an imposing gold building with an affectionate nickname: the Coffee Maker. This notable ...

6 Sep 202236min

First Errand

First Errand

Back in March, Netflix picked up a long running Japanese TV program based on a children’s book from the 1970s. The show is called Old Enough, but the name of the original Japanese program translates t...

30 Aug 202228min

Bleep!

Bleep!

There's a particular one-kilohertz tone that is universally understood to be covering up inappropriate words on radio and TV. But there are other options, too, like silence -- so why did this particul...

23 Aug 202231min

What Roman Mars Can Learn About Con Law- The Longest Week

What Roman Mars Can Learn About Con Law- The Longest Week

In the final week of the  most recent term, the Supreme Court decided to limit one constitutional right (abortion) and expand another constitutional right (guns). But there were other cases decided th...

18 Aug 202229min

Re:peat

Re:peat

A few years back, 99pi producer Emmett FitzGerald brought us a beautiful story about peat bogs. Peat is essential for biodiversity and for the climate – it is really, really good at storing carbon. Bu...

10 Aug 202240min

99% Vernacular: Volume 3

99% Vernacular: Volume 3

In the final episode of our vernacular spectacular anniversary series, 99pi producers and friends of the show will be sharing more stories of regional architecture–some close to home, some on remote i...

3 Aug 202234min

99% Vernacular: Volume 2

99% Vernacular: Volume 2

Only a small percentage of architecture is actually designed by architects. And while a famous architect-designed tower in a skyline might be the best way to identify a city at a distance, up close it...

26 Jul 202230min

Populært innen Business og økonomi

stopp-verden
lydartikler-fra-aftenposten
dine-penger-pengeradet
e24-podden
rss-borsmorgen-okonominyhetene
rss-penger-polser-og-politikk
finansredaksjonen
livet-pa-veien-med-jan-erik-larssen
pengepodden-2
utbytte
rss-sunn-okonomi
tid-er-penger-en-podcast-med-peter-warren
morgenkaffen-med-finansavisen
pengesnakk
lederpodden
stormkast-med-valebrokk-stordalen
liberal-halvtime
lederskap-nhhs-podkast-om-ledelse
rss-politisk-preik
rss-markedspuls-2