KNBR ad draws complaints from listeners (and Damon Bruce)

Bay Area Sports Guy August 15, 2012

I understand that most of you have lives, and as such probably haven’t noticed a certain commercial that was playing on KNBR in which several profane words were bleeped out for effect. It was the latest ad from a company called West Coast Gear, who advertises regularly on KNBR 680 and 1050. Like all the others it was voiced by this guy, who goes by the name of Jeff Carney.

The difference in this ad, where Carney rages against the supposed elitists trying to take the “s” out of “RBIs,” doesn’t just have a couple words “censored,” but at least four or five. It makes for an extremely uncomfortable listening experience, to the point that it makes that Kars4Kids jingle sound like as smooth as an old Tribe Called Quest song.

Damon Bruce, host of “The Damon Bruce Show” from noon to 3 pm on KNBR 1050, doesn’t much like the commercial himself. When the spot played during a commercial break on Tuesday afternoon, Bruce started ranting — and the mic was hot. Bruce wasn’t as loud as the commercial itself, but one could clearly hear him under the spot, angrily ordering someone (his producer?) not to ever play the commercial during his show again.

Since this is an important issue that deserves the public’s attention, similar to McKayla Maroney’s facial expressions, I wrote this:

Which, about seven hours later, brought this response:

Backing up a little, on Monday the company had this exchange with another Twitter user:

The next day (their next tweet after responding to @captbaritone, actually), West Coast Gear made this announcement:

So perhaps there was a glitch, and KNBR 1050 played the commercial by accident during Bruce’s show yesterday. I got some flack from a guy who thought Bruce was in the wrong:

I find it difficult to blame Bruce in this case. It’s his show, and while most people are savvy enough to know that Bruce doesn’t sell his own advertising (unlike certain other hosts), if listeners are offended by an advertisement they’re more likely to turn off the station and/or complain. Plus, now that Bruce’s show is also being carried in Modesto these days, perhaps he feels like the world won’t end if he takes a stand against one t-shirt company’s attempt at comedy.

What do you think, was Damon in the right to rip the commercial while it was playing (even if he didn’t know his mic was on and his words could be heard by the audience)? If you heard the ad, were you bothered? I wasn’t offended by the commercial exactly, but I certainly didn’t find it funny, insightful or worthy of a second listen.

About the Author

Otherwise known as Steve Berman (no, not the guy from the Eminem skits), BASG started Bay Area Sports Guy in January of 2008 with the help of his then-girlfriend (now wife). Since then he's covered college football for CSN Bay Area, gained media access to the Giants, Warriors and 49ers, and built Bay Area Sports Guy into the No. 1 independent Bay Area sports blog. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook.

36 comments

Newest | Oldest

Otis Byrd III

haha. Yeah, I would keep Rod. When I listened to him last week on the day that Damon was having problems with his show starting because someone messed it up when he was on remote from Stockton, Rod was ok and kind of funny, even though he was random to start the show. He was talking about the Olympics, and in his opening monologue, he was joking about the Olympics (doing USA chants and talking about what having the most Olympic medals does for the us here in the US basically), and his analysis of the Olympics. It was a pretty funny monologue actually. Rod can be funny. I think Rod still brings something to KNBR, even though he's not really popular anymore. When Rod is serious, he gives insightful opinions and isn't a bad sports talk show host. I think Rod is better without Fitz, and Fitz is better without Rod. It's kind of funny how they are both better without each other. I mean, they aren't bad together, but they aren't great. As I keep saying, this show was better back in the day. A lot of that might've been because they had no competition, and this was the best sports radio talk show to listen to in the Bay Area between Noon to 3 on weekdays, at one time. Now, they have stiffer competition with a better show on 1050 in Damon's show, and you have the last two hrs. of The Wheelhouse (Jon Lund) and the first hr. of Tierney's show on 95.7. Now, the Fitz and Brooks show becomes like the third best option of sports radio talk shows to listen to here in the Bay Area on weekdays from Noon to 3. Back to Rod though, yeah, he brings something to KNBR, and the guy can be very funny at times. Like I said before, I don't have a problem with Rod. If Fitz was to be let go, which probably won't happen, since the rumor came out that the Warriors pay his KNBR salary, but if Fitz was let go or if he decided to resign from KNBR for whatever reason, I would pair Rod with Tom. I think they both would get along, and they both can give you good opinions on different sports topics. It would be an interesting pairing and it sounds like it wouldn't work when you think about it, since you associate Tom with Ralph and Rod with Fitz, but I think Rod and Tom could make it work, if they were ever paired up together. So, you wouldn't keep Rod?.... Just for fun, if it was up to you to re-do the KNBR weekday lineup, how would your KNBR weekday lineup look like? Just curious.... I know others have done this in the past, but it's kind of fun to see how others would do the weekday KNBR lineup if it was up to them.

Danny

KNBR Lineup 5-9 Murph and Mac 9-12 Larry and P-Conn 12-4 The Damon Bruce Show 4-7 Tom alone 7-10 SportsPhone680/ Eric Byrnes and Ray Woodson when Eric is at MLB Network. 95.7 The Game Lineup 5-9 The Rise Guys 9-12 The Wheelhouse w/ Lund and Papa 12-3 Townsend and Steinmatez 3-7 The Drive w/ Tierney and Bariberi

Danny

Actually I'll take that back Tierney and Urban. But Ralph should fill in when Urban is out.

Jeff

Now all KNBR has to do is get rid of Kars4Kid and Radnich.

Otis Byrd III

I'm sorry man but, Gary isn't going anywhere. I don't think KNBR will let Gary go, especially with the way the Ralph debacle was handled. I think Lee Hammer, Bungeroth, and the other Cumulus guy (I think his name is Lew Dickey) will think twice about getting rid of someone who's been on KNBR for years. Gary has deep pockets too (he drives a Bentley. LOL), and he probably knows people that would sue KNBR, if they ever let him go. Plus, Gary still has younger kids, even though he's like in his late 50's, early 60's, I think. It would be kind of messed up if they let him go, even though Gary might be past his prime... I think Gary will stay as long as he wants. Plus, he still has a huge following and like Greg Papa, Barry Thompkins, Ralph, et. al, is a Bay Area sports media legend. Yeah, I'm not really a big fan of Gary either, but I don't think Gary is going anywhere. I do agree they got to get rid of that Kars 4 Kids commercial. This commercial is starting to get old. Even the remixed version of it. haha. It's bad enough 95.7 is playing this commercial a lot too. That company must be paying KNBR and 95.7 through the nose to play that commercial and the remixed version of it, for what feels like, a million times a day. haha.

Jeff

Radnich having kids having nothing to do with it. KNBR's top brass has already shown to the world that it's business. Nothing personal. Radnich has changed his tune a bit since Ralph left because well, he wants to keep his job. Can't blame him. But he needs to go. In fact, the whole station should just disappear.

Fitz's Future Unemployment Check

Keep Fitz's little lackey?

Otis Byrd III

Yeah, you have a point there. With the Ralph firing, KNBR/Cumulus did kind of show that no one is safe regardless of tenure. Even though I doubt Gary would be on the chopping block, he might not even be safe. With that being said, I agree Gary needs to go. Yes, he still has a large audience, Krueger swears by him, and most of the rest of the KNBR hosts respect him except for Damon but, Gary is past his prime. His schtick could work in small doses, like when he's on KRON each weeknight for a few minutes, but even sometimes Pam Moore and the other KNON anchors look like they grow/have grown tired of him. LOL. Gary's schtick just doesn't work as much anymore, on his weekday show like it used to. KNBR should just give Gary's gig to Krueger, which they probably will eventually do, as we all have discussed on here before. As far as wanting the whole station to disappear, that wouldn't be good for the Giants, 49ers, and Warriors, but if you're referring to the KNBR hosts, then yeah, I would get rid of everybody except for Damon, Krueger, Rod Brooks, Ray Woodson, Tom Tolbert, Kate Scott, and Marty Lurie on weekends during baseball season. I would probably keep Brian Murphy too. He's better without Paulie Mac. I think we can all agree that KNBR needs an overhaul and as we've discussed in the past, a change to the weekday lineup. First off, I would move Damon's new syndicated show to 680, and just have it be simulcasted on 1050, like Tom's show is. As we saw last year when Damon was co-hosting with Gary for that short stint, KNBR 1050 had nothing better to air during Damon's timeslot. If Damon moved back to 680, might as well just simulcast his show on 1050. For me, my new weekday lineup would be something like this, with the KNBR hosts/personalities I would keep: KNBR 680 -Morning show (5AM or 6AM-9AM) Brian Murphy, with Kate Scott doing updates and chiming in -The Larry Krueger Show (9AM-12PM) Larry Krueger, with Kate Scott doing updates and chiming in -The Damon Bruce Show (12PM-3PM) Damon Bruce -The Mr. T and Brooks Show (3PM-7PM) Tom Tolbert and Rod Brooks -Sportsphone 680 Ray Woodson Even though yeah, the weekday lineup hasn't changed that much, I think this would be somewhat of a better weekday lineup. Brian Murphy is better by himself, but I would have Kate Scott in the role that she is normally in during the morning show, where she does the updates and chimes in when her opinion is asked about a certain topic. I would also consider moving the morning show to 6 AM. I mean seriously, who is up at 5 AM listening to the morning show? LOL. Yes, I understand some people might, who have a long commute, but seriously, who's up at 5 AM listening to the morning show? Plus, when Gary used to be on in the mornings with Rod, he used to start at 6 AM instead of 5 AM. Plus, if the morning show is on at 6 AM, that would be better for Brian Murphy and Kate Scott. They could at least get an extra hour of sleep. haha. For Krueger's show, I would have Kate Scott in the same role as the new revised morning show. I think this way, she would utilized a little more than she is now. Kate Scott does have good sports knowledge, and she could be an asset to KNBR. I would move Damon back to 680, with his show being simulcasted on 1050. This way, his show could reach even more listeners, and he could gain more of a following. I think we all can agree that Damon needs to be on 680. Damon's show is the best show on KNBR right now, and this kind of a move should happen. The 3-7 PM timeslot is where it would get interesting. I would keep Tom, because he's been in that timeslot for years with Ralph, and it would be kind of weird to replace him with someone else. Even though it would be a risky move, I would pair Rod Brooks with Tom. Rod can work with anyone on that station, and I don't think him and Tom would have problems. As far as the Sportsphone gig goes, I would give the gig to Ray Woodson full-time. He deserves it, and it feels like he's the full-time Sportsphone host now anyway, with Byrnes co-hosting with Tolbert sometimes, and being off for his MLB Network duties. Ray Woodson has become a better sports talk show host, since he's gotten more exposure on Sportsphone. Ray Woodson used to be dry and kind of boring, when he would fill-in, but he's gotten better since he's been hosting Sportsphone more. But yes, I would give him the Sportsphone gig. Byrnes would probably just be someone I would use as a fill-in host, where I think he's better at, and would probably have more time for, since he's pretty much at KNBR part-time anyway. I would get rid of Fitz because of his unpopularity. Yes, the guy is knowledgable, sharp, very prepared, and a great basketball and football play-by-play analyst, but he's not a good sports talk show host, and he makes too many excuses for the Warriors, and defends them, when they should be criticized, and he gets mad at callers who say anything bad about the Warriors.It would be kind of tough to get rid of Fitz, but so many people hate/dislike him, why keep him on KNBR? I would get rid of Gary for the reasons that have been talked about on here before, and for what I said earlier. I would get rid of Paulie Mac for obvious reasons (doesn't add much to interviews, drops too many soundbites, and has some dumb songs, even though some of them are catchy. LOL). Even though this probably wouldn't improve KNBR too much, I think this could be a start.

Stan

Watching Comcast and Monte was praising Paterno's old reputation..and it dawned on me. The reason Radnich rips John Wooden is because Wooden is Damon Bruce's idol. Bruce's sign off of "Sports reveal character, not build it" was first said by John Wooden.

Otis Byrd III

Yeah, it was kind of funny to hear Damon Bruce talk over that commerical the other day, scolding that he didn't want that commercial to be played on his air. At first, you would've thought he was joking, because sometimes he does joke and talk over the commercials at times, but he seemed serious, and that he really didn't want that commercial to be played anymore, when he's on the air. I think since then, both KNBR stations haven't played that commercial. Damon must've cracked the whip. LOL As far as the commercial goes, yeah, it was kind of funny, but at the same time, that commercial did go a little too far with the bleeped out cuss words. We got the idea about RBI and RBI's, even though yeah, sometimes you do wonder the difference. I agree that it should be RBI's, when you are referring to two or more RBI's. As far as the West Coast gear commercials go in general, I agree that the guy is basically trying too hard to make us West Coasters have a grudge against the East Coast, when it's not really like that here in the West Coast. Yes, we love the West Coast, but we're not all up in arms about East Coast bias all the time. Yeah, East Coast bias can be annoying, and we do get tired of hearing about all the East Coast teams all the time, but sadly, everything is centered in the East Coast. All the big networks are in the East Coast. I think the only big networks out here in the West Coast is FOX and the NFL Network. The East Coast is where everything happens first, and you have NYC and Washington D.C. the nation's capital, there. As far as the West Coast gear goes, I'm sorry but I agree that the gear isn't really that great. When you hear the commercials, you would think that it's the best gear ever, but I checked out their gear online, and it's just a shirt with an arrow on it. It's not really that creative. I'll just continue wearing my 49ers, Giants, and Warriors stuff to represent the West Coast, the Bay Area, and San Francisco. But yeah, I wasn't impressed with the West Coast gear. I'm sorry. They need to be more creative with their shirts and stuff. Even if they had their motto "Rock the West" on their shirts somewhere, that even wouldn't be too bad.

John

Heh. I was kind of with you until the last paragraph. Are you sure you've looked at their shirts recently? Anyway, I think their spots are mostly hilarious. They had one with the guy doing a spoof of Daniel Day Lewis from "There Will Be Blood" that was such a crack up. Not sure some people here aren't being a little "stiff" about the sense of humor going on. They stand out a mile on KNBR and only the Dos XX spots compare. The only West Coast Gear spots I don't like is when they kind of bring it down a notch. I think they should just GO OFF every time.

The funny thing is the guy's previous commercials were so lame because he sounds so dry and boring, and this new one actually did catch my ear and make me laugh because it was so ridiculous. But all it really did was make him sound like even more of a d-bag.

Rich

I swear as much, or more, than the next guy, and have a friend from Philly, and as such would be strongly "west coast' biased based on knowledge of how strongly the really Philly fans really can react... That being said, the spots were lame, I didn't find them creative at all, or funny, and as others have noted here, they did seem to be more of a manufactured rivalry bit than the real thing. I'm not usually in Bruce's camp, but on this one I would be. Pull the damn spots!

Gooselosgatos

Bruce is too calculated to make a mistake like that. You really think someone who spends as much time as he does crafting/ producing his show would make that mistake. Common.... I don't like the spots either but having worked in advertising I can tell you they are veeeeerrry effective.

Listener

Since I did not hear the spot, can someone tell what was not bleeped? Also, what is it about leaving the s out of RBIs mean. The commercial stinks. Maybe that is why I cannot fathom it.

Dave bell

Also there is a reason that Damon is on 1050!!!!!

Dave bell

I think the commercial is hilarious! I have wondered the same thing in the same way ever since I heard people start using "RBI" instead of "RBIs". I also don't mind the bleeped profanity, it's not as bad as having to explain to your 11 year old son about male enhancement!!!!!!

Jon

the whole premise for West Coast Gear is dumb to begin with. fake rants against the east. bad one liners ("you 're welcome for Jeremy Lin").....move on!

Mike Kanga

I thought the ad was pretty funny... but even my seven year old would know what those bleeps were covering up. Glad they pulled it. I went to the site and to my surprise... the tshirts looked amazing... I just bought the Absinthe shirt... and bought my son the Original West Coast Kid shirt... Wish they had a larger selections of designs - I will definitely check back to see if they come up with other cool designs. Mike Kangaldian

Slam

I dont care about the swearing / bleeping, but the whole the-east-coast-sucks-we're-on-the-west-coast-and-we're-cool attitude is tired. that guy is trying too hard to manufacture a thing that doesnt exist. I dont care what people on the east coast say.

Tasco

hey, as a marketer, it's PAID advertising folks...to get attention...and by these posts, I see that it's working....I think they're hilarious...take a joke, folks.....and by the way, I think the designs West Coast Gear features ARE GREAT....especially, as a GIANTS fan - the Milkman design.

Fitz's Future Unemployment Check

Except for the part where none of us are going to buy any of his stuff (well, maybe someone). Not all brand awareness is good brand awareness.

Dave

You mean MELKman? Do they teach the "comment on the Internet pretending not to work for the company you work for" bit in marketing classes? Your commercials sucked long before this one.

The Hangman

I'm so glad that ad is gone. I like to swear as much as the next guy but that thing was out of control. I would've never bought their product anyway, mainly because they're probably running similar ads from Seattle to San Diego trying to make each area believe they are loyal to their region. But the ad definitely made me dislike the company more. Pointless, childish, unnecesary, bleeped profanity all to sell a bad looking t-shirt Really lame.

B.A. Rich

Bruce wasn't wrong to rip the spot. It is kind of weird though since he himself did a couple spots for the company a few weeks back. By the way, I don't understand why he thinks he even has enough pull to decide what commercials get played on his show or not. This guy has been tossed around like a bag of dog shit between 680/1050. If this Jeff Carney character is paying for his ads to be run, they are gonna run. I have more of a problem with Bruce doing that spot for West Coast Gear a few weeks ago. This guy has been here about 7 years and he's suppose to be the spokesman for the West? Get outta here. He's a damn transplant by way of New York, Chicago and Indiana. He just trying to kiss the ass of his local audience. Dude is even dumb enough to talk about, "we don't say 'Frisco' out here". What the hell he know about that. Maybe the lil dweebs he's around in the office don't say it but you go down Eddy St., HP or even listen to any SF rap, you gonna here 'Frisco.

CruiseMan

Frisco is a city in Texas..PERIOD.. You can say SanFran, you can say the City but you cannot call it Frisco. Please tell the hommies on Eddy St, in HP and those recording "SFRap" to please STOP CALLING IT FRISCO!!!!!!!

TSL

FRISCO. If it is good enough for bikers, then it is good enough for the rest of us. Ask the Hells Angels.

B.A. Rich

How bout this, CruiseMan, why don't you go head and cruise on down to Eddy and tell the 'hommies' yourself. Like it or not, we call it 'Frisco. That's the way it is. To each his own.

devnull

While I don't doubt your culinary observation, I suspect the doctor would have a bone fide fit at my annual checkup if he knew I ate anything like that.

BASG

You've never had chicken and waffles? I only do it once every year or two, but you haven't lived until you've started your day by combining maple syrup, fried chicken and waffle in the same bite.

devnull

Waffle syrup goes on the chicken, or chicken gravy goes on the waffles? "It's not food if you can't put gravy on it ...."

BASG

As someone who lives near Eddy, the one thing I can add is that I've had chicken and waffles at Gussie's. Delicious.

Random

I dont know what's worse, their commercials or the horrible designs on their t-shirts.

kingchicken

Bruce wasn't in the wrong. Brad the board op. was for leaving the mic hot. They have had all kinds of gliches lately on 1050 so maybe it got left in the rotation by mistake. Either way all of west coast's ads are annoying, but hell they did get me to his website didn't buy one but he's got some good looking shirts.