There’s a lot of online and water cooler chatter about how the new Stephen Colbert version of The Late Show will fare. But Mike Stern is still pining over the end of David Letterman’s amazing run. The final show was a winner, as was that very last “Top 10 List.” Here’s a guest post that’s all about where great ideas come from. Prepare to be surprised. –FJ
On the night he retired from late night television, David Letterman’s final “Top 10 List” was a work of art. If you missed it, the topic was “The Top 10 Things I’ve Always Wanted to Say to Dave” and each item on the list was delivered by a different celebrity.
Talk about pressure to hit it out of the park. Alec Baldwin, Peyton Manning, Barbara Walters, Steve Martin, and Chris Rock were among the top ten friends of Dave who showed to deliver the final list live:
>Email recipients: Click here to watch final Late Show‘s Top 10 List<
The winning line by far belonged to Julia Louis Dreyfus who, with Jerry Seinfeld already on stage, said, “Thanks for letting me take part in another hugely disappointing series finale.” Ouch!
But there were two entries that were especially interesting. One was uttered by Tina Fey who said, “Thanks for finally proving men can be funny.” The other came from the very last celebrity, Bill Murray, who put a cap on the bit with “Dave, I’ll never have the money I owe you.”
The reason these two quips are the most intriguing is because in a Tumblr post, longtime Letterman writer Bill Scheft revealed they were written by Caroline Schaper, the writing staff’s intern.
Created by young Schaper, Murray’s line was ready to go before the show was taped, but at the rehearsal, Fey wanted some additional options to consider beyond what was originally written for her. That’s when Schaper scored a second win by supplying her great one-liner.
And the net-net of this momentous broadcasting event was than an intern wrote 20% of the jokes fired off on this final “Top 10 List.”
What a fantastic story and resume builder for Schaper, and what a great reminder for all of us that the best ideas don’t always come from the manager’s office or from the Program Director. They can come from just about anywhere, and with so many stations running lean, radio needs that additional creative spark – no matter where it originates from.
It could be a summer intern, a part-timer, a sales rep, someone from the office staff, or yes, even a listeners (but probably not an engineer). The bottom line is that tapping into people outside the regular team for feedback, opinions, and new ideas may help your station sound its best.
Just ask Letterman’s staff of writers.
Or better yet, ask their intern.
Jacobs Media has consistently walked the walk in the digital space, providing insights and guidance through its well-read national Techsurveys.
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Along with providing the creative and intellectual direction for the company, Fred consults many of Jacobs Media's commercial and public radio clients, in addition to media brands looking to thrive in the rapidly changing tech environment.
Fred was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 2018.
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The legendary ad man Jay Chiat used to say that great ideas could come from anywhere, even the account executives. Whether that quip was meant to inflate or deflate the AEs only the late Mr. Chiat knows. But some of the most memorable Chiat/Day ad campaigns were created, or inspired, by people who worked outside the boundaries of the Creative Department. The award-winning campaign for Olympia Beer, featuring tales about the Artesians who tended to the beer’s artesian wells, was the brainchild of…wait for it…an account executive. You don’t need a license to be creative, and you certainly don’t need a title. Any company, or industry, that believes the opposite probably believes its competitve edge comes from its typewriters and slide rules.
Jay, thanks for the great Chiat story and taking the time to add to the conversation. Especially at this juncture, we should be willing to consider every idea, regardless of its source. Thanks again.