Virgin Radio aims to raise quality of ads

Virgin Radio has launched an initiative aimed at improving the creative quality of ads carried on the station.

Entitled "Virgin Radio's Favourite Ad of the Moment", the scheme will encourage listeners to vote online for their favourite ad. The Virgin Radio team will shortlist ads deemed to feature the best creative, and listeners will be encouraged through on-air promotions to vote online for their favourite ad.

The winning ads will be showcased, complete with their own on-air imaging, and given prominence within ad breaks and solus spots. The scheme appears to heed calls made at last year's Media 360 event by GCap chief executive and former Virgin Radio chief executive Fru Hazlitt for radio stations to raise the quality of ads.

She hit out at the poor quality of radio advertising, which she said was contributing to a growing listener defection to BBC stations.

Nick Hewat, Virgin Radio sales director, said the scheme should improve the creativity of radio ads.

"We hope to use the information to see if our listeners prefer music-based ads, voiceover ads or ads that use sound effects," he said.

"Then we can communicate this back to the advertising and creative community."

Helen Keable, head of radio at Manning Gottlieb OMD, said: "This is a really positive move as we still have a problem with creative on radio. But Virgin Radio will need to be careful how it uses the information, so as not to put clients off using the medium and spending money on a creative that is just being criticised."