If you were in the neighbourhood any time around the mid-’90s, you had to have heard a couple of radio campaigns that were not only a pleasure to listen to, but were seriously smart and staggeringly successful.

They managed the balancing act of selling loads of product and spit-shining the brand at the same time. One was for Dell Computers. The other was for Xerox.

And guess what, they were both direct-response radio.

What most impressed me about these campaigns was that they took tried-and-true DM disciplines, and added a courageous new spin.

Their secret? They didn’t treat the phone number like an unplanned bodily noise.

No, they celebrated the phone number. Revelled in it. Took it to dinner and paid the cheque. In short, they had fun with it, and let us in on the joke, too. And at the same time, they made a lot of friends for those brands.

The Xerox and Dell campaigns were certainly different from each other, yet both employed the kind of laid-back, Jay-and-Silent-Bob self-referencing that lets you shamelessly hype something and make fun of doing it at the same time. (And by the way, it was before we ever heard of Jay and Silent Bob.)

And, yes, it unapologetically sold the phone numbers, which in turn sold the products. And even better, it sold the brand, as intelligent humour tends to do.

Both campaigns, not surprisingly, came from a single agency. I understand they are bringing the Dell campaign back, and for that I am grateful. My question is, though: how come everybody else didn’t jump on the bandwagon – it was such a good bandwagon. I don’t get it. Where are the imitators when we need them?

So, what was it about these campaigns?

The Xerox campaign started with a format: vanity phone number (1-800-ASK XEROX), musical mnemonic (’50s jingle), spokesman. Of course, not any spokesman – this was Rick Moranis, the comedian, creating a character who was likable and just a little smarmy around the edges. Each commercial went: jingle, make fun of jingle, move casually into the pitch, end on jingle. And in between, lots of improv.

The phone number was played just twice: top and bottom. And because it was part of the overall commercial, part of the gag, it was all you needed.

The Dell spots had their own personality and style. This time the phone number was a sound design mnemonic (310-DELL), one that worked organically with the campaign. So, again, the phone number wasn’t left there alone, like a dead thing on the road. It was held aloft by the gentle humour of the actors and it conformed to the overall style of the spots. And, sure enough, it only needed those two impressions, top and bottom.

I asked several of my cohorts if they remembered these campaigns. Everybody did. When I asked if they’d seen the likes of them since, they all said no. Terry O’Reilly of Pirate Radio told me he rarely got scripts that actually focused on the phone number. Maybe never.

So here I am wondering why not.

Here’s what I came up with.

First, the obvious. After all, and no matter how much we try, it’s really darned hard to do effective radio. And it’s really easy to fail. We’re asking a writer to take something we mostly find obnoxious and make it charming. Try it sometime.

Likewise, we just don’t associate hardcore ‘hammer-the-phone-number’ radio with brand enhancement (which is why 967-1111 isn’t exactly running for the Mercedes of pizza.)

So yeah, it’s risky business. Literally.

And yet, there was this moment of Camelot. The Xerox and Dell campaigns worked despite all the reasons why they shouldn’t.

I, for one, hope we do see their likes again. And who knows, maybe Rick Moranis could use the work.

Joan McArthur created the Goodyear campaign, now the longest-running radio campaign in Canada. She is currently the resident direct response and sales promotion expert at Black Bag creative recruitment. She can be reached at: joan@blackbagonline.com.