No Spin News: O’Reilly No. 1 In This Radio Report

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By Diana Stokey, Media Monitors


It’s a big summer for radio when it comes to all things “O’Reilly” — or O’Rielly, for that matter. In mid-May, former Fox News commentator Bill O’Reilly announced that he’d appear on a weekly segment on the Premiere Networks-syndicated The Glenn Beck Program.

Then, there’s FCC Commissioner Michael O’Rielly, who has made increased enforcement of pirate radio broadcasters a top priority, among other things.

But, there’s another O’Reilly that radio should become keenly aware of, and this one is an expert on auto parts — and using audio messages to bring in consumers.

In last week’s Media Monitors Radio Spot Ten report, O’Reilly Auto Parts zoomed from No. 15 to No. 9, thanks to the airing of 23,901 commercials.

This doesn’t count the pre-roll ads users of TuneIn audio streams hear repeatedly when flipping from one radio station to another on the app.

The effort is noteworthy, as O’Reilly seeks to distance itself from Advance Auto Parts, Pep Boys, NAPA Auto Parts, Bennett Auto Supply, Carquest Auto Parts, and AutoZone.

All have used radio to various extents; given the in-car use of radio, advertisements on AM and FM radio stations only make sense. Yet, O’Reilly is the lone auto parts retailer present in the Spot Ten.

Auto parts retailers have long been an active category with radio, in particular with formats of appeal to women. On the West Coast, the now-defunct Chief Auto Parts became infamous in the mid-1990s for a radio campaign bearing the slogan, “We take care of you, like you take care of your car.” Negative backlash resulted when many customers admitted that they take poor care of their automobile.

The last major spot radio effort for an auto retailer came around Labor Day weekend 2016, when AutoZone finished at No. 3 on the Spot Ten; play counts were not available at the time.

Meanwhile, O’Reilly was somewhat active in July 2016, when AutoZone and NAPA were also present in the Spot Ten for radio.