Radio: The Vanishing Word

Advertising men seem to be equipped with a sort of internal radar. As they pore over radio and TV scripts before they go on the air, the radar sets off a series of alarms—and certain words disappear forever from certain shows. Thus, on Philip Morris' I Love Lucy or the Camel News Caravan no one is ever referred to as "lucky." And on Lucky Strike shows there is never any mention of camels or caravans, of hoards of old gold, or of chesterfield sofas or overcoats. An adman for Chesterfield recently rewrote the lyrics of the show tune, Blue Room, for...

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