Make Babies, Urges Saucy Public Radio Campaign

Mention public radio to a teenager today and you might get an eye roll. Why listen to the radio when you can plug in to all things digital But if those teenagers were born into a public radio-loving family, they might be persuaded to keep listening, even through their teenage years.

At least that’s the punch line for a new ad campaign from WBEZ, the Chicago public radio station, that begins on Friday. The campaign, called “2032 Membership Drive,” encourages Chicagoans to, well, “hook up” with other Chicagoans and procreate.

A tag line on one ad sums it up succinctly: “We Want Listeners Tomorrow. Go Make Babies Today.” Other ads read: “Do It. For Chicago.” and “Interesting People Make Interesting People.”

“Most public radio marketing and advertising is very nice and polite,” said Daniel Ash, the vice president for corporate sponsorship, marketing, membership and partnerships at Chicago Public Media, which owns the station.

This campaign, he said, is meant t playfully encourage listeners in their 20s and 30s to “make babies” so that by 2032, the station will have a slew of teenage listeners.

“We wanted to break the mold and take some risks,” Mr. Ash said.

Torey Malatia, the chief executive of Chicago Public Media, said the station has a strong audience among 25- to 49-year-olds, but “as you get lower than that, 18 plus, you see the weakening of any kind of interest or loyalty.”

The campaign, which cost $400,000, was created by the digital agency Xi Chicago, part of BBDO and Proximity Worldwide. Its debut in the city will include billboards and ads on taxi tops, bridges, subways and buses.

Some ads will ask famous Chicagoans, like the chef Rick Bayless and the musician Jon Langford, to make babies.

The campaign will also include a Facebook application that will help users determine how interesting they are and what type of WBEZ content might appeal to them.

Rick Hamann, the group creative director at Xi Chi! cago, said the campaign tested well with the intended audience. “All of them got the joke,” he said. “They really appreciated that WBEZ was making an irreverent request.”