• by Amy Corr , Staff Writer @MediaPostOTL, July 16, 2007

I've heard of companies purchasing radio airtime that's used to play music, rather than a pitch. Viewers are left with an hour's worth of music, subject only to a 60-second promotional spot airing before and after the music block.

Kaiser Permanente used this model earlier this year; Corona and Corona Light are adding their own twist to the concept.

Rather than have the station select additional minutes worth of music, the 60-second ads morph into 10 seconds of spiel and 50 seconds of easy listening from urban contemporary artists, such as Brian McKnight, Ne-Yo, Ruben Studdard, Joe, Musiq Soulchild and a dueting Tony Bennett and Stevie Wonder.

"Welcome to the Corona 60-second getaway," begins one ad. "Grab a lime, an icy Corona or Corona Light and kick back with Brian McKnight 'What's My Name.'"

After the brief intro, 50 seconds of the song is played. The campaign targets African-Americans and runs in 25 nationwide markets. Click here, here and here to listen to the ads. Cramer-Krasselt brokered the media buy.

Here's what I don't like. I applaud Corona for looking for new ways to make radio ads stand out and, gasp, exciting and memorable, but if I listen to a song, I want to hear the whole song, not one-third of it. I feel this way when I'm driving and I switch stations only to find my favorite song is halfway done.

"Corona has developed a new approach to radio ads by giving listeners a break from regular advertising during commercial breaks," said Timm Amundson, vice president of Modelo brands marketing for Crown Imports, Corona's U.S. importer.

Crown Imports partnered with music producer Mark Shimmel of Mark Shimmel Music to record the campaign.