“There Is a Warning on that One, OK?”

SCBA exec reportedly warns SoCal stations of charcoal spot containing EAS tones.

"The warning that I’ve received, you may take it with however many grains of salt you wish, is that the brown acid that is circulating around us is not specifically too good. It’s suggested that you do stay away from that. Of course, it’s your own trip, so be my guest, but please be advised that there is a warning on that one, OK?"

Readers of a certain age may recognize those as the words of Chip Monck from the stage at Woodstock. We feel kind of like Mr. Monck when we note the following.

The NAB has passed along to us a report in NTS MediaOnline Today that the Southern California Broadcasters Association has advised its members that a new radio commercial for Kingsford Charcoal appears to include EAS (or at least EAS-like) tones the transmission of which could violate FCC rules. According to the report – which you are now getting, let’s see, one, two, um, at best third-, maybe fourth-hand – Kingsford’s ad agency is supposedly cutting a new spot for Southern California stations, but the original, questionable, spot may be circulating, and may possibly already be on-the-air, in other markets.

Ordinarily, we might leave this kind of heads-up to others. But in view of the FCC’s recent aggressive enforcement of the prohibition against transmitting EAS tones in non-emergency situations – enforcement about which we have reported (here and here) – we figure it makes sense to pass this one along.

So with the same caveats that accompanied the brown acid alert, please be advised that there’s a warning on a Kingsford Charcoal radio spot, OK?