Gannett8 weathercaster Pete Delkus: test-driving the earnest approach
04/24/15 12:46 PM
By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
Earlier this week we posted CBS11’s catchy new, country-themed “Gotta Listen to Larry” promo on behalf of head weatherman Larry Mowry.
Rival Gannett8 is countering with a series of fresh spots. Its top temperature-taker, Pete Delkus, has shifted gears and is accentuating how important it is for him to be a seriously reliable port in the storm when the weather hits the fan.
“The trust that I have with our team is exceptional,” he says in one of the ads. “I know they have my back. I know I have theirs.”
It’s something of an image makeover for a guy who’s become perhaps equally known for trading jabs and guffaws with sports anchor Dale Hansen during Gannett8’s 6 and 10 p.m. weekday newscasts. The two also used to be a comedy team in a promo modeled after the ABC series Boston Legal.
Perhaps the station is sensing that many viewers have had enough of this. In another of the new spots, Delkus says he likes to have fun with Hansen but “my demeanor really changes on a severe weather day.” He also assures viewers that he’s “not Saint Delkus” -- as he’s proclaimed on Twitter -- but “just your weather guy.”
Weather is the straw that stirs the drink on all four of D-FW’s major TV news providers. That’s the case whether it’s tinkles from the sky in Palo Pinto county or a bonafide severe weather “event” for the entire viewing area.
The new Delkus spots are effective in a vacuum. But can the station have it both ways? At the moment, the latest image campaign basically says, “Hey, I’m really not the court jester I often play on TV. When push comes to cold front, I’m a trusty nuts-and-bolts weather wonk.”
Here are two of the new ads.
Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
Earlier this week we posted CBS11’s catchy new, country-themed “Gotta Listen to Larry” promo on behalf of head weatherman Larry Mowry.
Rival Gannett8 is countering with a series of fresh spots. Its top temperature-taker, Pete Delkus, has shifted gears and is accentuating how important it is for him to be a seriously reliable port in the storm when the weather hits the fan.
“The trust that I have with our team is exceptional,” he says in one of the ads. “I know they have my back. I know I have theirs.”
It’s something of an image makeover for a guy who’s become perhaps equally known for trading jabs and guffaws with sports anchor Dale Hansen during Gannett8’s 6 and 10 p.m. weekday newscasts. The two also used to be a comedy team in a promo modeled after the ABC series Boston Legal.
Perhaps the station is sensing that many viewers have had enough of this. In another of the new spots, Delkus says he likes to have fun with Hansen but “my demeanor really changes on a severe weather day.” He also assures viewers that he’s “not Saint Delkus” -- as he’s proclaimed on Twitter -- but “just your weather guy.”
Weather is the straw that stirs the drink on all four of D-FW’s major TV news providers. That’s the case whether it’s tinkles from the sky in Palo Pinto county or a bonafide severe weather “event” for the entire viewing area.
The new Delkus spots are effective in a vacuum. But can the station have it both ways? At the moment, the latest image campaign basically says, “Hey, I’m really not the court jester I often play on TV. When push comes to cold front, I’m a trusty nuts-and-bolts weather wonk.”
Here are two of the new ads.
Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net