Specsavers ‘Misheard’ audio campaign starring Rick Astley is set to hit the radio, after a successful launch in 2023.
The new 60-second spot for radio will seemingly play Astley’s hit ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’ as part of a normal song airplay but in reality it will be Specsavers Misheard version with re-recorded misheard lyrics.
The amusing alternative lyrics include “Never gonna run around with desert spoons”, and “You wouldn’t catch nits from any other guy”.
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For the first 45 seconds viewers will be left bemused and questioning their hearing, until actor Rob Brydon interjects to ask: “Did that sound right to you? If it did, you might want to book a free hearing test at Specsavers today…mishearing lyrics can be an early sign of hearing loss”.
The campaign will be broadcast on commercial radio throughout the UK across Heart and Magic Networks before being extended to wider UK stations.
Creative was developed by Golin, while media planning was led by Specsavers and Manning Gottlieb OMD.
“The Misheard Version is a mass hearing test you can’t help but sing along to, so it felt like the natural next step to switch it for the original to Rick-Roll radio and keep prompting people to check their hearing further,” said Golin executive creative director Alex Wood.
Specsavers head of PR, social and brand Lisa Hale added: “Specsavers saw incredible business impact with the launch of the Misheard Version, we knew we had to find more ways for the track to come to life in culture”.
“It’s perfectly suited to radio, so we’re expecting big things.”
