News story about a cash giveaway street stunt by UK local commercial radio station 'Juice FM' in the Liverpool market which was criticised by a local MP, written by Grant Goddard in October 2005 for The Radio Magazine.

1. NEWS: CASH GIVEAWAY
STREET STUNT OF LIVERPOOL
RADIO STATION 'JUICE FM'
CRITICISED BY LOCAL MP
by
GRANT GODDARD
www.grantgoddard.co.uk
October 2005

2. News: Cash Giveaway Street Stunt Of Liverpool Radio Station 'Juice FM' Criticised By Local MP Page 2
©2005 Grant Goddard
A publicity stunt by Liverpool local radio station 'Juice FM' has been criticised
as “tawdry” by a local MP. The station had reported that “a little old granny”
was “spotted handing out £5 notes all this week in Liverpool, but no one knows
where she got the money from.” The station trailed an “exclusive interview”
with the woman named 'Ruby' on its breakfast show during which “she will be
telling all”, making it “one of the most talked about interviews of all time”,
according to the station’s publicity.
'The Liverpool Echo' ran a front-page story about Ruby headlined “I’m Giving
Away My Cash” and Juice FM promised listeners that they would hear “the
truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth” on the breakfast show. Ruby
claimed that she had come upon the money but did not need it and said: "I just
thought I would spread it around a bit. A fiver doesn't buy anything these days,
not even a round of drinks, so it's not such a large amount."
However, by the end of last week, the news story was revealed to be a
publicity stunt as the station had hired 79-year old actress Ruby Dickens to
give away the money. Rosemary Cooper, MP for West Lancashire and former
Lord Mayor of Liverpool, said: "Now we know it was a tawdry commercial
stunt, and I am disgusted. The radio station should be ashamed of itself. Old
people should not be made figures of fun like this. I think the radio station
owes an apology to the elderly for exploiting stereotypes in this dangerous
way."
Juice FM commented: "The story caused a sensation and was instantly picked
up by the national media. This is the biggest stunt we've ever pulled off at
Juice FM."
[First published in 'The Radio Magazine' as 'Juice Readies Stunt Upsets Locals' [sic], #705, 12 October 2005]
Grant Goddard is a media analyst / radio specialist / radio consultant with thirty years of
experience in the broadcasting industry, having held senior management and consultancy
roles within the commercial media sector in the United Kingdom, Europe and Asia. Details at
http://www.grantgoddard.co.uk