Not long ago, radio was a graveyard for direct marketers. Now just about every commercial I hear comes with a toll free phone number, repeated three times, of course. What happened? Simple, talk radio.

Radio used to be mostly music so it functioned as aural wallpaper; nobody paid much attention. Then came Rush and the rush after Rush. Now people who listen do pay attention, and so do direct marketers. The problem is that most talk radio listeners are guys of a certain age, such as yours truly. That means most of the DM commercials we hear are for hair replacement, erectile dysfunction, debt reduction, mortgages, bladder problems, investments (including, it would seem, lots of gold for sale), and cars although there are fewer car commercials on the radio lately and I suspect that has more to do with the fact that women handle most of the car buying than it does with the economy.

I’ve has a Sirius radio in my car for about 4 years and it’s a Godsend. I start off listening to the talk shows on AM when I’m driving but as soon as a string of commercials comes on, I press a couple of buttons and the sounds of commercial free Sirius jazz fill the air.

I have nothing against DM radio commercials. I know they work because I hear them over and over and over and over.