Frank McMinn, the iconic radio voice of Raley's, has exited the airwaves.
The upbeat, folksy McMinn aired his final spot for the grocery chain last week. His unnamed replacement is already voicing new ads on a trial basis.
Why the change?
Raley's spokeswoman Nicole Townsend says McMinn "retired" as narrator for the company's radio ads but will continue to work "behind the scenes" writing ad copy.
McMinn, who is in his 70s, says only "no comment." Others suggest his retirement was not exactly voluntary.
Regardless, his departure from the airwaves will be a surprise for many Sacramentans who've heard him rhapsodize - "ummm, ummm" - about Raley's fresh produce and meats for the past 15 years.
McMinn joined Raley's in the late 1940s as an ad guy and rose through the ranks to become part of a management team that insiders still remember as "The Trinity."
After retiring in 1993 from his VP marketing post, McMinn became a consultant - writing, producing and narrating spots for Bel Air Supermarkets and then Raley's.
As the voice of Raley's, McMinn acquired a following. "He had a way of romanticizing the retail product," says local ad exec Paul McClure, whose Sacramento firm represents one of Raley's competitors, SaveMart.
Another fan, Scott Rose of the Runyon Saltzman & Einhorn agency, says listeners trusted the "maturity" in McMinn's voice.
"If he was telling me (Raley's produce) was fresh, by God, I believed it was fresh," Rose says.
Can the company find another radio spokesman with the same connection to listeners?
Of course. But maybe not one as personally identified with the longtime grocery chain.
For the rest of Bob Shallit's column, see Saturday's "Our Region" section. Reach Shallit at (916) 321-1049. Back columns: www.sacbee.com/shallit.
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