Shreveport station jazzes things up for morning news promo

KTAL, the NBC affiliate in Shreveport, Louisiana, has gone full Carnival and Mardi Gras in a promo that encourages viewers to “jazz up” their mornings.”

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The spot starts with the dramatic bang of a drum that’s also shown on screen as the words “jazz,” “up” “your” and “mornings” appear on screen set in a textured version of a slab serif typeface similar to Clarendon or Sentinel, a typeface style that’s often used with carnival, circus and western-themed designs.

The station recruited a small band to walk down the street in its own mini-version of a parade featuring its morning talent, including meteorologist Josh Marcisz, co-anchors Jezzamine Wolk and Fernanda Hernadez and live reporter Mata Drain, each of whom appear in a single shot on screen with his or her name on screen in the same font.

There’s also a brief cutaway shot of a “crowd” watching the parade, though it’s a surprisingly low-energy shot.

Everyone is decked out in a variety of beads in traditional colors of green, gold and violet, along with festive accessories such as boas and mini-umbrellas. 

The promo uses an informal announcer, who also encourages viewers to “make the switch to NBC 6,” taking advantage of the quasi-rhyme between the word “switch” and “six,” while the sound of a small crowd cheering in the background can be heard.

Of course, the spot also includes a lively jazzy musical bed that appears to be at least somewhat synchronized with the on-screen musicians. 

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Although Shreveport is in the northern part of Louisiana and far from the more well known Mardi Gras festivities in New Orleans, the city has been celebrating Carnival, also known as the Feast of Epiphany, the begins in Jan. 6 each year, and Mardi Gras, which is held the day before the Christian Lent season begins, regularly since the 1980s.

The Krewe social organization that organizes the New Orleans events has ties to Shreveport’s as well.

Shreveport is also know as the “Texarkana market,” a reference to the fact it reaches portions of Texas, Arkansas and Louisiana.