Radio advert row raises the Tempo

Tempo has benefited from acres of free publicity after a spat with Capital Radio over the voice-overs used in the retailer's local radio ad campaign.

In October, Capital told Tempo to replace Kara Noble, a former Capital DJ now with rival station Heart FM, as voice-over for ad spots running in the Chris Tarrant Breakfast Show, part of Tempo's u1 million campaign. The Times, the Daily Mail, the Evening Standard and Radio 1 all reported on the objections raised by Capital Radio's star DJ Chris Tarrant over the use of his one-time colleague Noble in the Tempo ad.

Capital Radio expressed bewilderment over the Tempo tempest and denied ever having told Tempo that it would blacklist its ads.

"This is a storm in a tea-cup," a spokeswoman said. "The Tempo ads were never pulled. We have never had an issue with DJs doing voice-overs and neither has Chris Tarrant. All DJs in the London market look for voice-over work to boost their income. Tempo came to us with a script, and Chris Tarrant expressed an interest in doing the voice-over himself.

"A suggestion was made to Tempo, which told us it had signed a contract with Kara Noble. As far as we were concerned that was the end of the matter.

But maybe Tempo was looking to maximise their coverage. I understand a press release was issued and I can't blame them. It was inventive PR."