A doubling-down bet turned a failed radio show into the first hit serial

Evidence

Despite high hopes, listenership was low and there was little noticeable effect on sales. Realizing he had nothing to lose, however, Templin doubled his bet, spending one of Pepsodent’s last millions on the program. … By the end of 1929, Amos ’n’ Andy had become a craze, and the first bona fide hit serial in broadcast history—and the first show people refused to miss, arranging their time around it. No less a cultural arbiter than The New Yorker was now remarking both the show’s quality and the phenomenon: “Amos ’n’ Andy have gone beyond all control. The radio has never had a more amusing feature, nor one that has created so much havoc.” — Tim Wu, The Attention Merchants, 313

Categorization

• CANDY: The perfect anecdote: the first radio hit succeeded only after its sponsor doubled down on a failed launch.