WNEW FM – Rosko: A Mind Excursion

Contributed by Herb Lubalin Study Center


Source: archives.sva.edu License: All Rights Reserved.

An advertisement designed by Roger Ferriter for the radio DJ, William Roskoe Mercer, better known as simply Rosko. The posters were probably made once Rosko had a standing time-slot on the WNEW radio station, sometime in 1967.

Wikipedia describes him this way:

He is best known for his stints on New York’s WOR-FM and WNEW-FM in the late 1960s and 1970s. He was often a rare African-American voice on radio stations that primarily broadcast to white audiences.

Rosko spent a few years in France before returning to the United States. While in France he recorded several records, including this gem of a single called “Peacemaker” (which should have its own entry on FIU).

Metromedia was a large media company with their own design department headed up by Roger Ferriter. He was there until 1969, when he joined Herb Lubalin in the Lubalin, Smith, Carnase studio, eventually becoming a partner sometime in the early 1970s. Ferriter is best known for the design of the L'eggs logo and packaging. He probably also designed the custom sans typeface that was the core of the identity for the Metromedia television stations.

A black and white version of the ad

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