Oban blind man could voice Lidl's new self-checkouts
Alan sits smiling at a radio station desk.
An Oban man who lost his sight over a decade ago is one of ten finalists in Lidl’s nationwide search for the voice of its new Scottish self-checkouts.
Alan MacDonald (46) is in the running to become the friendly voice shoppers will hear when scanning their groceries in Lidl stores across Scotland. The competition, fronted by Hollywood star Alan Cumming, celebrates Scotland’s distinctive accents as Lidl introduces Scottish voices to its self-service tills.
Alan, who lost his sight in 2009, has since built a career in sound production. He returned to university to study sound engineering and soon became a familiar voice on Oban FM, hosting a Tuesday afternoon show, “Macky at Lunch”. Over the years, he’s recorded countless jingles and adverts for the station. Today, he dedicates much of his time to volunteering with RNIB, supporting people in Oban with everyday technology, as well as helping blind and partially sighted people across the country with more advanced tools such as audio production software and accessibility features for learning.
“I went back to university after losing my sight, and I’ve always loved making wee recordings,” says Alan. “So when this opportunity came up, I thought I’d give it a go!”
Lidl’s call for entries, launched in May, attracted more than 5,000 hopefuls via a touring in-store recording booth and a dedicated WhatsApp line. Now, just 10 voices remain, representing communities from Aberdeen to Kinross, and Oban.
The winning voice will feature on self-checkouts in Lidl stores across Scotland later this year.
Vote for your favourite finalist as the new voice of Lidl’s self-checkouts at unexpectedscottishvoice.co.uk . Voting ends at 5pm on Tuesday 29 July.
