RYANAIR GOT its non-Irish cabin crew to strip down to their undies for charity and now the backers of the new regional radio station for the north east and midlands have decided that some naked male flesh will help promote their new business.

Billboards will shortly spring up around the country featuring comedian Tommy Tiernan and broadcaster Hector Ó hEochagáin posing in their drawers to promote the launch of i105-107 on November 24th.

The pair cut a provocative pose draped over a leather lounger in almost all their glory.

Whether that encourages people to listen to their show on i105-107 remains to be seen but it should certainly get tongues wagging in advance of the station hitting the airwaves.

The new station, which is part of the iRadio stable, led by radio veteran Dan Healy, is spending a hefty €230,000 on the outdoor advertising campaign featuring the two lads.

Based in Athlone, i105-107 will broadcast to Cavan, Monaghan, Meath, Kildare, Westmeath, north Laois and Louth.

Tiernan and Ó hEochagáin's show will air from 10am to noon every Friday.

The timing of the new station's launch could hardly be worse, coming as it does in the teeth of the country's worst recession for two decades, although radio executives insist that advertising revenues are holding up well.

Healy will no doubt be hoping that he can replicate the success of his other regional station, i102-104, which broadcasts in the north west and got a fillip yesterday from the release of the latest JNLR listenership figures.

The station, which only began broadcasting in February, achieved an average quarter-hour listenership of more than 18,000 - a figure that compares favourably with the likes of Today FM in Dublin and the UTV-owned Q102 station in the capital.

The super-regional has a 14 per cent-plus share of 15-34-year-olds throughout the day and a 5 per cent share of all adults from 7am to 7pm. It's a good start given the economic backdrop.

Reaching breakeven is still at least a year off but Healy and co will no doubt be confident that they'll trouser a sizeable profit over time.