In my radio days, I wrote a lot of spots - thousands, I guess. Here are a few tidbits gleaned from my experience then and since. Perhaps some of these principles can be applied to other forms of communication. And of course, “Your Mileage May Vary”.
≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈
• Fewer words = more impact.
• Really.
• Every advertiser wants results. To get results, he first has to get the listener’s attention. To get attention, he must stand out – do something that doesn’t sound like every other commercial. But... most advertisers are uneasy when their commercial doesn’t sound like the standard, predictable dreck. (And our friendly, knowledgeable, professional sales staff really is here to help you!) After hours of discussion and revision, most advertisers find that they don’t want to stand out all that much. Therefore their spots don’t demand attention, and they don’t get results. It’s sad, but I’ve seen it many times.
• The first line and the last line are crucial. Spend some time making sure they “grab.” Don’t start your vitally-important message with “As you already know...”. Yawn.
• Great writing is in the rewriting.
• But don’t rewrite so much that you finesse the power out of the original idea.
• Frankly, I don’t care how wonderful you and your product are. I care about getting a solution to my problem. Help the listener solve a problem.
• Clichés: avoid them like the plague.
• “Leave them wanting more.” One primary cause of bad advertising is that every factoid is precious to the client, but not to the listener. “Open from 9am to 4pm Monday through Thursday, 9 to 6 Friday, Saturdays 10-2. Closed Sundays except the fifth Sunday in Leap Year, and during...” Dare to leave stuff out – even stuff the listener may want to know. Then they’ll have to call you to find out. That would be a good thing, right?
• Be vulnerable. Have a sense of humor about yourself. I could be wrong, but I don’t imagine that Coca-Cola and Microsoft tell people in their videos and on their websites, “WE ARE THE INDUSTRY LEADER.” If you truly were the industry leader, wouldn’t everyone in the industry know that already?
• There is no magic formula for making people do what you want them to do. No secret combination of “number of mentions of the client name” x “instances of the word ‘FREE!!!’” + “repetitions of the phone number” @ “ear-piercing volume” will = automatic sales. Listeners have free will. We can’t even “force” them to listen to the message; how can we force them to act on it?
• A little story about that: One time while I was in radio, the Sales Rep told me that a certain car dealer wanted a spot that would “make his phone ring!”. I said, “Tell him to give away a free Cadillac to the first 5 people who call. I guarantee his phone will ring.” The moral is that the level of response has almost everything to do with the offer, and almost nothing to do with how imaginatively the offer is presented.
• Frequency (the number of times the spot airs) is probably more important than the “creative.” That’s difficult for us creative folks to admit, but I’ve seen countless advertisers throw away their ad dollars by buying only a smattering of spots here and there. It doesn’t matter how artistically the message is packaged if it doesn’t have a chance to sink in. It’s the commercials you hear over and over that you remember.
• This particular spot is just not all that important. Presenting a consistent message over time in a coordinated campaign is how the national advertisers get results. So relax with the microsecond-by-microsecond analysis of take 15 of alternate read C; this commercial is only a small part of the big picture you’re painting.
• Really fast disclaimers make it seem like you’re trying to hide something. If you want listeners to trust you, it might not be a good move to shove a lot of “audio fine print” in their ears. I’m just saying.
• Music in a spot is good if it enhances the emotion of the spot. Music is bad if it’s used to try to mask the fact that the copy is weak. If the words don’t stand on their own, putting elevator music behind them isn’t going to help.
≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈
I may come up with more thoughts on this topic later. Meanwhile, if you have comments, please send them to me at colorsaudio@neo.rr.com. Thanks for reading! Dan
Feedback: colorsaudio@neo.rr.com
