6-3-2014
Every day you can see and hear commercials that were created by committee: politically correct, watered-down, automatically written ads that offend no one?and motivate no one. Commercials that sound like, well, like commercials. They make you want to change the station, or at best, ignore the message.
If you want your spots to make it all the way from the senses to the brain, you?ll need to take a few risks: that your idea won?t work, that you?ll offend someone, that it might not get immediate results, that people will think you?re crazy. You?ll also need to risk having phenomenal success, that you?ll be thought of as a visionary, that your clients will bow down at your feet (well, maybe I?m dreaming).
Surprise your audience. Present the unexpected. Turn the rules upside down. Try writing a 300-word :60, or one with only 14 words. Montage hundreds of images or combine a single static shot with a busy soundtrack. Mix two cuts of music together. Use 26 voices in a :30 spot. Create a spot backwards. Use operatic music for a dance club. Have a spot for retirees narrated by a child. Cast an ancient voice for a young hip audience.
Go in the opposite direction. If your competition has a jingle, use straight talk without music. If they?re listing lots of features (they probably are), do a spot featuring only one: the way the lettuce is chosen at a restaurant, the way a car is washed at a dealership, the 14 steps a plumber takes to make sure he leaves your house spotless after a service call?but make sure you sell the benefits.
Create a continuing story and make each spot an episode that picks up where the last one left off. Design a quiz that listeners have to call in, log on, or come in to complete.
Remember, even with a risk-taking approach, the goal is to sell, so get the listener?s or viewer?s attention and keep it while motivating her to respond. Go ahead, take some risks. Safe commercials are dull commercials, and are only useful as sleeping aids.
To get your very own free copy of ?Hedquist?s List of 329 Cliches,? email me at jeffrey@hedquist.com and I?ll send them. Guaranteed to reduce commercial effectiveness.
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