The Industry

     YAY! See I told you I wouldn’t forget. This begins the new section of the blog that I am going to call “Extra”. If you see this image, it means it’s an additional post, beyond the daily blog. It might contain stuff that a said I would cover, but then pushed to the next morning…cough cough, or it could (and mostly will) cover stuff that appeals to radio/non-radio people alike. Music, pop-culture commentary, weird stuff I find online, that funny video of the cat that attacks its own reflection… you know the blog “gold”. So keep your eye open for these, however this one is about creative styles… which is gold if you like words and writing commercials YAY!

Ad’s are crucial, and although the majority of people tune them out or switch stations, commercials are the main money maker for a station. Your goal as a copywriter is to make your clients ad stand above the rest. Make it noticeable, make it different, make it break through the clutter that is already on the airwaves. The tricky part is how do you do that?

Well my first piece of advice is stop changing the station when the commercial set comes up. I know those sleep country ads are like nails down the chalkboard or Bonnie Brooks from the Bay might cause tinnitus (this is no laughing matter tinnitus is currently the number one ear ailment according to Mitch Hawes industry HAHA) but they hold value to your writing. If you cant stand those ads how much do you want to bet the listeners feel the same way. Knowing this, you can write ads differently! Along this same route, by listening to the commercials already on a station you know what styles are missing, or what isn’t being heard on the air… and this is where the meat and potatoes of todays post comes in: style techniques.

Back on Day Twelve I talked all about F.B.P. If you don’t know what that is, check out the link above. Every ad is going to have F.B.P in it, but there are a lot of different ways you can do this, these are the main ones:

1. Straight Sell:
        - Hard Sell
        - Soft Sell
2. Dialogue
3. Device
4. Testimonial
5. Donut

1. A straight sell is simple. Usually one voice, with a bed of music. A hard sell is a form of a straight sell that is more, I don’t want to say aggressive, but “tougher” sounding. I usually think of a monster truck rally. “SUNDAY, SUNDAY, SUNDAY!”. A soft sell is also another form of straight sell. It’s usually a lot more tame and most likely has an emotional appeal connected to it (this will come later… not setting a date haha, but I will cover appeals). I would say The Bay ads could be a spin on a soft sell… a not so great ad, but they are calm, one voice, in this example no music, but same idea. Remember these styles are just templates!

2. Dialogue. Well that’s pretty obvious. A dialogue is a commercial where there are a few characters talking to one another. The problem with this style I find is trying to make it actually sound like a real dialogue. The other problem that our copywriting teacher taught us in school that really stuck with me is that you want to avoid the “problem-solution” way of using dialogue. For example:

Jen: I have nothing to wear to my interview tomorrow! It’s 9pm and all the malls are closed. What am I going to do?

Amanda: Don’t panic Jen. Just go to Interview ‘R’ Us. They specialize in interview outfits and are open until 10:30. I go there all the time.

Jen: WOW! That’s amazing! I’ll go check it out!

This is where if a blog could have a buzzer it would be buzzing! Obviously this was a horrible example but you get the idea. One character has a problem, the other solves it. LAME! This makes your ad sound more like a cheesy late-night infomercial, so unless that’s the route you want to go, try to be more creative. Listen to the dialogues on the air for better ways to use this style, think of how you and your friends talk!

3. Device. As a production guy, these are the ones that are the most fun to get in your stack. Device ads use the power of sound effects to portray the message. Think of it as if you are creating a story using as many sounds as possible. This doesn’t mean there are no words. Usually these types are accompanied by a tag at the end. Another very bad example:

SFX: Two cars revving engines, a countdown starts, gun signals the start of a race. One car speeds off into the distance, the other one’s engine blows up.

Announcer: Don’t be left at the start line. Treat your engine like the pro’s. Castrol GTX.

The priority is still sound effects, but you need to have that tag so you know what the product is.

4. Testimonial. Again, pretty self-explanatory. Usually when I hear these ads it’s for some kind of dentistry. A former patient talks about how their smile was, and how their smile now is. Again, pretty simple, but can be effective. These dentist type ads, usually have a tag as well.

5. Donuts. MMMMMMMM…. *drool*. When I think of donuts besides me cursing the fact that I live in Canada where apparently we aren’t good enough for Krispy Kreme, except for when charities sell them (which always goes over well), I think of grocery stores. A donut works like this. You have the beginning and end of your commercial already written and produced, then each week, for example, a new middle is filled in. Normally the middle to the grocery stores are “this weeks specials”. Best example EVER:

Beginning
(Generic-Grocery-Store’s jingle)

Middle
Insert Week One - Announcer: 

BBQ season is here and what better way to bring the family together then with the Generic-Grocery-Store brand of hot dogs and hamburgers. 1 kilogram boxes only 9.99. Also on sale this week the softest toilet paper to grace the earth, Generic-Grocery-Store Ultra. 12 rolls for 4.99  24 rolls 7.99 and when your stomach can’t handle all of our quality generic meat products there’s Pepto Bismal, in original and cherry flavour 250ml or 500ml this week only 5.99 

End 
Different Announcer:

This week at Generic-Grocery-Store, home of all the generic crap and Pepto Bismal. (Generic-Grocery-Store Jingle)

You will be surprised how often you hear donuts now that you know what to listen for. They are everywhere… man, still salivating over here!

There you go. The main creative styles. Now again, these are just templates. Rules are meant to be broken. My theory: if it has the FBP and the client likes it… it’s good to go. You can mix the techniques. Have a hard sell/donut combo or a testimonial dialogue. Your job is to be creative and make your client’s ad stand out, do whatever it takes!

First extra complete! Remember to comment on the posts, don’t be shy, even if you’re not a radio person and also check me out on twitter (@mitchhawes) for more awesomeness, just with a 140 character limit.