Welcome to our fourth installment of tips on radio commercials and radio advertising.
7. One of the most difficult tasks when getting started in writing your radio commercial copy is creating the ad’s format. There is actually no hard and fast rule, and it would really depend on what you would feel appropriate to the message and to the product. Here are the common formats being used.
Straight Announcer — This is by far the simplest, a single strong voice talking directly to the listener. The radio commercial copy should be simple, direct, and clear. The voice should speak as if direclt addressing a single person and not sound like someone reading. It is important for the copy writer to write like they were actually speaking to a person right in front of them, taking care not to use words that would distance the speaker from the listener. It does not have to be declarative, the voice can pose a question also.
Dialog — Let’s face it, people are social beings… we love to talk, and somehow we also love to listen to other people talk… if it is in any way interesting. In most cases the discussion revolves around one person’s experience about a product or service, with the other person not knowing anything about it; and thus there is a transfer of information.
The party that is unaware of the product can even pose questions or present opportunities that the product or service may provide.
This is a very powerful method of advertising, especially if executed well and with the voices used match the demographics of the listeners of the radio commercial.
Vignette — We start the ad with a scene like a slice of life scene presenting a situation or problem, followed by the announcer who presents the product or service as the solution. It could be several slice of life scenes punctuated with voice over announcements that. Vignettes can also be in the form of personalities or voices that represent a demographic and a situation they find them self in.
Person on the Street — This is the easiest to produce and has a high level of believability. All you have to do is pick people on the street, persons who represent the demographic that probably already benefits from the product, then ask this real people what they think about the product.
The key is to get them to talk about the product, describe how it’s benefited them and ask if they would recommend it to others. Not all the answers will be eloquent, and may need some measure of editing or cleaning up. Having them sound unscripted, unrehearsed.. REAL is what makes it effective. Hearing real people say good things is one of the best forms of advertising you can get.
Testimonials — This is actually taking the person on the street concept a step further by getting the people you picked to directly speak and address listeners, talking about using the product and its benefits. Testimonials treatments have been used with experts, celebrities, or ordinary people.
Story — This is one of the most difficult to put together, but very rewarding if pulled off. Everybody loves to hear a story but to do it in just 30 or 60 seconds is quite a feat. You would need a plausible, brief plot and voice talents who can properly deliver lines and add to the drama of the scene. Like any good short story, there is a crisis that needs a solution.