Posts Tagged radio commercial scripts
Scripting a radio campaign within a radio campaign
Posted by dan in ad campaign, radio advertising campaign on August 20, 2012
I concepted and scripted television and radio advertising for a chain of TV and appliance stores called Handy Andy.
I’ll be sharing several of these commercials and their genesis over several posts.
The client’s basic promise and tagline, which I could not persuade them to rethink or reword, was “Nobody but nobody sells for less.”
In such situations, rising to the occasion means not just living with such a requirement, but breathing life into it.
So I retired to my concept couch to explore how the fact that ‘nobody sells for less’ could play out over several engaging and persuasive ads.
One way it could play would be that you’d have to be insane to buy from anyone else.
Another thought bubbled up. There must be somebody who could sell these TVs and appliances for less…
Or, somebody could be so rich that the claim is meaningless…
Or one could be too dumb to care…
And just when I began to get self satisfied with all these directions, I shifted 180 degrees on my couch and realized I could have someone care too much.
Anything but:
“Gee, your store really is the best store to go to.”
“Yup.”
“Thanks, Handy Andy!”
Each of these areas yielded more than one commercial.
And as these ads clustered around these creative directions, they seemed to form little campaigns within the larger campaign.
In the end, the dumb tagline became my friend by allowing me to have a few flavors of fun persuasion and still round all these radio and television commercials into a unified message.
As often happens, confinement became freedom.
This point about confinement seems particularly appropriate for this first mini-sub-radio campaign:
“Bureau of Bewildered Persons”
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“National Bureau of Bewildered Persons Revisited“
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Stay tuned for further spots covering who could sell for less, who doesn’t care, who’s too dumb to care, and cares too much.
And, as always, let me know what you think.
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Radio Ad Script Antihero Under Investigation
Posted by dan in ad campaign, copywriter, Radio, radio advertising campaign, Radio Commercial Producer on November 11, 2011
As the campaign builds, this radio ad script puts Tim Dauber under closer scrutiny.
Well, maybe wife Claire isn’t quite as oblivious as all that. In this radio commercial she’s hired a P.I. (Paint Investigator) to check Tim’s work.
The radio ad script, “A Spy in the House of Dauber” presented creative and technical challenges for this radio commercial producer.
The timing and distancing of sound effects and dialogue had to be handled with great precision and at the same time creative interpretation to present an understandable, realistic and funny ear picture of goings on behind closed doors and out back windows.
Big fun here to have the audience root for mispainting malefactor, Tim Dauber, to escape detection and dodge Kelly-Moore Paints again–even as they take in the message of how this paint company offers friendly, expert advice and sells top quality paints at great prices.
”A Spy in the House of Dauber”
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Antihero Hangs On Through Another Radio Commercial Script
Posted by dan in ad campaign, copywriter, radio advertising campaign on November 3, 2011
In this next radio commercial script, Tim Dauber continues to whitewash wife Claire . 
But the neighbors are upset about the neighborhood eyesore that is the Dauber residence.
It was fun to paint a new dimension of Claire’s obliviousness and innocence in this radio commercial script.
And doubly fun to script Tim playing along to sidestep a lynch mob.
“No noose is good noose”
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Radio Advertising Campaign Antihero Tim Dauber Has Legs
Posted by dan in ad campaign, copywriter, Radio, radio advertising campaign on October 21, 2011
That’s what they say about an advertising concept
that is extendable, expandable, and, hopefully, effective.
It can keep going.
Tim Dauber seemed to walk that talk by engaging the listener in his ongoing domestic struggles with wife Claire.
As I was asked to create radio spot after radio spot in this radio advertising campaign, Tim’s backhanded advocacy of Kelly-Moore Paints played out many ways.
Here’s how it went down when Tim’s wife wanted to move out of their mispainted house…
Tim Dauber paints the door shut on moving in
“Realtor”
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Stay tuned to hear me and Tim Dauber keep slapping down this radio advertising campaign and painting more indelible radio spots.
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Tim Dauber vs. Kelly-Moore Paints: Birth of a Radio Advertising Campaign Antihero
Posted by dan in copywriter, Radio, radio advertising campaign on October 17, 2011
A freelance copywriter sneaks in the front door.
I approached Kelly-Moore directly because they were based in my home town and I thought I could create and produce better radio ad scripts than they were airing.
They had a little jingle tag:
“Kelly-Moore! We help you do it right. We’re the painter’s paint store!”
This was their thrilling conclusion to radio spots in which an announcer simply read off the week’s sale items and their prices. They ran the same list in newspapers. That pretty much tells you how much use they were making of radio as a medium.
They agreed to a meeting, liked me and my samples, and asked me to come up with something better.
There was a benefit or two suggested in their jingle tag, so I questioned them about that and it did turn out their store employees are quite knowledgeable and helpful and many professional painters buy Kelly-Moore.
Their jingle jangled my imagination.
So I kicked around several ideas that might communicate how helpful the folks at K-M are and how good their paint is. But I thought it would be fresher and more attention-getting to not just brag about their staff and products. I wanted to dramatize it.
And this led me to my first campaign based on an ongoing character, Tim Dauber.
Tim Dauber gets to acknowledge K-M’s benefits without being a shill or spokesman.
How?
Tim Dauber’s secret to getting his way in life is to avoid K-M paint stores with their great advice and top quality paints.
When his wife wants her parents to come for a visit, he just keeps on miss-painting the guestroom with his lack of know-how and poor quality paint.
‘Oops, I’m so not sorry.’
He’s got an aptitude for using his painting ineptitude to get out of family vacations, selling the house, and anything else he wants to manipulate.
All he’s got to do is stay away from Kelly-Moore, or he’d have no excuse for the way things always go his way.
Here’s the first radio spot I scripted to set up the premise…
Tim Dauber’s Radio Debut:
“Guestroom”
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You can start to see how this is going to play out as Tim tries his worst to escape an impending family vacation…
Tim Dauber Lays It on Thick:
“A Dauber Family Vacation”
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So now the campaign got rolling and I had to keep cooking up situations for Tim to cook up a way out of…All while pushing Kelly-Moore’s sound advice and great paint. BTW, a 5-sceond tag at the end of each spot gave live announcers a chance to plug the paints on sale that week.
Wonder what would happen if Claire wanted to sell the house and Tim didn’t…
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And now, another radio spot you won’t be hearing from Dan Goldstein Copywriting Services…
Posted by dan in copywriter, Radio on June 22, 2011
THICKE: This is Ed Thicke.
DULL: And Ted Dull.
THICKE: With a message from the Monolith Brick Company.
DULL: About strong, hard, rectangular…
THICKE: Monolith Bricks.
DULL: Ladies, Monolith Bricks are sturdy and reliable.
THICKE: And now, with Monolith’s new expanded line of products,
you can get them in your choice of two beautiful designer shapes: Wide or Tall.
DULL: Ed, I think the tall one is just a wide one standing on end.
SFX: CLUNK OF BRICK FALLING OVER ON ITS SIDE
THICKE: So it is. Well, I guess Monolith doesn’t offer all that much variety.
But aren’t there lots of great cosmetic and housekeeping uses for these hard, lifeless objects, Ted?
DULL: Could be, Ed. But we don’t really have to get into all that.
THICKE: I guess that’s true. Tell ‘em why, Ted.
DULL: You see, ladies, the Monolith Brick Company has just placed such an obese media buy
that it hardly matters what we say.
THICKE: We thought about just bluntly reading our marketing strategy at you—
DULL: But we don’t even have to do that, let alone capture your imagination or sell you on the benefits,
if there are any, of Monolith Bricks.
THICKE: No, all we have to do is keep hitting you with these boring brick commercials night and day
till you stagger off and buy some.
DULL: And don’t even think about switching stations.
THICKE: No, we’re on every station right now.
DULL: And will be again every five minutes till we reach our sales goals.
THICKE: So you see, ladies, it’s sort of a blackmail situation.
DULL: And it’s truly in your own best interests to think up your own uses for Monolith Bricks.
THICKE: We know you don’t want to hear from us.
DULL: And we don’t particularly like to talk to you.
THICKE: So what it really comes down to is—
DULL: Buy us or we’ll bore you.
THICKE: Say, that’d make a sell tagline, Ted.
DULL: We don’t need one, Ed.
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About Freelance Copywriter Dan Goldstein
I write copy to get results.
But flat-footedly asking for those results doesn't always work. You have to get your customers' attention, convince them you understand their problems, needs and desires, and then present a compelling solution in a memorable way. I offer copywriting services in all media, including the Web, that jump through all these hoops with enough style to enhance your image while scoring sales.
I spent the first part of my career as a copywriter at major advertising agencies.
I worked for a wide range of clients on everything from food and beverage accounts to financial services to travel, real estate, restaurants, and much else. Along the way, I picked up numerous awards, including a Clio.
I now offer my copywriting services directly to businesses as well as advertising agencies and design firms.
You can contact me with questions about copywriting or to get to work on your next piece of powerful communication.
You can also subscribe to my blog for hopefully pithy and entertaining insights on advertising copywriting and the creative process.
