It's been a while since I revealed some of the Dirty Little Secrets of Copywriting, but today I thought I'd dip my toe in that unchlorinated pool again.
More specifically, this one is aimed at young copywriters and art directors who might be working on automotive advertising.
As yesterday's post intoned, I'm in an automotive frame of mind lately. Not to mention last week's posting by my blogging buddy George Tannenbaum and his searing appraisal of the Cadillac brand.
If I were to tell fledgling art directors and copywriters one thing about car advertising it would be this:
"Don't write a new commercial, just rewrite the brief."
Oh sure, there's a lot of clap trap, coming from agencies and clients, about wanting to "break through" or "we need to disrupt the category" or "we want something new."
Bullshit.
No one wants any of that. That puts careers at risk. That rocks the boat. That endangers mortgage payments, 529 account deposits and most importantly, career advancement. Moreover, it makes planners and strategists nervous, so there's a good chance that kind of work will never leave the building.
As mentioned above, the smarter, more efficient route is to re-craft the brief. And the good news is all the pieces to the puzzle are in the brief.
If, for instance, the vehicle you're selling is a crossover or SUV for busy moms who have too little time and too many responsibilities, start there.
OPEN ON A FRAZZLED MOTHER, STILL IN HER WORKOUT CLOTHES, CARRYING HER HYDROFLASK TO THE CAR. SHE'S SO BUSY SHE FORGETS THE KEY FOB AND HAS TO RUN BACK IN THE HOUSE...
Who cares where the spot goes from there. The important thing is you've nailed the target and you did it quickly. Heads in the conference room will be bobbing up and down, no one will pay any attention to the rest of your spot (brief).
What if you're working on a car targeted to hipsters? Then hipsters it is.
Beards.
Ear gauges.
Steampunk clothing. The more the better.
And don't dilly dally getting to it either.
OPEN ON HIPSTER CREW PLAYING CORNHOLE AT THE BEACH.
What happens next? See above.
Also, and this works for any type of advertising, pre-empt the opening scene with a logo, and a ding dongy type pneumonic. And end the spot the same way. Nothing says "I get branding like bookending your next spot with logos." The bigger, the better. I'm looking at you Sony Playstation.
"But Rich, this all seems so formulaic. So tried and true. So been there and done that."
Now, you're getting the hang of things.
Class dismissed.
2 comments:
Samevertising rules.
After 35 years on both the production company and ad agency side, I could not agree more. Lost count of the number of times a creative team (Now, there's an oxymoron to consider) would start a kick-off meeting with the best of intentions, only to end with the Different But The Same face as they exited.
Would love to think there is a cure and/or that it would be, ahem, different in other creative realms. But it is not. During my illustrious producing career I also worked on my share of feature, episodic TV, video game, and interactive projects. All of them would distill down to the lowest common denominator. The fix was in since the metrics proved it.
And after two years schlepping non-fiction and fiction books, short stories, and novelettes around I can tell you that publishing and series development is the same as the above, with one inspiring difference.
Streaming services will take a flyer on something beyond the bounds. A caution, though. As soon as the finance department figures out that Seinfeld is still gathering more subscriptions than Anything On The BBC Save Downton Abbey, you will see the curve bend towards Seinfeld.
And as much as I live the Passive-Aggressive Foursome, it is, to quote Kramer, "So played."
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