I’ve always loved commercials. As a young boy tuning into far away radio broadcasts, I would listen to commercials with great wonder. The jingles, the amazing announcer voices, the sound effects, the ‘theater of the mind’ that that could take the listener on an amazing journey in just 60 seconds. As a broadcaster, I’ve always stayed close to commercials. As an on-air performer and creative services director, I was voicing or producing commercials on a daily basis. When I became an account executive (respectful description for spot salesman), sales manager and general manager, spots were my lifeblood. If I sold enough of them, I was able to support my family. And now, as the owner of an advertising and marketing firm, I remain very close to commercials and what they mean to advertisers, broadcasters and the consumer.
Pete Thomson - McQ Media
So now that we’ve established that I may be bit obsessed with all this spot stuff, let’s talk about what makes a great commercial. Instead of writing about amazing copy techniques, an effective jingle’s impact on advertiser recall or even examples of “best practices” commercials, I have just one thought for your consideration: “Less is More”.
I first learned about “Less is More” in the late 1970s, when working as a DJ for KDWB, a top 40/CHR station in Minneapolis/St. Paul. It was there that I was exposed to the philosophy of legendary programmers Greg Ausham, Dave Hamilton and an innovator of ‘Less is More’ John Sebastian. Instead of giving DJs free reign to say anything they wanted, these programmers created ‘guard rails’ on the highway of DJ banter. The guard rails came in the form of scripting for many parts of a DJ’s program content. And while some DJs claimed this stifled creativity and artistic freedom, I quickly learned that I could sound better working within a structure. And even though much of our content was scripted on what we called ‘liner cards’, the structure created an on-air consistency that would not have been possible otherwise. Additionally, the structure resulted in higher ratings as listeners were delivered more of what they listened to radio for—music. The structure also gave less experienced on-air talent (IE: me) a way to utilize our strengths and stay out of the proverbial ‘weeds’. So, for example, instead of talking for 30 seconds about that week’s Vikings game, the format guidelines required me to find a way to put my thoughts into 5 to 8 seconds and weave them into the format. I found ways to use just a few words to communicate. Less is More.
The same disciplines are at work in the best commercials on radio and television. They convey a message with great efficiency making every word count. Whenever our McQ Media team is creating a script draft, our first exercise is to edit and simplify the message. We eliminate cliches, overused terms and thoughts that don’t serve the purpose of the creative, which is recall and response. I look for throw away words that you hear in too many commercials. We check our flow of ideas to make sure a logical progression is followed. I’m amazed at how even the best commercial drafts can be vastly improved upon by doing this. And sometimes, a concept that looked good at 8AM doesn’t make it to close of business. Less is More.
“Less is More” strongly applies to commercials that include client delivered copy. Too often creative requires a client to read way too much copy. I’ve never regretted suggesting to a client that we edit or shorten their role in a commercial. Less is More.
“Less is More” sometimes makes it necessary to produce of additional commercials, especially if a client has several core messages that are relevant to a campaign. Even then, I strongly recommend an objective review of the messaging. Less is More.
The “Less is More” strategy pays off in a big way on direct response spots. Economy of words can result in more time for a call to action that includes adequate repetition of phone numbers and web addresses.
Over the next week, I encourage you to listen to commercials. I mean really listen to them. Make note of the spots that hold you, draw you in and even cause you to take action. You’ll be amazed at how the best commercials feature a very limited number of thoughts and words. You’ll also become painfully aware of spots that haven’t had this level of artistic scrubbing and molding.
In another column we’ll talk about how “Less is More” can increase sales. But for now, I must sign off. Thanks for reading. And remember, “Less is More”.
President/CEO — McQ Media Inc
Twitter: @pwthomson
Editor’s Note: Pete Thomson started his on-air career at KCHA in Charles City, Iowa in 1972. He worked on-air or in creative services at KXEL, KWWL, KFMX, KDWB, WLOL, KAFM, WBZZ and KHYI. In 1988, Thomson transitioned to sales working at KLIF/KPLX as an AE. He was LSM and GSM for the launch of Christian music station KLTY in Dallas. He served as VP/GM for Salem Radio in Dallas from 1996 to 2008. After spending 3 years in television sales management, Thomson started his own advertising and media firm, McQ Media, in 2011.
