Tag: script

Industry Views

Monday Memo: A.I. Cannot Do This Commercial

By TALKERS | by TALKERS

By Holland Cooke
Consultant

imActor Hugh Grant’s Tweet called it “The destruction of the human experience. Courtesy of Silicon Valley.” He was reacting to Apple’s TV commercial depicting a hydraulic press crushing a piano, a record player, paint, books, cameras, and other creative tools Artificial Intelligence emulates, via the new iPad Pro.

With many now fearful that technology will obsolete their jobs, Apple yanked the spot: “We missed the mark with this video and we’re sorry.”

Following my recent column cautioning how ChatGPT-generated ads can be cliché-riddled, several TALKERS readers have sent me even more of the cringe-worthy catch-phrases (“And much more!”) that reduce too many ads to blah-blah-blah.

Various vendors are offering – and, increasingly, stations are using – Artificial Intelligence apps to script, and even voice, commercials. It’s a time-saver alright, but is the output compelling?

In some cases, there’s a fill-in-the-blanks form. Other apps crawl the prospect’s website for copy points. When I’m given demonstrations, I suggest a business I’m familiar with. And I’ve yet to hear a script that captures what makes the business special.

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For one such demo,’ I chose a restaurant we frequent often, here on Block Island. The copy generated was painfully generic. So – to make the point – I went old-school, using the method that has consistently produced results for client stations and in my freelance work.

My video describing the process “Radio Advertising, In Their Own Words” includes several examples… and here’s another.

The AI robot cannot possibly feel-the-feel anyone who has dined there knows… and can’t spot this opportunity: The chef himself is a story, as entertained customers discover: http://getonthenet.com/TheBarn-BrianHebert-1.mp3

And here’s The Free Prize Inside: People tell advertisers who appear in their spots, “I heard you on the radio!”

More work than simply plugging-into an AI app? You bet. The interview from which I excerpted the sound bites you’ll hear took all of five minutes, and I voiced and assembled the spot in under half an hour.

Everything we do is storytelling.

Holland Cooke (HollandCooke.com) is a consultant working at the intersection of broadcasting and the Internet. He is the author of “Close Like Crazy: Local Direct Leads, Pitches & Specs That Earned the Benjamins” and  “The Local Radio Advantage: Your 4-Week Tune-In Tune-Up,” and “Confidential: Negotiation Checklist for Weekend Talk Radio.” Follow HC on Twitter @HollandCooke and connect on LinkedIn.

Industry Views

Monday Memo: Fender Bender Part Deux

By TALKERS | by TALKERS

By Holland Cooke
Consultant

National TV advertising sells things, local radio advertising sells services. And in a recent column here, we outlined the opportunity to exploit what, in my experience, is “the gift that keeps on giving” – the Personal Injury sub-category. Attorneys courting fender-bender, and other settlement cases are an industry in which supply exceeds demand, and for which radio can be super-opportune.

And long before the he-said/she-said is settled, there’s another local service category that’s a radio staple: Auto Body. Distracted driving alone has been good for business. So, help yourself to this copy, which has pulled well for a number of stations I work with.

Note: One announcer I sent this to asked, “Is this a 30 or a 60?” It’s a 60, but less copy than the 60+ seconds that too many spots rush-through. “Let it breathe,” I told him. And you can hear how effective his read was at http://getonthenet.com/AutoBody.mp3

Here’s your fill-in-the-blanks script:

GRAB A PEN.
I’M GOING TO GIVE YOU A PHONE NUMBER I HOPE YOU NEVER HAVE TO CALL.
IT’S THE NUMBER FOR _____ AUTO BODY. _____ AUTO BODY
THEY DO AUTO BODY WORK…NOTHING *BUT* AUTO BODY WORK.
HOPEFULLY, YOU’LL NEVER HAVE TO CALL THEM.
BUT IF YOU *DO* GET-INTO-AN-ACCIDENT, THIS IS THE NUMBER YOU WANT IN YOUR GLOVE COMPARTMENT.
[number, real slowly]
YOU’LL WANT THAT HANDY BECAUSE, SUDDENLY – RIGHT THERE AT THE CRASH – YOU’LL BE GETTING LOTS OF “ADVICE.”
TOW TRUCKS JUST…SHOW UP.
SO JUST SAY THREE WORDS: _____ AUTO BODY.
_____ AUTO BODY IS THE AUTO BODY *SPECIALIST*.
NOT A NEW CAR DEALER WHO DOES BODY WORK AS A PROFITABLE SIDELINE.
AND THEY WORK FOR *YOU*, NOT THE INSURANCE COMPANY.
HERE’S THAT NUMBER AGAIN:
[number, real slowly]
_____ AUTO BODY IS THE AUTO BODY *SPECIALIST*.

Holland Cooke (HollandCooke.com) is a consultant working at the intersection of broadcasting and the Internet. He is the author “Spot-On: Commercial Copy Points That Earned The Benjamins,” a FREE download; and the E-book and FREE on-air radio features “Inflation Hacks: Save Those Benjamins;” and “Multiply Your Podcast Subscribers, Without Buying Clicks,” available from Talkers books.  Follow HC on Twitter @HollandCooke