Have a script that hasn’t seen the light of day? Consider entering it in Oink Ink Radio’s Dead Radio Contest. Just send in the script and they’ll pick the ones most worthy to fully produce.

Dan Price, President of Oink Ink breaks it all down here.

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Lately, we’ve been evangelizing the idea of the 7 Cs of radio creative:  creative brief, concept, copywriting, collect/correct, casting, coaching, cut/correct.  We’re finding that, by going through this process, even if its done quickly, we can get better creative developed.  Today, we look at the creative brief. (more…)

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by Doug Zanger

I usually tell account pros that it’s always a good idea to “write light.” This is counter to what most people think when writing copy. Usually, an ad starts as a :70 - :80 missive. After 15 minutes of scratching out, writing (illegibly) in between lines, and developing an intricate map-like hydra of arrows, frustration ensues. What was once a very long script, is now a very messy one. When I was a production director, this was one of my biggest pet peeves. Done in front of a client, it can be perceived as unprofessional and a waste of time.

I find it much easier to add copy than delete it. Here are a few things to think about before you fill out that production order:

Word count…uh…counts
As a general rule (not one that’s in stone, just my experience)…for a one-voice spot…a :60 is somewhere around 180 words…a :30 is around 90 words. This word count assumes that the spot will be read at a fairly spirited clip but not too fast.  Individual numbers count as one word each.  Bear that in mind when looking at your copy. (more…)

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I was working on some creative for a client and had some music going.  After about an hour, I was noticing that I was responding to different songs as I wrote.  This campaign is pretty high-energy, so I noticed that when I was listening to Tahiti 80, Phoenix or Snow Patrol, I was writing quickly and efficiently.

I changed the pace up a little by throwing in some Steely Dan (it was the “Gaucho” release).  After 20 minutes, I noticed that my attention waned a little bit and my writing became less “energetic.”  In fact, the entire tone of what I was writing had changed and it was clear I needed to get back up with something more uptempo.

A couple of questions for you:  1)  do you listen to music when you write?  2)  if so, what do you generally listen to and how does that affect your work?

Post your answers and we’ll randomly pick one for an iTunes gift card.

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We received this question from the radiocreativeland this week: “What do you think of ’slice of life’ spots?”

Ah. the good ‘ol “slice of life” spot. That type of commercial where “real” people are conversing back and forth “naturally.” In my experience, I haven’t seen many of these work unless it is clear that the dialogue is meant to be a little cheesy. If an advertiser tries to be serious in a script like this, invariably, it includes product details, prices, disclaimers and other assorted nuggets that no “normal” person would ever say.

To wit:

M1: Hi there neighbor. (dramatic pause) Heeeey, that’s quite a honey of a car, where did you get it?

M2: (chuckling as if he knows a secret) It’s my new Daewoo Nutria XL8YT and I got it at Marv’s Car Barn, home of the 50 best cars in Sweet Home. Only 23-985 with a $5,000 factory rebate, VIN number RT577465NXX, see dealer for details. Hey, we still on for that barbecue this weekend? (more…)

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What, in your opinion, is the one single most important part of writing a spectacular radio spot?

Feel free to post away. We’ll gather all of the posts, then ask an expert in the field what they think, and what they think of your responses.

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