AARON MENZ

The word, commercial is made up of the word commerce, that is, a commercial’s purpose is commerce and is an ad intended to persuade to make a profit. If you think about it in the old days and in some places around the world today, you still find market places where people are making commercials while others pass by. Going to a bazaar might yield a vendor who is talking aloud to the passing crowd about a piece of the item they have. Even vendors giving samples at Costco vocalize with the intent to persuade consumers to purchase the product they are vending. These are the commercials and the human voice has been the prime way to persuade people to purchase a product.

Commercials are fundamental in many ways to people since we utilize our voice to influence others all the time. Guys trying to get a date may be commercializing themselves to persuade a special lady to dinner. If you think about it, when it comes to an ad or commercial you must have qualities that stand out above the competition, give out the right information, and have the right voice and tone of it.

It has been said that a person is exposed up to 4,000-10,000 ads per day! Marketing expert, Ron Marshall counted 487 ads that he was exposed to just before breakfast! The reason why? More media means more ads and more ads means more marketing strategies. Understanding the types of ads and the media they are associated with will help the voice-over artist narrow down how to approach a script.

Value-added marketing puts the customer first and High-quality advertising is educational and entertaining. A testimonial is where a consumer testifies to the reliability and exemplary unique nature of a product or service advertised.

A hard-sell is an ad that projects lots of information in a short amount of time and is generally forceful in urging consumers. The hard-sell ad can be pushed on the consumer because it’s either a limited time special or a large purchase with long-term benefits. A car salesman or an infomercial would be examples of hard-sell ad campaigns. This type of ad would also fall into the category of a call to action ad.

A soft-sell is more seductive and plays on the imagination to stir up ideas. It might be more rationale and conversational. The key to the soft-sell ad is sparking interest and engaging the consumer even if they choose not to make an immediate purchase. A soft-sell ad for the voice-over artist may mean less being more. Apple has become innovative regarding the soft-sell ads of the iPhone and the iPad. Minimalism, white, and sleek designs have made owning such a product a social status symbol. Many of these types of adds may come across as institutional since it’s an issue of trusting the brand that is marketing the product that bears the brand name. Both Hard-sell and Soft-sell ads can even be educational and informative.

Commercials are becoming more entertaining because of the need to stand out. Just think about the highlight of watching the Superbowl every year and the next day around the watercooler co-workers will be discussing the commercials as well. Entertainment has become a large component of modern commercials. A Visual as Hero ad utilizes the aspect of filmmaking and cinematography overselling. The ambiance or action of the ad pulls the consumer in the same way a film would and might contain a well-known actor’s voice. This has become problematic in the voice-over community because many times large brands may seek for a well-known celebrity to be the spokesperson. Matthew McConaughey is well known for Lincoln ads and make-up companies utilize super-models and famous actresses in their ads.

There are twelve separate categories of commercials that fall within the broader categories of hard-sell and soft-sell. Many commercials will often mix various components from the categories the way some films may have different elements from other genres mixed in.

1. Demo of a product or service
2. Problem solution
3. Exaggerate, symbol, analogy – The need for the product or service is greatly exaggerated. Pesticide products often fall into this category.
4. Comparison – Comparing brands
5. Exemplary story – This type of ad focuses on the benefit of the product. Car commercials that show safety features of vehicles in crashes will often fall into this category
6. Benefit causes – This category will focus on the benefit of using a product.
7. Review – This may also be classified as a testimonial
8. Mascots, Celebrity Spokesperson, or Characters
9. Associated user – The type of person who will use the product or service
10. Unique Personality Property – This type of ad focuses on a unique selling point of a product
11. Exaggerate, symbol, analogy – This is like #3 but in this format, the solution or effect of the product is exaggerated. Some cleaning product ads may utilize this.
12. Parody – This may utilize something in pop-culture that can be recognized

A voice-over artist must be unique, personable and less like an announcer for the ad he/she will be voicing. Many commercials nowadays prefer a more conversational down-to-earth approach on a read. The main point in a commercial read isn’t too overemphasize parts of the copy but to rather get to the heart of the message of a brand. There may be parts of a read however, like a company’s tag line or motto that are meant to stand out in a different way or worked into an ad. An experienced voice-over artist has a variety of ways to analyze a script to bring out those elements that are essential to connect with the audience. Often a client may seek out a voice that reflects the audience it is seeking to reach. All in all any commercial or ad is a miniature story that the voice-over artist has to engage in and tell.

One up-coming trend to be aware of with the rise in voice-activation/recognition technology is how companies will strategize in utilizing virtual assistants like Siri and Alexa in marketing and advertising. While these will no doubt continue to be new venues for marketing strategists there’s really nothing like the craft of an actual voice-over artist to find multitudinous ways to express commercial interest through the human voice. If there is commercial project you would like to consult with me about contact me and check out my commercial demos. I would love to connect and collaborate!

Sources

• Marshall, Ron. How Many Ads Do You See in One Day?
• Tunikova, Oksana. How Many Ads Do You See Daily?
• Saab, Chadi. How Voice Technology is Changing the Way Brands Talk to Consumers.