Teaching Audio, part 10 -- Commercials

NOT MY EXPERTISE

Many esteemed books have been written on the art of radio commercials. What follows is just a list of fun, inspirational work. The idea as a student is to always use good storyboarding, interesting sounds and meaning-laden voicing, and effective editing until it's fast-paced, still makes sense and is near perfection. You also want to be effective in what you are selling or promoting, but that's also for marketers to decide.

The Four Cs

For the audio part, it's the same four Cs as reporting: Conception, Construction, Collection and Correction. When listening to radio commercials, it's good to listen intently, and think about what works and what doesn't and why, and what kind of work and audio went into the final result. And as I've said in class, usually really good advertising is for products that you don't need and which are actually really bad for you ... medication with lots of terrible side effects, vanity products, fast food, soda, life insurance? ...

A Random List of Examples

Below is a list of links to learn from, not necessarily in terms of quality but in terms of variety as well, and through history, as the golden age of the audio advertisement has probably passed. ...

Motel 6 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cVRMGEL5GY

AM / Old school style ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1tGzZTOfFw&list=PL9948C5FE13399172

McDonald's https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1tGzZTOfFw&list=PL9948C5FE13399172

M and Ms https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1tGzZTOfFw&list=PL9948C5FE13399172

Verizon https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1tGzZTOfFw&list=PL9948C5FE13399172

Coke https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDj8QYigFnw&list=PL9948C5FE13399172&index=7

Really old school https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6nss-sa66Q

Satire Video (but with great audio) ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t0LSkX46dS4&list=SPE5E7F99D70D6C2A2

Video linked above and below are examples of use of lots of different sound effects in parallel to the satire style.



Here in this pasted link is an example from UNR students ...

If you found this tutorial useful, check out other installments. Here's the full list of chapters from my audio tutorials:

Teaching Audio -- Instilling Passion

Teaching Audio part 1 -- Recording Audio

Teaching Audio part 2 -- Writing for the Ear

Teaching Audio part 3 -- Audio Editing

Teaching Audio part 4 -- Sound Effects, Using Music and Audio Libraries

Teaching Audio part 5 -- Anchor Leads, News Writing, Judgment and Features

Teaching Audio part 6 -- Voicing

Teaching Audio part 7 -- On the Scene Reporting

Teaching Audio part 8 -- Interviews

Teaching Audio part 9 -- Newscasts and Stacking the News

Teaching Audio part 10 -- Commercials

Teaching Audio part 11 -- Raising Your Game

Teaching Audio part 12 -- Podcasting Intro

Teaching Audio part 13 -- Window Dressing

Teaching Audio part 14 -- Podcast Lists

Teaching Audio part 15 -- Big Podcasts, Little City

Teaching Audio part 16 -- Listening to Podcasts and Publishing your Own

Teaching Audio, part 17 -- Joining Podcast Communities

Teaching Audio, part 18 -- Podcasting for PR

Teaching Audio, part 19 -- Promoting Your Podcast

Teaching Audio, part 20 -- Making Money in Podcasting

Teaching Audio, part 21 -- Building a Career in Audio