20 QUESTIONS THAT NEED to BE ANSWERED BEFORE WRITING a FUNNY RADIO COMMERCIAL
As a radio advertising expert whose job is to teach radio advertising professionals how to write effective radio commercials, I run into lots of copywriters who want to write “funny commercials.”
The goal of a radio commercial never should be to “be funny.” It should be to motivate targeted consumers to take action.
But if you are going to write a funny commercial, here are 10 questions to ask before you begin.
1. Is it actually funny?
2. Do you know for certain that it’s funny the 10th time the listener hears it?
3. Do you know for certain that it’s funny the 30th time?
4. Does the comedy revolve around someone’s need for the product or service?
5. Does the story move to an internal logic of its own? (Do the characters act in a manner that is logical within the framework of your story?)
6. When listeners remember the comedy, will they remember the sales message?
7. Is the humor an outgrowth of real human behavior…or does it merely come from jokes?
8. Do the performers commit to the portrayals of their characters….or do they treat their own characters as a joke?
9. Does it lead to a “Key Moment” that people can look forward to hearing repeatedly?
10. Does that key moment come at or very near the end of the spot? (That’s where it should appear.)
11. Are its characters and situations predictable?
12. Is there a “delightful surprise” built into the story?
13. Does it have comic tension?
14. Does the story have conflict?
15. Does it rely on a catch phrase made popular by some other media message (e.g., commercial, print ad, movie, tv show)? (If so, it’s likely to reinforce the original media message, not your commercial message.)
16. Do your characters sound like real people, or do they sound like voice actors?
17. Do your characters listen when the others speak….or do they just wait for the chance to deliver their lines?
18. Does the humor accurately reflect the image the advertiser wants to project?
19. Does the humor come from production tricks or from human behavior? (Some producers love production tricks, even when there’s no reason to use them.)
20. Is the commercial trying to be funny….or is it trying to sell the service or product?
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