I was asked to do a spec spot recently. In case you’ve never heard that term, it’s a radio commercial written and produced for a client who doesn’t know they’re a client yet.

Just as builders sometimes build houses to specs (speculation), radio salesmen call up business owners and, as part of their pitch, offer to produce a spec ad so the customer can hear how good their product will sound. radio commercial, if you choose to do so. buy airtime

A good friend at a local radio station thought of me for a spec for one of her potential clients. He had a sales assistant write the ad and email it to me on voice, and I was to email it to the production person at the station so he could put sound effects and music under it to introduce it to the potential customer .

That’s when the laughs started. The title of this article gives you a clue… think of all the reverberant Billy-Big-Voice commercials you’ve ever heard, telling you about an event you CAN’T miss, and it’s this Friday. …Friday Friday!!!

Yes, the writing was so bad. The 60 second script had around 75 seconds of copy and there were at least 5 different ideas going on. I called my friend. He had asked the sales assistant about the strange style choice and he said it was all he could think of. My friend and I completely rewrote the ad, removing clichés, tweaking the copy, and focusing the message on one strong one instead of the three different messages in the original script.

The secret to a good radio commercial is really no secret: engage with the listener, use vivid, descriptive language, keep the copy short, keep the message focused on one thought, include a call to action, and sell the benefit you get. will get the listener. using the service of this client.

Meanwhile, the spec point is done. I hope it helps my friend to get her new account. I know it sounds better without all that Friday…Friday…Friday!!!