Oh boy, have I had some interesting discussions with PD’s on this one over the years. Because I’ve been around so long, the world of client voiced ads on radio has gone from “over my dead body” to “what does she actually sound like?”
Do they work? To me it all comes back to the idea. If there’s an idea wrapped round the client voicing the ad- chances are it will work but if it’s just a client voicing something because he wants to- not likely.
Whenever I go there, I always try to make it as genuine and as honest as I can. I try to find the passion a client has for his or her business which is rarely found or conveyed in a script.
I remember once sending a client his script via email, we were going to record his ad over the phone. I sat in the recording booth and when he answered, I started asking him about his business- using the old “we’re just getting the levels right” line. He opened up like an envelope with great passion and was very articulate. When he started on the script he clammed up and become all stiff. Guess which one I used?
Another client voiced campaign I did was for a pool company- I took him to one of their recently completed pools and simply asked him some questions. Have a listen to one of the ads.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Here are my rules for client voiced ads.
- Is there an idea in it?
- Have you captured their passion?
- Don’t make them too smooth- a few …pauses will add believability.