Telling a story in a commercial

[Mark Suszko]

It reminded me of an Isaac Asimov robot story, “Lenny”. Which I’d love to someday shoot as a short.

What I found interesting about the storyline of the spot is how everyone just more or less accepts the boy at every stage of the story. That part doesn’t ring true to reality, but the spot is using what’s been called “magical realism”.

People seem sharply divided regarding them, but there’s an entire series of insurance spots done for some asian corporation that are so epically melodramatic, you can’t help but appreciate the emotional manipulation, even as you recognize it for what it is. It is pushing all the buttons of what makes us human, and I think if they don’t affect you, you might need counseling.

Get the kleenex ready:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCieGMuXCso

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQQA2TkQIaI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SMpx-1dV24

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbmJnzafhtA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1BZmuz88KEY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVbmUyc6NBo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l48FyAmQNOc

There are many more of these out there. I think why I react so strongly to them relates to what first drew me to media for a career. The ability to reach inside another person’s mind and heart, and make them feel what you want them to feel, and to think about something the way you do…to reach out and communicate on an empathic level… I find that incredibly powerful and at the same time, artistically challenging. That such power is most typically used for communicating sales messages, is sort of a waste, compared to being able to inspire people to higher levels of achievement or understanding or happiness. But it teaches us how to communicate, then it’s up to us to communicate something worthwhile. That’s the ultimate goal, I guess. To make a meaningful message that contributes something to the human experience.

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[Todd Terry]

That’s some really good stuff.

As for….

[Mark Suszko] “It reminded me of an Isaac Asimov robot story, “Lenny”. Which I’d love to someday shoot as a short.”

Harlan Ellison beat you to it… sort of. His screenplay “I, Robot” is based on Asimov’s “Lenny,” although by the time it became a finished film you’d never know it. I don’t think there was even a character named Lenny in the final movie… although there certainly was in the screenplay.

T2

__________________________________
Todd Terry
Creative Director
Fantastic Plastic Entertainment, Inc.
fantasticplastic.com

[Mark Suszko]

I have an illustrated copy of the “I, Robot” script Harlan wrote. It is perfect, just as written. If produced, I’m sure it would get at least a nomination for best adapted screenplay. Did you know Harlan wrote an episode of “The Flying Nun”? I wanted to win his autographed copy in the auction but missed out.

Regarding the insurance spots, though. Do you find it strange we don’t see this kind of spot more in the US? What’s your take on why that is?

[Lowell Niles]

How can all these “TV” commercials be so long? Don’t people tune out after 30 seconds? I’ve done a lot of TV spots, none of them over 30 seconds. It’s hard to get the basic company info in, much less tell a story.

Did these examples really air on TV? How are they 2, 3, or 7 minutes long?

Lowell Niles
Creative Director, Sunword Studios
https://sunword.com

[Mark Suszko]

While we’re used to 30’s, some 60’s, a few 15’s and even blipvert-sized fives, I think the only thing that really stops US spots from having longer running time is the will by some client to pay for that time. Certainly, you could stack a buy of several one minute slots and then just run one longer program across them, technically. I don’t know that there’s any fixed policy prohibiting that, except the cost of coordinating such a thing.

CAN you tell one of the stories from those samples of mine in less time? I think you could cut a 60 and still have the gist of it. A thirty could be hard, then again, much depends on the creativity of the writer, cutter and director.

Would you think it weird, that I try to put a Campbellian “Heroes’ Journey” story arc into 30-second and 60-second spots? It may be pretty thin, but I like to try to fit it in when I can.

[Todd Terry]

I think part of it is that people’s attention spans, especially in the US, are so short these days.

We’ve never actually counted or added it up, but by my best guess I’ve directed and/or produced somewhere between 3,000 and 5,000 television commercials. Of those, I can think of FOUR that were :60s. Maybe six, tops. Virtually all the rest were :30s. Maybe a few :10s and :15s here and there, and even some :04 ID spots, but they wouldn’t account for more than 100 or so. 99.8% of them have been thirty-second spots.

It is really hard to tell a real story in thirty seconds, and frankly we don’t always get to do that. Or even usually get to do that. More like sometimes get to do that. But at least it’s a good goal.

T2

__________________________________
Todd Terry
Creative Director
Fantastic Plastic Entertainment, Inc.
fantasticplastic.com

[Mark Suszko]

To me, the thirty-second limitation is like the rules of haiku poetry: on one hand they can be seen as limiting, but I really enjoy the effort to tell that story within the constrictions of the format, and restrictions of budget. If you gave me an unlimited budget and two hours, I’m not sure I’d know what to do with it all! 🙂

But looking at these Asian spots, they reward an audience’s attention at every turn: every couple of seconds, they do something that makes you want to stick around and see what comes after. In that, they are like mini soap operas, with a cliffhanger “beat” every 10-15 seconds. And they cover a lot of ground in their story arcs. Heavy use of montage helps convey a lot of information and emotional context in a short time. The music use is heavy-handed but dead-on effective in adding more emotional layers and empathic cues. There’s just a lot of craftsmanship that goes into one of these.

[Lowell Niles]

LOL at getting your hero’s journey in 30 seconds, Mark. That is a lofty goal.

I see, if you buy several slots you can have a several-minute, story-telling commercial. I agree that our attention span here in ‘Murica is short, but if I’m watching a show, I don’t stop in the middle of it and watch another entire show then go back and finish the first show… To me, being willing or able to do that is akin to having ADD. It’s very interesting to see how it’s done elsewhere.

I just signed up for 6-ad commercial series (four 0:30 ads and two 0:15 ads). I wonder if we can pull this off as being some sort of sextology (the 6-version of trilogy? My best guess for the correct word) and tell a story over the course of the 6 ads. The client is flexible and I can pitch this, with the last ad being due in December as the Christmas special. Has anyone done this? I guess it’s a form of branding.

Lowell Niles
Creative Director, Sunword Studios
https://sunword.com

[Lowell Niles]

Wow Todd you’ve done a lot of ads. Great to have your insight!

Lowell Niles
Creative Director, Sunword Studios
https://sunword.com

[Bill Davis]

[Lowell Niles] “The client is flexible and I can pitch this, with the last ad being due in December as the Christmas special. Has anyone done this? I guess it’s a form of branding.”

Make darn sure you keep your media buyer in the loop with all this.

Their calculations about reach and frequency will be critical if you want the majority of the audience to comprehend a story arc that bridges separate spots.

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