Here Be Monsters|blog

When famous just aint enough

"It's missing something. That, that personal touch. We need a model in the ad!"

"Yes!! It's a lot more expensive but hear me out, I'm thinking lets go famous."

"Quality build. Who?"

"Someone like Eric Cantona"

"Not just someone like. Let's get the man himself. And we get him to do that cool French thing with his collar"

"Hi-five me that."

"You think everyone will recognise him?"

"That's the beauty of famous."

"But-."

"That's why we pay extra."

"All I'm saying is if we pay the extra for someone famous I want them to know him."

"Even with the cool French collar thing?'

"I'm jut saying They might just think he's a nobody doing the cool French collar thing. '

I think I know what to do."

Don't write dialogue? Why not, it's just your fucking job.

Over at the If This Is A Blog Then What's Christmas? Blog, Ben Kay has written a piece on why you should not bother writing dialogue for TV commercials. Do go and read the whole thing here

Now I should say that I don't know Ben, never, to my knowledge, even met him, but I read his blog and enjoy much of what is there. I also have a suspicion that he's a little bit of a weasel and that this post is really meant to provoke a reaction rather than share a passionately held belief - all of which is perfectly fine with me, I've been known to do it myself. 

But I passionately disagree with the premise behind the post that says; writing good dialogue is hard, you certainly shouldn't give it ago, copywriter. In fact you're probably so shit at it that you should leave it to chance/the actor (the actor! Christ, they're the last people you should leave anything to)/director, in fact anyone else in the room as all of them can write dialogue better than you.

Apparently it is also a waste of time as it locks your idea down too much allowing clients to concentrate on the specifics and pick your dialogue apart which it is implied will get your idea thrown out altogether

Although he does make the valid point that not reading out dialogue when presenting a script helps get the idea across without the whole thing getting "all choppy and losing the flow." Which is very true if you're not one of those creatives who can't put performance into their presentation.

He also claims that writing dialogue prevents 'the magic happening' as it leaves no room for 'accidents to happen'. Well, they're not mutually exclusive.

Having wasted too many hours at script-read-throughs where a film script has been rewritten tens if not hundreds of times over a 6-12 months, period I can assure you that is far from the case. Likewise, being in a writers room where people are pulling apart and building your lovingly crafted ideas and dialogue - surround yourself with the right people and your work can only get better. But to assume they'll do the hard work for you will just get you sack (as well it should). It also brings me to his last reason as to why you shouldn't bother, it's a waste of time - WTF. I shall say nothing more on this than that's plain fucking lazy.

The truth  as I see it is, done well, where it has been crafted with skill, with a ear for rhythm, region, age and an understanding of character and personality It will enhance your script, any script, perhaps especially when it's for a 30 second commercial.

End of rant.

Well almost, I just have to comment on this last quote:

By the way, none of the above applies to radio ads which need to be buttoned the fuck down before you go in. You can still have wiggle room, but very few actors/VOs like to be told to make shit up on the spot.

So there you have it, I care about my TV reel, but fuck radio, it's full of talentless fucks anyway. Which, going by the shameful state of most radio ads is a view shared by most of the industry.

ideas v craft

I host a workshop from time to time called There are only 7 ideas in Advertising. It pretty much claims what it says, that there are only seven ideas in advertising, in much the same way there are only 7 stories and 3 jokes and only 4 real flavours for crisps

During it I claim that creatives would do well to focus on crafting executions along one or more of these 7 structures rather than keep aimlessly wandering around in a creative fog coming up with random executions that appear.

And that if you do, it's amazing how quickly you'll get to a solution. Yet so many creatives  are reluctant to accept that there is an easier way to do their job. Instead choosing to believe that what they do is mythical and requires much struggling and sweating and waiting for divine intervention from the gods of inspiration or some such bollocks.

An example then.

One of the 7 ideas is The Spokesman, where this archetype addresses the audience to explain/demonstrate the product. At it's dullest/least creative it results in a classic 2C in a K execution, but crafted and developed you could end up with something as sublime as the Al and Monkey campaign for ITV digital, or everyone's current favourite du jour, Old Spice.

I also point to You've been framed. as an example of an old, often lame idea being turned on it's head.

For the first, whatever years of its existence it YBF was utter shite. Some of the worst TV there was, it probably hit rock bottom when some lardy ex-soap actress hosted it. But over the last few years it;s became funny. Really funny

What changed? Not the content, it still shows the same trashy, lame family video footage, but now Harry Hill comments on them. And so, instead of a bunch of lame puns and word play and limp jokes we get genuinely funny commentary. And that is all it took.

So, worry less about what your idea is and worry more about how to show it at it's best.

Yes, this really is how we watch TV now

I pinched this from a blog I frequent. It needs little in the way of explanation. It just shows what's expected from content makers these days, be it films, tv programmes or ads. Today, if you've been lucky enough to engage people they will expect more from you and whatever they find the can and will share with their friends.

So disappoint them at your peril

arrogant, deluded or just optimistic

Personally, despite the massive opportunities that are presenting themselves almost daily, I believe the UK comms industry and advertising in particular are in a depressing state of blandness.

Much is spoken about creativity but I see so little of it reaching the public domain. 

So when I saw that nearly 50% of Campaign readers thought that creativity was flushing I was surprised and can't work out whether the British ad scene is just arrogant, deluded or optimistic.

Having shown the first two in spades, maybe it's time for the third, I do hope so.

The fashion cycle

I can't remember where I found this, or where this found me, but I share it with you as it could just as easily be applied to anything new.