CopyTalk

how the advertising writer finds his voice

“When I grow up, I want to be a movie star. No, wait! I want to be famous. Why limit myself?” These are real aspirations. Fireman, doctor, lawyer? That’s all very 70s. Today attention offers as much gratification as money or sex – for some anyway.

In advertising, it’s always been this way. Certainly money matters but it comes only after you’ve gotten lots of attention lavished upon you and that’s the goal. A lot of writing takes the course of least resistance; the loudest voice, the most provocative, the sexiest. These are valid approaches for maximum response and I’m not suggesting we be precious or elitist. Depending on your audience, there’s a time to be blunt and a time to ask for a tiny bit of work but only if you make it an irresistible effort.

While our goal is to seek attention, it’s important we be flexible about how we earn it. Smart is a given. It should serve the purpose of the client but the voice should serve them as well. Which brings me back to movie stars or better yet, actors. What they do, the good ones, is learn how to assume the characteristics of someone who is not them and make it look easy.

Every writer has a specialty, a role that flows freely from their fingertips, our writers included. There is one at the agency in touch with the underground culture. He is clever and sarcastic, outside of it, but in the know and sometimes helplessly distracted. I know when he’s at the keyboard, and after some good direction, he’ll deliver an edgy and hilarious performance. Think a young Jack Nicholson in The Shining, not the one from Terms of Endearment.

There’s another who I would call serious; not to a fault but to his credit. I feel his effort and read his approaches to be profound, romantic, dramatic and even funny. I can count on him for his sincerity and even if he misses the mark at first, he doesn’t abandon it. He earnestly woos it till he’s got it right. Think Hugh Grant in Notting Hill, not Did You Hear About The Morgans?

The advertising writer is an actor. He wants a reaction and the only way to get it is by assuming the voice of something he’s been asked to speak for. If he does it right, then he’s a movie star but like they say in the business, you’re only as good as your last picture. The key to longevity is to keep your eye on the quality and variety of the work. Don’t only go for the easy roles. Make some unfamiliar choices and you’ll be consistently in demand and delivering. Find your Meryl Streep.

Lou Stellato, COO / Creative Director