Medical Arts Radiology
TV ad copywriting is the specialized skill of turning ad-copy into dialogue. In 30 seconds or less you need to burn a visual into the mind of the viewer. To do that, I combine persuasive language with visual storytelling. My goal is to capture an audiences attention with a brand message and drive the viewer to action. Unlike print or copy for websites, TV copywriting has to work in tandem with audio-visual elements, requiring a blend of creativity and strategy.
I have written numerous ads for TV including: hand puppets for carpal tunnel centers; Giant monsters decorating the Effiel tower as a Christmas tree; and coaches drawing up plays for men's grooming products. I begin my process begins by boiling down a message to two or three words. Those words act as guide for what stays and what goes. If I can get the viewer to remember those three words I have done my job.
The first two sentences are vital for ad copywriting. Every ad needs to start with a hook. Viewers easily disengage, so the first few seconds must grab their attention. That can happen through humor, curiosity, or a dramatic, relatable problem. In this case the hook was "skeletons", and the three words were "medical arts skeletons."
Radiology is simply X-rays. As an experienced animation director I knew I could get skeletons to talk and audiences would remember them. The next step was to turn the ad copy into dialogue. So we had an elderly woman advise a young woman on her radiology appointment. The primary source of radiology visits is woman's chest scans.
The simple act of turning the ad into an X-ray allowed us "to-show not-tell" the viewer about Medical Arts. TV scriptwriting relies heavily on visuals. What if the TV is muted? What if the audience changes the channel? TV ads have to hook people in seconds. They also need to create an emotional connection. My ads I have used humor, nostalgia, or emotional stories to make a brand memorable. In our case, we relied not only on skeletons, but on another secret tool people have been using for centuries--the dad joke. X-ray skeletons and bone puns now THAT would be a real bonus. Get it, a bonus.
For nearly a decade, Medical Arts hired me to create skeleton ads for their company. The ads were so successful. Radiology groups around the country reached out to license the ad. Also a group in Texas stole my ad-copy directly, but their skeleton visuals left much to be desired. ha ha ha. To this day, our ten year old ads come up number one on a Google search. Hip-hip hooray !... get it?