The TV Ad Writer's 18-Pack

The TV Ad-Writer’s 12-pack
Write responsibly.
Tim Miles
wizard of ads

© 2009 | Wizard of Ads | All Rights Reserved
What’s a good ad?

The Ad-Writer’s 12-pack
Write responsibly.
Tim Miles
wizard of ads© 2009 | Wizard of Ads | All Rights Reserved
18
X

LISTENcompletely.

LISTEN
“When you can, always advise people
to do what you see they really want
to do, so long as what they want to do
isn’t dangerously unlawful, stupidly
unsocial, or obviously impossible.
Doing what they want to do, they
may succeed; doing what they don’t
want to do, they won’t.”
completely.

UNCOVERyour client’s uncompromising values. What do
they stand for? What do they stand against?
Advertising’s about making choices.
Make one.
Positioning Wedge

BUYa little notebook. Buy several. Write stuff in them.
You are a professional observer of human nature.
Listen for the click.

TALKto the customer in the language of the customer about
what matters to the customer.
“The human voice is natural and uncontrived.”

TALK
A word about
testimonials

KNOWhow to end.
where to begin.
what to leave out.

IMPARTone idea per ad.

ANSWERme these questions three:
1. What is the common
denominator of all the
people we’re trying to
attract?
2. What attracted them
to that denominator?
3. What is their great
frustration / unscratched
itch?

SHOW.Don’t tell.
Dramatize the beneﬁt.
I don’t give a ﬁg about your
great customer service.
What does it mean to me?
How does it make me feel?
Show me that.

SHOW.

COLORyour ads with emotions.
Enliven with words
and images
fat with association.

LEVERAGEthings familiar.

WHACKall cliches. Kill anything in the ad that sounds
like an ad. Our brains crave new and
interesting stories.

WHACK

LOOKfor the loopholes. Anticipate objections.
Overcome them. Substantiate your claims.

LOOK

CHOOSEa different angle or ﬁlter. Whose voice do you
hear? First recognize it. Then change it.

CHOOSE

CHOOSEa different angle or ﬁlter. Whose voice do you
hear? First recognize it. Then change it.
Particle Conﬂict
Particle Stack

AMPLIFYyour verbs. Don’t just paint pictures.
Give rides.

AMPLIFY
According to a study conducted by the
Associated Press, eyewitness testimony is
sending innocent people to prison at an
alarming rate. “It's the major cause of wrongful
convictions,” says Elizabeth Loftus, a
psychologist at the University of Washington in
Seattle.
Matt Crenson, Associated Press

AMPLIFY
“Countless experiments show that human
memory is fragile and malleable, but our
justice system often treats it as an indelible
record of past events. Human memory is not at
all like videotape.”

AMPLIFY
“Ask a witness, ‘How fast were the cars going
when they smashed into each other?’ and
they will name a much higher speed than if
they are asked, ‘How fast were the cars going
when they made contact?’”

FINDa rhythm. Put on a piece of instrumental
music. Let it guide you in your writing. Be
daring. Choose an atypical piece for ﬁerce
contrast.

FIND

READAs you read, so shall you write.
"If you don't have time to read, you don't have
the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that."
- Stephen King

TITHE3-10% of your monthly income to training and
improving you and your craft.
Wizard Academy

One more for the road?

SELLads to clients before they ever see them.
Sales is nothing more than a
transfer of ...
CONFIDENCE

EXPRESSgratitude.
Thank you.
timmiles@wizardofads.com
clarityupfront.com
wizardacademy.org

The TV Ad Writer's 18-Pack

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