What Makes A Good Commercial: Tips For TV & YouTube Ads

Fox recently reported that 95% of their ad inventory has already been taken up, with some 30-second slots sold as high as $7 million. 

Think about that - $7 million for 30 seconds. Why would anyone pay that? 

Because companies know that an effective commercial can spark mass consumer interest and separate their brand from the competition, professionally, a great commercial can lead to raises, promotions, and additional ad opportunities. 

Sounds great, right? Everyone would want that. 

So what makes an effective commercial? And what are some simple tips you can start implementing right away? 

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Foundations of an Effective TV & YouTube Advertising 

Whether the advertisement is for TV or YouTube, the foundational elements of an effective ad are the same. This is especially true considering that nearly all TV ads end up on YouTube. 

So before starting to produce your first video advertisement, you must understand the five foundations of an effective ad. 

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A Precise Goal

Before you start thinking about the ad, you should first decide on the desired outcome.

Is it to go viral for brand awareness? Are you looking to increase sales? The goal can be whatever you’d like, be sure to establish it before moving forward. 

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Storytelling 

Your ad needs to tell a story. Plain and simple. 

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Speak to a Target Audience 

To whom are you designing your ad? The more focused you can be in identifying and understanding your target audience, the stronger you’ll be able to engage.  

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Considerate of Time 

Being conscious of time and attention span can make or break an ad. The first moment your audience gets impatient or loses focus, your video ad loses strength.

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Optimized for Virality 

To get the most return on investment, you should optimize your ad for the potential to go viral. Things to consider include

• Is our video ad easy to share? 
• Can we reuse this ad on popular platforms like Tik Tok? 

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Tips for Producing a TV Commercial 

From storyboarding to developing KPIs to filming and distributing the TV commercial, developing video advertisements can be complex. To help, here are a few tips for producing a TV commercial. 

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Invest in Project Management 

There are many different phases and tasks associated with producing a TV commercial. Invest in project management to keep things as organized as possible. 

It doesn’t matter whether that is contracting a project manager or investing in project management. Just do it. You’ll thank us later. 

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Don’t Cut Corners 

Producing TV commercials can be expensive. As a result, there might be pressure to cut corners to cut costs. 

Don’t. 

Not only will your commercial turn out mediocre, but your audience will also be able to tell and call you out on social media. Not great for brand development. 

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Share on Digital Networks 

Even if you’re making an advertisement for TV, don’t forget about sharing the ad on digital networks. Not everyone watches TV anymore, so sharing your advertisement on YouTube and other online networks can help expand your potential reach. 

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Tips for Digital Video Advertising 

Producing digital video advertisements is all about using technology most efficiently and effectively as possible. Here are a few digital video essentials to master.

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Mobile Friendly Advertisements 

Making mobile-friendly ads is the most important thing to remember when producing digital videos. 58.99% of all internet traffic is mobile, so if your ads are not mobile-friendly, you’re missing out on most of your potential reach. 

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Utilize AI Where Possible 

Creating a digital video advertisement can be expensive and complicated. However, there are several artificial intelligence (AI) tools out there that can help cut costs and eliminate production steps. A few great AI video production tools to check out include Synthesia and Gliacloud.

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Future of Video Advertising 

Video advertising has come a long way from black-and-white commercials that first aired in 1941. However, with technological advances, many within the industry think that the potential of video advertising has yet to hit its peak. Here are a few ways the video advertisement industry could shift. 

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AI Will Lower Costs 

Artificial Intelligence will lower costs by making it easier to produce and scale digital video advertisements. There could soon be a future where video ad creators don’t even need to hire talent and can use fake personas developed by AI. 

Metaverse + 3D Advertisements 

With the Metaverse, video advertising could soon expand into 3D simulations. Instead of a 2d 30-second video that a potential consumer watches, the entire ad could be an interactive 3D game or environment in the Metaverse. 

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If you’re interested in learning more about how to produce compelling TV and YouTube ads, the Russell Film Company would love to help. Feel free to message us to get the collaboration started. 

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