Hey Whipple, Squeeze This, 6th Edition

14STOPPING PEOPLE FROM GOING TO THE BATHROOM: SOME ADVICE ON TELEVISION AND VIDEO.

AS DOMINANT AS DIGITAL IS THESE days, television is still a very big dog. Yes, YouTube is cool and so are the other video platforms that air brand messages. But if you want a mass-ass audience, broadcast TV is still the thing.

Many of the suggestions from the chapters on general concepting apply to this medium, the virtues of storytelling and simplicity clearly being the most important. The skills you develop while learning to concept and write for a TV commercial will also help you create any kind of video content, whether it's a Facebook post or an in-store display.

Video is probably a more accurate term to use now that commercials have been liberated from the 30- or 60-second restriction. And because commercials no longer appear exclusively on one big screen in the living room, a video can be as long or short as the idea needs it to be.

A lot has changed. What hasn't changed? Your idea must be great.

Great means the same thing here as it does in other media. Is your idea interesting? Would people want to share your idea with their friends? Is it simple? Does it tell a story? Is it branded?

As you read this chapter, I recommend hopping on to YouTube so you can view the spots as they're discussed. (But I've added a few QR codes that'll take you right to selected commercials.)

If your idea isn't great, no amount of production will save it.

The creative's job on a TV spot doesn't end with coming ...