How to Write an Advertising Script

Effective advertising is the backbone of every company. Without it, their products will have trouble surviving in a market where flashy advertising and media saturation is king. Several avenues exist for companies to advertise their products, but TV, radio and Internet ads are most effective. Each of these mediums requires a script. Many writers make a living writing nothing but advertising scripts, and by following a few basic steps, you could be one of these writers. Learn how you can write effective advertising scripts that could be your key to a rewarding career in the world of advertising.

Things You'll Need

• Computer
• Scriptwriting software

Instructions

1. Decide which scriptwriting software you will use. Movie Magic Screenwriter is one of the biggest names in scriptwriting software and comes with templates for a variety of scripts, including a number of advertising formats. You can also use a free scriptwriting program like Celtx (see Resources). Advertising formats are standardized and any scriptwriting software will do automatic formatting as you write.

2. Determine the type of advertising script you need to write. Scripts for radio commercials and TV commercials differ. A radio commercial script is two columns. The left column indicates SFX (sound effects) and ANNOUNCER and the right column will be a description of the sound effect or the words the announcer speaks. Capitalize, bold and underline sound effect descriptions.

3. Write advertising scripts for visual mediums similar to radio advertising scripts. Format two columns. The left column indicates Video and the right column indicates Audio. Write all descriptions in the left column. The right column will be for sound effects and speaking parts.

4. Use present tense when writing any action scenes for a visual medium. Focus on the product the advertisement is for, but keep the commercial entertaining and engaging.

5. Time your script when it's finished by reading or acting it out. Most TV or radio advertisements are 30 seconds long, which translates to about a page to a page and a half of writing. This can vary depending upon how the director shoots a commercial or how a radio script is timed.

References

• Write Advertising Scripts

Resources

• Celtx (free scriptwriting software)