Any Tips for pitching a spec commercial?

A

AllanBourne

Not sure where this topic belonged so I wrote it here*

Hey there Indietalk forum, hope this message reaches you in good health and HIGHHHH SPIRITS!!!

I have shot a spec(think one of those gatorade motivational commercials) and hope to pitch it to a few companies. It's one commercial but I shot different product shots so I could potentially pitch it around to multiple companies.

Last year was my first attempt into the world of Spec. Long story short, I shot something, it wasn't quite good, but I gained lots of knowledge and potential contacts in the process, now I'm back with something better than the last.

If any of you have had any success in this market, good or bad I'd love to get some advice :)
 
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Hey Allan- I don't know what your previous experience was that you mentioned, and sounds like it lead to some good things-- So I'll just speak to mine, working in commercials for 9 years.Out of film school, I heard of people making spec commercials and trying to sell them back to a brand. I'm not sure it's ever happened but I know it is a pie in the sky that some people have gone after.

I think it may be one of those things that has indeed happened a few times-- and many people pursue it. Like people shooting a complete web series with the intention of selling it-- it happens-- just rarely. But I would never ever recommend any friend try it-- particularly with a large brand. Or should I say, don't shoot a spec commercial with that being the goal. It should be a piece for your reel, and to show who you are as a filmmaker, or what you can do.

As I'm sure you know, commercials are written 90% of the time by an ad agency that gets a hefty retainer to test, research and come up with ideas. These ideas are never one-off stories, they're always part of a campaign interfacing with tv, web, apps etc, and they communicate an idea that has been thoroughly researched and 'sold' to the client (the brand). Because they do all that work, agencies are not very responsive to one off pieces that could re-enforce the idea that better scripts come from 'just anywhere'.

Further to that, there are so many minefields that clients are sensitive to-- that it's almost impossible to guess what they might object to-- so producing a spot and guessing everything and doing it perfectly is really tough. I had a friend shoot a spec for Mastercard using their tagline and it was perfect. And he even got attention from Mccann (their agency) and discussed with them the idea of them using it. But...it never happened.

If you want to do specs specifically for a brand and have the chance of them using it, try MOFILM or even Tongal. And, since you've shot your spec already, don't despair, keep trying all you can. Maybe you have a personal connection to someone at the brand in the marketing department....

Good luck!
 
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This thread is very timely for me. I came up with an idea for a short that I want to make which I think would make a great commercial. I plan to cut it as 60, 30 and 10 second versions. There are two companies that I can try to pitch it to. I have no real expectation of selling it. I just had the idea and want to run with it. I hope to be able to shoot it this May or June.
 
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I've never shot a spec commercial.
However, I have a few concepts I am trying to sell to multinationals.
And that's never easy: they almost always have one or more hired agencies who develop and create all marketing and advertising content.
But I won't give up yet: I've given one brand a few months to think about and now the anwser to my question: "Are you interested in my presentation to pitch the ideas I have?" is still 'no', I'm going to contact the competition.

Brands want a few things:
- it has to fit their brand
(if the brand or product is really interchangable it's not really supporting the brand)
- it has to fit their campaign(s)
(so think about how it can be used in other media)
- they want to be sure it's good (like Gabriel says)

Besides that: personal connection is always important to get a foot in the door.

Anyway: I wouldn't make a commercial. I'd rather prepare a good presentation of the idea with (rough) sketches and moodboards/videos.

[arrogance on]
I do know when one specific idea gets made, all the ad agencies who ever worked for such brands will feel stupid they didn't come up with that idea ;)
[/arrogance off]
 
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You CAN pitch specs to clients –*sometimes. Here's how.

This is an excellent thread, and gabriel277 and WalterB make very good points.

As an agency creative director and founder of SpecBank.com, I can confirm that there's a lot that goes into a commercial. It starts with research to identify the target market, the competition, the messaging, etc. Then the creatives come up with a concept which is tested, re-tested, and today, is then expressed in many different ways and places. A TV spot is just one of them. Not knowing what a company wants to say makes it almost impossible to create a spec commercial they're going to buy.

That's where my site SpecBank.com is different. We receive scripts from ad agency creatives (842 scripts and counting) that weren't bought by their clients, for whatever reason – usually because they only have the budget to shoot one or two spots and just can't afford more. Spec Bank member directors can reserve these scripts and shoot them, and occasionally – VERY occasionally – the creatives pitch and sell the completed spots to clients.

One example is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DigCmyQgLdE. The client killed it, Spec Bank director Stephen Schuster shot it, it was re-presented to the client and they bought it and ran it.

If you're looking for info on what agencies and production companies are looking for in your spec reel, check out our interviews on the Resources page.

And let me know if you have any questions. I'm always happy to help aspiring commercial directors.
 
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Just like a script written on spec, a commercial made on spec
rarely is the commercial purchased by a company. You make
a few spec commercials to get a job. So my advice is to not
try to sell to the company (that has an ad agency that makes
their commercials) but to show your spec commercial to ad
agencies to get hired to make commercials.
 
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Quick addition to my earlier post in light of SpecBank's comments.

The friend I mentioned who did a Mastercard spec that got closer to selling it than anyone else i've known, did got through the Specbank program--- and I believe that script was from their library. So that's a positive testament to the quality of scripts they have.

I've never gone through their program, but I know that one of the biggest struggles in doing any spec is having an idea that is good enough and fitting with what brands might use or like-- so Specbank does have access to quite a few good ones, and the work people make with their scripts has gotten more than a few people signed.
 
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