Help with a Propane Commercial

    • 3 posts
    April 6, 2017 10:52 AM PDT

    I am needing some ideas on writing a commercial for an individual who has a small propane bottle filling business.  She can fill forklifts, bottles up to 100 pounds and motor homes and sells new bottles.  I want something new and catchy but am having a hard time getting my creative juices flowing.

     

    Can someone help?

    • 993 posts
    April 11, 2017 11:35 AM PDT

    Joyce,

    Off the top of my head, the phrase "It's a gas!" seems rife with possibilities as an accessible hook for an ad or campaign. A quick Google search on that phrase just now yielded 128,000,000 pages; among the top results were an obscure recording by "Alfred E. Neuman" that was inserted into a 1963 Mad Magazine (you'd need their permission to use it, of course; I just found it interesting) and several explanations of the origin of the phrase.

    Your client provides the gas; her customers consume it. Approach the writing from the customers' point of view (what they do with the gas, why they find her service convenient/less expensive/more enjoyable, etc.) and think about ways to make the messages fun.

    One of my favorite go-to resources for inspiration is Uncle John's Bathroom Readers. They're filled with interesting and often obscure bits of information that, for me anyway, can lead to all kinds of possible angles.

    Another gambit might be "what-NOT-to-do with gas." Listen to this spot as an example. 

    If your client has a sense of humor and adventure - like these guys - consider ways to make her message both funny and fun for your listeners.

    HTH.

     

     

     

     


    This post was edited by Rod Schwartz at April 11, 2017 11:36 AM PDT
    • 19 posts
    May 4, 2017 2:10 PM PDT

    [blockquote]Joyce Abrams said:

    I am needing some ideas on writing a commercial for an individual who has a small propane bottle filling business.  She can fill forklifts, bottles up to 100 pounds and motor homes and sells new bottles.  I want something new and catchy but am having a hard time getting my creative juices flowing.

    Can someone help?[/blockquote]

    For any advertising, it helps to understand what your client's unique marketing position is. Propane is a commodity item. Does your client perform better in some aspects that others? Price? Location? Hours? Filling time? Quantity of fill? 

    Sell the sizzle...not the steak. What's the sizzle?