He won the bet.
There's no way you can read the story without a lump in your throat and a tingle down your spine. And yet, it's almost all in your mind. He led you to the water. You drank. And chances are this story will stay with you for days.
If this is possible for a novel (albeit flash fiction) , there's no reason for :30 promos to be so wordy. And you don't have to be Hemingway to make shorter better.
My Promo Code colleague, Rich Brase, often rails against verbosity as though he were tilting against windmills. In his insightful post, The Death of Promospeak, he writes of the insane amount of well-worn copy that is horseshoed into spots. Pity the copywriter who wants to create original messages with fewer words and greater demands.
http://promocoderichanded.blogspot.com/2013/01/episode-4-death-of-promospeak-ive-been.html
There are many ways to write a great spot. Wall-to-wall copy is rarely one of them.
When others demand the maximum words per second, they get episodics and topicals that tell the whole story (instead of tease), as well as image spots that include all the key research hot buttons (related or not), none of which resonate with the viewer.
If a story can be told in fewer words, it should be. This requires rewrite after rewrite or even a little inspiration. "Baby Shoes" might hit you in the shower, while you're driving, or watching a music video. Jot it down. Done deal.
Let's show them how fewer words can have more impact. Go ahead, raise the bar. Look at copy you wrote today and see what you can remove. Chances are, you will find more than you would care to admit.
And sometimes, you just have to toss the whole script and write your own "Baby Shoes."
-Ed
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