Inspiration

[ricardo_sousa11]

I recently got a gig for a car tire shop promo (1:30m long and tv 30 seconds), of course I dont want to do something simple, and would love to do something more pleasing, but im in a total blank, I cant think of anything to make tires look good. What do you guys do when you're stuck and cant come up with something for a specific job..?

[M Carter]

You're approaching this the wrong way. It doesn't matter what product or what media. The question is, "what are you really selling?".

BMW doesn't sell cars - they sell status and they sell based on the consumer belief that owning a BMW will make everyone think they're wealthy, classy, demanding only the best, and so on.

Tires are a practical item that most everyone needs, or they're a desirable performance item for a niche market. They're expensive ($700 next week for my vehicle, damn it!) and a hassle to purchase and take care of. They're something you forget how much you rely on until you have a problem with them. They can be the difference between life and death. 

The fact you've said nothing about the business - what's their market position, who is their market, why should a consumer choose them over the competition - makes me think you're approaching this as a creative project and not a marketing project. That's great, but you need to deliver a product that meets the business goals of the owner. Do they want attention, do they want to seem cooler, do they want their market to realize something about them that isn't apparent (better price, good service, fastest installation)? 

A tire shop ad can range from the owner in his terrible suit shouting "CHEAPEST TIRES IN TOWN" with bad interlaced footage of the shop, up to the very best commercials from Michelin or Pirelli and so on. But this guy is a dealer, not a manufacturer - straight-out marketing suggests you get across the reasons a consumer should consider them over their car dealer or a big chain store (could be done with humor or action or any of a dozen directions). I'd resist the knee-jerk reaction to sell tires - Michelin sells tires - what does a local business actually sell to their market? A market that's about to purchase tires and deciding where to go for pricing and service? This can still be creative as hell, it can be viral, etc. But you probably don't need to sell the product itself.

Remember the ad for some local gym? A buff girl is walking around in her panties and approaches a bowl of nuts. She sticks a nut between her butt cheeks and we hear a CRACK - the's so tough, she can shell nuts with her ass. The camera pans to her gym bag, which has the logo of the gym on it. Not a single word spoken. That's pretty damn creative, legitimately funny (and went viral and was shared, like, 10 million times). They didn't talk about their pricing or classes or schedule or locations, but got massive attention. One actress in one location, too. 

Step back and think about the market and what the business wants to achieve.

[enny]

BMW over priced dime a dozen and amount of dushbagery in that car is unbelievable (talking bout college guys) specially with ricer exhaust thinking they can intimidate me in my 2004 530 Horsepower Terminator Cobra until they get real sound of muscle car. Then they ask what car is that. I only get this dushbagery with BMW owners

But what M Carter said right on the money

[Justin Bacle]

Think (or Ask) about what makes this buisness special, and go with that

[kaylee]

12 hours ago, ricardo_sousa11 said:

What do you guys do when you're stuck and cant come up with something for a specific job..?

hang on one second......

 

...lol seriously tho, a catchy gimmick is greater than literally everything else. just pick something and put it over with confidence

theres been a recent wave of non sequitur commercials here in the states with absurdist jokes/narratives that have literally nothing to do with the product advertised (geico?).  so apparently thats ok now

search youtube for tire commercials. @M Carter makes some good points too

also, what are some of your favorite commercials, the most memorable ones? what makes them stand out in your mind?

heres mine.... i remember seeing this as a kid... and being like... wow. that took some balls

 

[Jonny]

I am a tyre fitter at a small tyre dealer and if I could think of one thing that makes it stand out over the other large franchises in the area it is genuine, quality service. If it is an independant like the one I work for then this is the only thing that makes it stand out from the crowd and worth visiting. Perhaps you could think about how you could display the quality of this busines's workmanship by making tyre fitting look like an art. IMO this could be done well.

Ask them to teach you how to fit a tyre and maybe you won't feel so uninspired anymore?

[Bioskop.Inc]

Well if its Tyres you're after, then watch a film called "Rubber"

 

[ricardo_sousa11]

I think you guys were right, I think I was stuck on the tire and not on the message I wanted to send across.

The client let me incharge of all the "marketing" side of it, he just wants to show off his shop, so I kinda freaked out, but after thinking for a while, I got a decent plan, and will market them as loyal, workfull, cheerfull and so on with enphasis on the safety that a good tire provides. 

Im actually super excited now, its my first time doing this type of thing, its what i'd consider a "next step" into what i've been doing, so this is great, maybe I can save up enough for that URSA i've been craving :D

[M Carter]

So you've settled on what the product "really is". Now get creative.

What if we're in tight on a beautiful girl and a handsome guy, candles and a bottle of wine in the frame. She's in tears, talking about some unspecified, terrible relationship - "it was so unfair… just no respect for me… I wasted so much time… I just wanted to be treated FAIRLY and HONESTLY" **sob**" -- the guy is nodding and gently says "That's all over now. You've got me". Pull back and the wine and candles are on the counter of the tire shop, the guy is wearing the uniform, they've been talking over the counter. He adds "So, let's show you some tires" and she's instantly in normal-transaction-consumer state, "What do you suggest that's affordable..." - and titles, bang, bang, bang - HONEST SERICE - BEST PRICES - FRIENDLIEST SERVICE… then back to the girl looking at a tire on display (or installed on her car) going "Ohhhhh" like it's a new boyfriend.

Sure, imperfect but that was 15 seconds of thought (how does the pull-out make totally clear she was talking about her previous tire buying experience? Can that scenario even work? Does he say something more like "we never treat customers like that"?? It fails if we don't think "Oh, she was talking about buying tires, not some other guy, AND SHE'S RIGHT, it is that bad!")… make the viewer think they're seeing something else entirely, surprise them and add some drama - then humor - to a really dull product? I'd at least take a shot along those lines, regardless of what actually goes on in the spot.

[silvertonesx24]

23 hours ago, M Carter said:

Remember the ad for some local gym? A buff girl is walking around in her panties and approaches a bowl of nuts. She sticks a nut between her butt cheeks and we hear a CRACK - the's so tough, she can shell nuts with her ass. The camera pans to her gym bag, which has the logo of the gym on it. Not a single word spoken. That's pretty damn creative, legitimately funny (and went viral and was shared, like, 10 million times). They didn't talk about their pricing or classes or schedule or locations, but got massive attention. One actress in one location, too. 

Step back and think about the market and what the business wants to achieve.

This particular piece that highlights an issue I have with so much of the advertising out there today.

You remember every shot of the girl, but do you even remember the name of the brand?

Is the message unique to that brand, or could every other gym out there slap their logo at the end and would it mean the exact same thing?

Not very effective advertising TBH. "OMG 10M shares/likes/views" really doesn't mean much when you can't even recall the name and the only obvious reason for its virality is the topless model.

[Davey]

On 6/2/2016 at 11:37 PM, M Carter said:

You're approaching this the wrong way. It doesn't matter what product or what media. The question is, "what are you really selling?".

BMW doesn't sell cars - they sell status and they sell based on the consumer belief that owning a BMW will make everyone think they're wealthy, classy, demanding only the best, and so on.

Tires are a practical item that most everyone needs, or they're a desirable performance item for a niche market. They're expensive ($700 next week for my vehicle, damn it!) and a hassle to purchase and take care of. They're something you forget how much you rely on until you have a problem with them. They can be the difference between life and death. 

The fact you've said nothing about the business - what's their market position, who is their market, why should a consumer choose them over the competition - makes me think you're approaching this as a creative project and not a marketing project. That's great, but you need to deliver a product that meets the business goals of the owner. Do they want attention, do they want to seem cooler, do they want their market to realize something about them that isn't apparent (better price, good service, fastest installation)? 

A tire shop ad can range from the owner in his terrible suit shouting "CHEAPEST TIRES IN TOWN" with bad interlaced footage of the shop, up to the very best commercials from Michelin or Pirelli and so on. But this guy is a dealer, not a manufacturer - straight-out marketing suggests you get across the reasons a consumer should consider them over their car dealer or a big chain store (could be done with humor or action or any of a dozen directions). I'd resist the knee-jerk reaction to sell tires - Michelin sells tires - what does a local business actually sell to their market? A market that's about to purchase tires and deciding where to go for pricing and service? This can still be creative as hell, it can be viral, etc. But you probably don't need to sell the product itself.

Remember the ad for some local gym? A buff girl is walking around in her panties and approaches a bowl of nuts. She sticks a nut between her butt cheeks and we hear a CRACK - the's so tough, she can shell nuts with her ass. The camera pans to her gym bag, which has the logo of the gym on it. Not a single word spoken. That's pretty damn creative, legitimately funny (and went viral and was shared, like, 10 million times). They didn't talk about their pricing or classes or schedule or locations, but got massive attention. One actress in one location, too. 

Step back and think about the market and what the business wants to achieve.

Brilliant post - learnt more in five minutes than in a lifetime.

[M Carter]

On June 4, 2016 at 3:27 PM, Davey said:

Brilliant post - learnt more in five minutes than in a lifetime.

Thanks - I'm not a videographer or a photographer - I'm a marketer who can shoot and edit. The three things that have kept me self employed for two decades:

Think like a marketer;

Be a partner, not a provider;

Don't be a dick. 

(That last one - many times my clients have said "you're so easy to work with, we can drive you nuts with changes and edits that are our stupid fault and you fix it fast with a smile, it's always a pleasure to have you on the team" and so on). When I worked for big retail and planned a shoot, my first criteria in booking the team was "people I really loved spending a day with". Yeah, they were great at what they did, from shooters to makeup to models to stylists and scouts - and I always made sure the day would make great shots but that it would also be a really, really enjoyable day (or days or week). I had no space for catty models or shooters who treated me like a king but dissed their assistants. I think it's massively underrated to have your emotional shit together in business. It can be what tips the scales for someone deciding on suppliers. It can be what keeps the same clients for years or decades. I once mentioned to a client that I had just gotten stiffed by a new client who went under and left me holding a huge lab and printing bill - the guy excused himself and came back with a big check and said "I know we'll do this much business this year, just give me a credit for it". I'm not a perfect human being, but man, I appreciate the people that keep me working and I treat them that way. If anyone is the kind of person that keeps losing friends and lives with all kinds of personal upheaval, loses clients (and friends) over stupid things - step back and suss that stuff out!

[dbp]

^ That's a great post as well, excellent point on the emotional side of things.

I'd like to think I'm in the same boat, a pretty easy guy to work with. If I'm being honest, lots and lots of people have the skills I do and can produce what I do, but I always try my best to not be a pain in the ass in any way. Video is stressful for a lot of people. Being on camera is rough. 95% of the people I film are quite nervous, but I usually get good feedback on how I made the process more pleasant. That goes a long way, I think. 

 

 

[kaylee]

3 hours ago, M Carter said:

I think it's massively underrated to have your emotional shit together in business.

it absolutely is and thats ironic because it is ~THE~ most important thing to me about anybody i hire

and its the most important thing to me when it comes to the perception of others – you can think that i dont have any talent, you can think that my art sucks, but i wont let you think that im not the calm assertive leader that i say i am, that i dont shake hands with ~everyone~, that im not available to patiently answer questions 24/7, 365, even on leap year

what im saying is that its more important that you like working with me than that you respect me as an artist, and i take my art practice p seriously. then again – i cant have one without the other

also, i was just referencing art and filmmaking, but you said business – which COULDNT BE MORE ACCURATE. these principles apply to, what, everything in life? damn near

3 hours ago, M Carter said:

...but that it would also be a really, really enjoyable day (or days or week)

really, REALLY enjoyable?? i love it @M Carter id hire you just to provide moral support and positive vibes – i need it

seriously tho, great post