How Advertising Is Created
“We urgently need a commercial; it airs the day after tomorrow, let’s just shoot it quickly.” NO! NO! AND NO! — any reasonable production studio specialist will tell you this. A quality commercial, even if it’s only 25 seconds long, is not something you create “in a hurry.” Producing commercials is a complex process with its own structure and algorithms, developed through decades of work by hundreds of thousands of professionals. So, what exactly makes up the budget of a commercial, who is involved in its production, and “who are all these strange people in your production studio?” — we will try to explain in this article.
Stages of Creating a Commercial
Brief
For the future commercial to be as functional and effective as possible, it is necessary from the start to clearly define its goal — what exactly the client wants to achieve after the advertising campaign ends. Who is it created for (target audience), what exactly needs to be advertised, what are the advantages of the product or service, how it differs from competitors, and why it should be chosen. It is also important to specify the distribution channels — since they determine the form, presentation, and duration of the future advertising product. Additionally, the campaign’s duration must be considered — how long will the commercial be shown to the audience? For example, an ad launched during the New Year season will become irrelevant by spring, so if the commercial is planned to run throughout the year, it cannot contain characteristic holiday attributes and it is generally advisable to avoid any references to the season.
Ideally, the client provides references — examples of what they would like their commercial to look like. It is best if these references are accompanied by short comments explaining what exactly they like about each example — color scheme, pace, style, 3D graphics, effects, drone footage — the possibilities are endless. The important thing is for the production studio to understand which expressive tools interest the client the most.
Never neglect the brief; otherwise, almost certainly the client will get, at best, “not quite what we meant,” and for the creators, the process may be greatly prolonged, inevitably leading to unforeseen costs due to endless revisions and corrections. Filling out or creating a brief at the start of work on the commercial essentially synchronizes the expectations of the Client and the Production Studio. Often, after analyzing the brief, it becomes clear that the client’s chosen advertising product may not be an effective marketing tool. For example, the client demands an image-building commercial, but their service is so complicated that the potential consumer cannot understand what was shown in 15 seconds of beautiful images. Meanwhile, the brief states the goal is to increase sales. How is that possible with the chosen advertising format? It is not. That is why the brief is so important — it makes the marketing strategy maximally effective, the tools precise and functional, and the results exactly as promised.
Idea of the Commercial
The idea is the foundation of the future script. Every concept of an advertising product begins with the idea. The form, direction, and texture of the idea are exactly the information provided by the client in the brief. This is where work begins on all its points. Is the target audience a teenager? We form the commercial’s idea based on the problems and desires of puberty. Is the ad aimed at homemakers? We show how much the advertised product eases the life of a woman whose daily housework is “hard but seemingly invisible at first glance.” These are, of course, very basic examples, but they illustrate the obvious importance of a close link between the brief and the final product — the commercial.
Generating an idea alone is quite difficult. The saying that two heads are better than one applies perfectly here. Brainstorming sessions have become a common and essential tool in advertising production. The mechanics of brainstorming are simple: several people gather and openly discuss what needs to be invented, sharing their ideas. At this stage, no one judges whether ideas are good or bad. Sometimes even the most ridiculous thought can spark a truly brilliant creative breakthrough. All ideas voiced during the brainstorm are carefully recorded, later reflected upon, developed, and finally crystallized into The Idea — the mother of the original commercial script.
Script of the Commercial
World-famous stars, ultra-modern video cameras, professional stunt performers, impressive special effects, and original soundtracks will not make a commercial effective if it is filmed without a strong, competent, and well-thought-out script.
Experienced scriptwriters admit that writing a feature film script can sometimes be easier than writing a commercial script. Because in cinema, the main thing is an interesting plot, but in advertising, the ultimate goal is increased sales.
How does a script begin? Usually, by writing a structure — a synopsis outlining the content of the future commercial. Simply put, the scriptwriter formulates who, what, where, and why. After defining the plot and characters, the text is written, and the script’s framework becomes clear, justified, and vivid. Typically, the commercial script tells a story of how the hero suffers from a certain problem, which is quickly and easily solved by the advertised product. All this is arranged in a table with several columns: video sequence, sound, graphics/titles, timing — so that the clear and detailed script can be handed to the director…
Pre-production
This stage of commercial production, like all subsequent ones, includes several simultaneous processes. The director’s script, storyboard, selection of filming equipment and technical means, casting actors, choosing their looks and costumes, working with locations, selecting decorations and props... Let’s take it step by step.
Director’s Script
The director’s script is the most detailed and precise description of the future commercial. Simple phrases unfold like scrolls of royal heralds. For example, instead of the seemingly straightforward “he entered the cafe,” a whole table is created including frame-by-frame video sequence, musical accompaniment, in-frame sound, actors’ actions, shot size, camera and object movements, background, presence of graphics and its description, titles or infographics, special effects, and timing.
Storyboard
Based on the director’s script, a storyboard is drawn — a frame-by-frame description of the commercial. Essentially, it is a comic strip narrative. It is the storyboard that the director of photography will use on set to compose shots that match the director’s vision as closely as possible.
Casting
Casting is a demanding, complicated, and time-consuming task that requires a lot of effort, time, and nerves. That is why professions such as casting director, casting manager, and other casting administrators exist. Choosing an actor is just the tip of the iceberg. First, all interested parties must be informed that casting is underway. Then, the candidates are thoroughly studied for their maximum resemblance to the director’s vision. Moreover, the director’s requirements may go beyond age, gender, or general type — they can be almost impossible to fulfill. For instance, a casting manager friend of ours had to find one hundred young girls of purely natural beauty, without tattoos, false eyelashes, lips, cheeks, eyebrows, breasts, buttocks, etc. Pure, young, and long-haired. Such girls hardly exist anymore, yet they needed one hundred…
Location
Even the perfect filming location may be unsuitable simply due to space limitations. Just because the commercial’s scene takes place in a tiny closet doesn’t mean the entire crew, equipment, and technical gear can fit there. The location manager searches for suitable spaces, negotiates with owners, and if necessary, coordinates with government agencies and utilities.
Props and Decorations
Professional prop masters always carry a “Mary Poppins bag” — a nonsensical assortment of items brought to the shoot just in case, no matter how many times the prop and decoration list has been finalized. Remember the world-famous nanny pulling a kettle, a folding bed, a pack of handmade cotton paper, a starched apron, a spyglass, and a lot of strange things from her bag? Similarly, the Perfect Prop Master always inexplicably has exactly what the director’s bright creative idea just struck on the set.
Production
Filming is not just “Camera! Action!” The crew arrives at the location several hours before the shooting day begins to “settle in.” The crew may include not only the director, cameraman, and actors but also the producer, lighting technicians, technical staff, assistant directors and cameramen, graphics and animation specialists (to adjust angles on the spot for future computer processing), drone pilots for aerial filming, stunt performers, makeup artists, decorators and prop masters, costume designers and administrators, food stylists, animal trainers, pyrotechnicians, consultants…
A standard shooting day lasts about twelve hours. The number of such days depends on the script’s complexity, the number of scenes, and locations.
Sometimes a rough cut of the commercial is done right during the shoot. Successful takes are assembled according to the storyboard so the director can immediately see how the shots fit together. The rough cut is usually longer than the final version and is never shown to the client.
Post-production
After filming, the footage goes to final editing. Besides skillfully cutting shots together, everything planned by the director and approved by the client is added: graphics and animation are created, musical accompaniment and background noises are overlaid, voice-overs and in-frame actor voices are recorded. At the same time, material cleanup is done — small flaws are removed, unwanted logos, objects, buildings, or even people caught in the frame but ultimately inappropriate are hidden or eliminated.
The finished commercial is color-corrected and graded according to the director’s vision. Only then is it presented to the client.