WE HAVE A WINNER! (THE SIX-WORD COMMERCIAL CONTEST)

On April 9 I announced a contest.

The challenge: Write a six-word commercial for Harlan Hogan's upcoming teleseminar class, STARTING YOUR VOICEOVER BUSINESS: Everything You Need To Know To Turn Your Dream Or Your Sideline Into A Business.

Honorable Mention — John Watts

"Don't hope...Plan! Voice your dreams!"

A good distillation of the full sales letter. But not really a commercial.

Honorable Mention — Cory

"Your voice? A Career? Here's how..."

Compact, economical language. But a bit too passive.

Honorable Mention — RJ Khurafati Amit

"Defy recession get paid for voiceover!"

Very strong. Weakness: Primary motivation for pursuing a voiceover career isn't the recession; it's the desire to have a voiceover career.

Honorable Mention — Nancy Tyler

"Learn to live your voiceover dreams."

Nice, but mostly restates the title. Also — this will sound like a small point, but it's important — the goal of someone who takes the class isn't to "learn"; it's to have a voiceover business. ("Learning" is a means to that end.)

Honorable Mention — Don May

"Voiceover: Your dream as your business"

Very good, except that it simply restates the title of the class. Otherwise, this might have been the winner.

Honorable Mention — Gary Burgess

"Your voice. His experience. Your future."

Economical use of language. But it recaps the sales page rather than serving as a standalone commercial.

Honorable Mention — Derek Knight

"Channel Harlan's anger; find your voice."

Funny. Obviously Derek read the background. But although Harlan's anger is part of his motivation for teaching the class, it doesn't motivate a prospective student to take the class.

Honorable Mention — Synthman

"What's Harlan Hogan's darkest VO secret?"

Good way to get people to read the ad. But not a commercial itself.

And The Winner Is...

Terry (Stevens) Spialek:

"You CAN get paid to talk!"

Succinct, positive, encouraging, confident.

Thanks to everyone who entered. And congrats, Terry. The two prizes you selected — The Ultimate Non-Lawyer's Guide to Copyright Infringement in Radio Commercials...and How to Avoid It

and

Dan O'Day's Guaranteed 5-Step System for Creating 30 Second Radio Commercials That Get Results

— are winging their ways to you now.