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VOICE ACTING
Commercial Copy Phrases Often Come
In Three's - Find And Understand Them
March 22, 2017

By Hugh Klitzke
Casting Director and Coach

Threes are in a lot of places: "Father, Son and Holy Spirit” ... three branches of government ... the strength of the triangle in architecture ... a group of three atoms in the covalent bond H20 ...

Pull 10 random pieces of commercial copy and you will find groups of three maybe eight out of 10 times. 

But they can be very different.

Example 1
"All the research.  All the effort.  All of the time.”
Obvious.

Example 2
"You get the best in TV, internet and phone services.  Without the sticker shock.”
Also obvious.

Example 3

"The only one that relieves pain, reduces swelling and protects skin by delivering…” 
In the verbs, but more subtle.

Example 4
"Free your skin.”
A three word tag.
  
Example 5
"Save money. Live better. Walmart.”
Three ideas; first a pair, then the brand name completes the group.

Example 6
"In delicious beef, chicken, turkey and garden veggie flavors.” 
A group of three plus one more, just to keep it interesting.

Example 7
"Kills 99% of germs that can cause plaque, gingivitis, and bad breath without the burn of alcohol...” 
Instead of three and "just one more”, this is three "but NOT this one”.

Example 8

"For women.  For girls. For just about anything.”
You would never hit "for” here… That’d just sound weird. But the trio itself is obvious.

Find them and read them well. But don’t try too hard - understand them first, and they’ll usually take care of themselves. 
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ABOUT HUGH
Hugh P. Klitzke is studio manager and voice casting director for a leading bi-coastal talent agency, who in more than a decade has directed over 115,000 auditions for all voice over genres. Based in New York City, he is also a coach specializing in teaching voice over for actors, and blogs at voiceoverfortheactor.com, a twice-weekly blog with helpful voice acting tips.  


Web: www.hughpklitzke.com
Email: VO4TA@voiceoverfortheactor.com
Blog: www.voiceoverfortheactor.com

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Comments (3)
Joe Dawson
3/25/2017 at 7:14 AM
Hi Hugh, sign me up for your newsletter. Good stuff!
Maggie H Taylor
3/24/2017 at 6:59 PM
Thanks for pointing this out, Hugh.
Fred Humberstone
3/22/2017 at 8:09 AM
Thank you, Hugh. Simple, concise and to the point.
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