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Copyrighted
treatment (1995) and cover letter for
one-hour weekly TV show, a business-talk-entertainment show called:
"The Advertising Channel"
24 hours of ads, with brilliant, insightful commentary on each ad... Only the
BEST ads... We choose which ads we feature (to entertain and educate)...
Advertisers pay us for featuring their ads...
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Enclosed is a
summary of an idea for a TV show, which may be of interest to you, your company,
or organization. I am trying to put together a joint venture between
various entities in the advertising- and
television industry to produce a weekly, hour-long TV series, called "Ads
Highlights," "Ads in Review," or "This Week in
Advertising." The name is self-explanatory, but I shall explain it
in greater depth.
This
weekly TV show will review the best and most intriguing ads on television (and
to a lesser extent, in other media). It will be fascinating for viewers, and
will earn substantial money for the producers because of the ease and directness
of selling advertising spots to the advertisers who are
the subject of the show.
The
target audience is the general public, who have an interest in understanding
advertising, what motivates consumers, etc. It will be an educational
show, as well as a talk show, and is aimed at a relatively educated audience.
Suggested broadcasters are The Discovery Channel,
The Learning Channel, CNBC, MSNBC, CNNfn, Disney, Fox, Turner,
or any one of several others. This show will also appeal to people within
the advertising industry.
There
will be both a male and female host, who hold a round-table,
or panel-discussion, with different guests each week: agency execs, creative
people, ad writers, producers, directors, technicians, actors, etc.
The
female hostess and her male counterpart will both be young, gorgeous, &
sexy, as well as intelligent, funny, and articulate. The hosts introduce guests
& topics, reviewing selected ads, possibly just excerpts of ads, with
follow- up commentary & panel discussion, and also possibly read viewers'
comments on the air (which can be sent by e-mail or fax). There will also be
some news highlights from and about the ad industry, in general, like a TV
version of Advertising Age or Ad Week magazines, with a review of the best new
ads each week, somewhat like a Siskel & Ebert review of movies, except that
the hosts will be more glamorous and charismatic than either Siskel or Ebert.
(Jenny McCarthy as hostess?)
This one-hour
show will be all ads, yet free from commercial breaks. It will be
fascinating for viewers because it will show TV examining itself, being
educational for laymen as well as for advertising professionals. Advertising
bombards us, everywhere, from many different media, but we find some of the best
ads on TV, and the main focus of this TV show will be on these great TV ads, but
not exclusively. Besides TV ads, the show will also review and comment on
advertising in newspapers, magazines, billboards, radio, on-line, etc.
Sponsors
of show: Same companies whose ads are selected. For the sake of those
advertisers, this once-a-week, one-hour show will air during prime-time. A
smaller portion of the time will be devoted to actually showing the ads, which
are the topic of the show, and a larger portion to discussion and commentary. A
30-second ad is followed by about 5-minutes of commentary (and live- and taped-
interviews with producers, writers, directors, and ad agency execs, etc). Thus,
in a one-hour span, we can show and comment on about a dozen ads, and actually
give some serious depth to the commentary. This will be worth a lot to the
sponsors (as well as to the various advertising agencies, who will also receive
valuable publicity).
The
ads which we will show and review will be the best ads on TV, the
most intriguing ads, etc., and these same companies will be the sponsors
of the show. This is now being proposed for the very first time as a joint
venture between the producer & broadcaster, in conjunction with the staff
of Ad Week and/or Advertising Age magazines, The Advertising Council, one or
more creative advertising agencies, and corporate sponsors.
We
shall propose this to each of the major networks, as well as to the Discovery
Channel, The Learning Channel, Fox, Disney, CNBC, MSNBC, CNNfn, Turner, Vin
DiBona, and several others. The list is long.
One
of these television producers and/or broadcasters should produce this show, in
conjunction with the writers, researchers, editors, and publishers of
Advertising Age and/or Ad Week magazine, whose highly informative and colorful
publications will come to life on national TV, besides bringing educational
entertainment to millions.
Again,
this earns money for the producers, by being sponsored by the same companies
whose ads are highlighted in the show. Most
important, (from the standpoint of the sponsors), this show will bring a
positive perspective to the world of advertising, which now suffers from general
negative public opinion about ads and advertisers.
The
key word from the production end is that the show will be so intriguing, it will
be "mesmerizing." Viewers wont want to turn it off or switch channels,
and since there are no ads, and no breaks for commercials, this will help to
hold viewers' attention.
What is envisioned is a slick, colorful, fast-paced, entertaining show that will
simply mesmerize viewers. To that extent (to engage and captivate viewers'
attention), we will enlist in the production some of the most talented creative
people from the advertising agencies.
Corporate
sponsors will readily support & sponsor this TV show because the host(s) and
guest(s) will actually give positive commentary on the ads shown, showing the
glamorous side of advertising, and will also help sell the products. One host
say to the other: "... after seeing this great ad, I decided that I just
had to have one [of the product advertised], so I went out and bought one ...
and I'm so glad I made that decision ... because they're really great..."
It has been said that "advertisers control television." Now here's a
TV show for, by, and about the advertisers and the ads they make.
Among
the general public, there is too much preconceived negative ideas and opinions
about ads and advertisers, and this show will overcome and change that myth.
This TV series will help to put a positive slant on ads and the world of
advertising, and even help sell the products. That's why corporate sponsors and
(our weekly selected) advertisers will be easy to enlist.
The
show from the start, must be interesting, delightful, and entertaining, in order
to hold viewers' attention. It should be slick, colorful, & fast-paced, etc,
but it must be an intelligent show, aimed at a wide variety of demographics
(depending on which channel it is shown, but besides being intelligent &
educational, the show must also be fun & entertaining.
To
be fun and entertaining, the show must contain lots of information, and move
along at a rapid clip. Since there are no ads, there is no need to break for
commercials, so this will help to hold viewers' attention.
The
more good ads we have time to review, the more revenues and income. Yet our
review, comments, and dialog about each ad shown cannot be shallow or
superficial. The TV viewers of this show don't just want to see the ads in
review; they desire the commentary. They want to understand the ads, they want
to understand the hidden meanings, the secret language of ads ... how they're
made ... why they're made... who makes them ... who makes the decisions ...
etc., etc. Basically, this show offers a behind-the-scenes look at the world of
advertising, which will give a positive slant to the industry, and even help
sell the products, because it presents the glamorous side of the world of
advertising.
I
foresee a joint venture TV production between the staff of Advertising Age
(and/or Ad Week), in conjunction with corporate sponsors, and one or more
creative advertising agencies, plus The Advertising Council, and creative people
at MTV, Disney, and/or Discovery/Learning. The series will air once weekly
during prime-time.
We
review the best ads each week. A 30-second TV spot will then be followed by
about 4- or 5- minutes of commentary. Thus, We can fit about ten or more ads in
a 1-hour show. Each 30-second spot will receive about 5- or 6-minutes of air
time with the commentary, and because the show is about ads, and the show is
thoroughly dazzling & entertaining, viewers are more likely to stay tuned,
rather than walk away, or change channels, or mute the ads, or not pay
attention, which is common and typical, and this show will reverse that trend.
In fact, a by-product of this show is that the general public (who watch this
show) will start to appreciate ads, and actually pay attention to ads.
Some
of the commentary could be likened to Siskel & Eberts quick review of
movies. However, this show will be more slick, more colorful, and simply more
fun, produced in conjunction with Madison Avenue's most creative advertising
agencies (the same companies who produce some of the best ads), and the hosts
will be far more glamorous and charismatic than either Siskel or Ebert. (Jenny
McCarthy as host).
This
will be a fascinating TV show, and it will earn substantial money for the
producers because of the ease and directness of pulling in advertising revenues
from advertisers who are the subject of the show.
I
would like a job somewhere in the production, and am offering my services as
consultant & project assistant for just 1% of gross revenues. It is
easy to see that this show will earn millions for its producers.
I
hope you get the picture. Please let me know how you can join me in this
venture, and how we can best forge ahead.
Bob
Silverstein
Box 503 Pahoa, Hawaii 96778
808 965-9494 (home-office)
888 696-3966 (toll-free)
253 498-4000 (fax)
godsend@gte.net