Congrats to copywriter Nils-Petter Lovgren from London agency Fallon for creating the ridiculous eyebrow dance ad for Cadbury’s.  We couldn’t stop laughing!  

Also mentioned this week is Steve Howell from Saatchi & Saatchi for the T-Mobile Dance ad (if you’ve travelled through Liverpool Street station this week you couldn’t have missed it)

…and of course we’ve gotta congratulate copywriter Dan Glover-James from BBH for the cute claymation Lynx Caveman.

Jolly good job ol chaps!

Check this out!  We’ll have to come up with our own version soon -any volunteers? 

OK, so what’s the deal with the CEC (current economic climate)?  Everyone’s panicking left, right and centre and it’s hard to know which way is up.  And in fairness - the panic isn’t completely without merit. 

I work in an ad agency, and lived through the 9/11 worldwide financial dip, which famously hit advertising agencies very hard.  The reason being, is that advertising budgets are the first things that get slashed (that, and nose hair waxing apparently).  Those lovely exotic film shoots with the fancy helicopter shots, cappuccinos and first class flights tend to go out the back door while economy class and instant coffee slips in through the front door.

So where does this leave voiceover artists?  Is everyone going to be shaking a tin cup in ‘09?
Well, there’s actually a number of factors at play here, and I foresee a few different things happening.  Firstly, there will be less money wastage, so we’ll probably find that clients are less likely to splurge money to demo a range of different artists for a gig.  They might just want pick one VO and hope for the best.
Secondly, TV budgets will probably get slashed.  This might mean nothing to the voiceovers, because no matter how high or low a budget is to produce a TV ad - you’re still going to need a voice over at the end, punting the product.

Another thing which might happen is that clients shoot fewer TV ads.  This could also mean they re-use last year’s ad.  Great for the voiceover: you get paid again without even having to set a foot in the studio.  Or perhaps, in the case of campaigns - they might only shoot 1 or 2 ads for the campaign as opposed to 3 or 4.  Obviously - this would mean less money for the voiceover. Or, god forbid, they just don’t shoot an ad at all this year.
The big ripple effect, if less TV ads were being made, is that clients will still need to sell their products somehow.  The medium of radio has always been considered TV’s poorer cousin - and has also been considered a very hard-hitting, good value for money medium.  My prediction is that clients will be forced to put more of their advertising budgets toward radio.  So instead of shooting one fancy TV ad per year, they might rather run 5 different radio ads throughout the year.

I’m hoping that things will kind of cancel each other out for voiceovers in ‘09.  What you lose on TV, you’ll gain on radio.
Think about it -  did you notice the airwaves suddenly free of annoying ads during the 9/11 slump?  No friggen way.  The ads might become less slick, and high-production-value like - but as long as there are products to sell, there’s going to be some company trying to peddle them off onto the unsuspecting public.  And they will need just the right voice to do it.

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This week sees a great concept from copywriter Jon Morgan at Ogilvy London.  It’s an anti knife-crime message referencing MTV Cribs:  we’re shown a teenager swaggering around his new ‘home’  like a typical celebrity, only twist being that he is in prison.  It ends with the message that carrying a knife can now lead to a four year sentence.  

Good work to everyone involved!

Our in-house computer genius J has added a little something very useful to our site.  See if you can find it…

Ever wanted to forward on a list of voiceovers you really like to a client?  Well now you can!  Simply click on the “Shortlist” button on the right hand side of their  profiles to create your list.

You can also save and send lists to yourself for later use.  E.g. If you stumble upon a voice you think would be perfect for a specific brand, just save and send it to your own email address!

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When/Why/How did you get into VO work? 

Went to Uni and studied Media, then like many, realised that i had to finally make some choices in life, and couldn’t hide away from work forever!  Applied for a Creative writing post at a local radio station, came second, then got a call back asking me if i fancied commercial production.  So, the next 7 years of my life were filled with mixing ads.  Moved from Signal 1, to Century FM, then felt it was time for a new challenge, so chucked myself to the other side of the microphone, and here i am!

What do you sound like? 

Young, cool, edgy, gritty and dynamic, apparently!

What was the weirdest gig you’ve ever done? 

I once had to play the part of a left testicle, for a testicular cancer campaign!  Not sure why i was asked to be the left, rather than the right, but there you go!  The campaign was called Talking Bo*locks!!  I kid you not….

 
What would be your ideal brief? 

Probably a drug awareness campaign.  I sound like i am off it all the time, so can relate to the audience that these kind of commercials relate to!

What’s your poison? 

Cigarettes, but am quitting in the next couple of months.  Other than that, red wine and Stella are my favourite tipples.

What don’t you leave home without? 

My voice!!….and my laptop.  And if i am heading anywhere further than 1 mile, my Sat Nav.  I am an embarassment to mankind, my navigation skills are totally hopeless!

Do you scream during football matches or shout at your children? 

I scream for 90 minutes if i am watching my beloved mighty football club, Luton Town!  My whole family are Arsenal fans, and being born in Luton, decided to follow my local team.  Looking back, and certainly recently, it appears that was an odd decision!  Don’t have any children, but if i did, or when i do, i would imagine i would be the best Dad ever, and wouldn’t need to shout….

What makes you laugh / cry? 

Wit, humour and Celebrities making fools of themselves on tele make me laugh…..  Crying wise - probably X Factor ha ha…

Who do you enjoy working with or have you worked with recently? 

I now work for myself, but share a studio with Emma Clarke, and we have a laugh a minute.  Its great fun!  I do miss working at an office, or radio station though, the social scene was hilarious, but times and things move on…

If you suddenly lost your voice, what would you do for a living? 

Would maybe go back in to production, or would try my hand at comedy writing.  My folks always thought i would end up as a childrens tv presenter, but if i lost my voice, i guess i would be naff at that too….

Rich Sweetman

This is the last of the lot.  We’ve made three different films using the same imagery, and just changing the voiceover.  See what a difference it makes!

Found this voiceover skit online.  Its an oldie, but a goodie… Enjoy!