Super Bowl-quality tv commercial idea...

Rup-

Congrats on having a great idea. Unfortunately doing something with it is hard, if not impossible, when it comes to the advertising business if you're not on staff...

I can only give you advice based on my own experience. I've worked in the industrly for a long time. And I've actually had a commercial run on the superbowl a few years back. But still, this is just one person's opinion.

Here are a few things for you to keep in mind:

1. first of all, i know you were just kidding, but copywriters don't get residuals. I found out over Christmas that most of my family members thought I got a check every time one of my commercials ran. I wish.

2. if you brought your idea to a big ad agency, they'd send you directly to the legal department who would then say 'thanks but no thanks.'

3. if your idea is great for any soda, or any car, then it isn't great for any particular soda or particular car. Keep in mind, when you write an ad for a client, it shouldn't work for their competitors. The client wants to know you understand their brand and are writing just for them. The 'insert your product here' style of writing won't get a good response from a client.

4. as for your request for suggestions, here's what those of us in the business do when we can't sell an idea we truly believe in: we get an up and coming director to shoot the spot for us and use it on our reel of work. some people put it out on the web after shooting it, but that can be a legal problem if you use a product without approval.

5. Another option would be to go to a client locally and try to sell them your idea on a smaller level, tweaking it so it's right for them. I know people who sold some print ads to local clients and were able to submit them to advertising award shows where they did quite well.

6. If you still want to go for a more national client, then try contacting them directly. But be prepared to get a legal response, or a contact our ad agency response, which would then get you a legal response. If the client or the agency listens, that's great. If not, you were prepared.

Hope this helps. I'm sure there are other ways to go about it. That's just my take on it.

All the best!

-di

Hi,

I know you PMed me about this a month ago but the holidays made it slip my mind until now.

You've already received great advice on this. The most important thing to keep in mind is that every brand has a plan for its products and no matter how great your idea is, if it doesn't fit the strategy, it's not going to get a second look.

I'd either contact one of the big companies directly or keep it local. That was great advice.

Plus, keep think coming up with ideas and approaching people. If you network properly, you CAN get your foot in the door.