What makes a good spec ad?

If you ever want to make commercials for Nike, Gatorade, and Apple, listen up, because here's exactly what you need to do.

You need to make commercials for Nike, Gatorade, and Apple.

No, really.

Spec work - the fake ads that directors, cinematographers, and filmmakers make to pitch their abilities – is an important way that commercial filmmakers get and win work.

So let's talk about spec work – why spec ads are important, what makes a good spec ad, and then some tips on how to make your spec ad stand out.

What are spec ads in the first place?

Spec ads are fake ads. They are fake commercials. But they are real proof of concepts; a filmmaker's way of saying, this is what I could do if I was in charge. You should hire me to make your next commercial. They are a filmmakers way of advertising themselves to those in the advertising space - agencies, brands, and creatives.

Have you ever seen those videos where people are like, "How I made this Nike commercial in my bedroom." Or people just flat out posting work with, "Heady Title | Nike commercial." And you're sitting there, watching and wondering how these people got paid by Nike to make this ad? How do I get paid by Nike to make these ads?

Good news; you're not alone. Those people didn't really get paid by Nike to make those commercials – these were all spec ads. So why make did they make them in the first place?

Because spec ads are a great way to be seen. Spec ads are basically the way filmmakers – DP's, directors, creatives – can advertise themselves and what they can do. And really they serve two functions: they showcase ability to work in this commercial genre - food, fashion, sports – and showcase the filmmakers specific style. Why is this important?

Because spec ads are proof that you know how to do things. We work in an industry where you need proof that you are good at your job in order to get hired; why else would someone pay large sums of money and let you be at the helm? Otherwise, it'd be gambling, and in this industry that's called narrative.

So how do you prove to agencies & brands that you can make a Nike commercial without getting hired by Nike to shoot a Nike commercial?

Easy. You make a Nike commercial.

A fake one, ideated and produced by you. You come up with the idea, you execute the vision, and if it is good, that's proof enough that you know how to make a Nike commercial. Or at least, a good shoe or sports accessory commercial. Because at the end of the day, people just want proof that you have shot something adjacent to the work.

If you've shot a beer commercial, generally you would know how to light and film liquids, so a whiskey commercial is in your wheelhouse. If you've shot a perfume ad, you probably know how to shoot a fashion ad. If you've shot a football ad, you probably would be able to shoot a basketball ad, and so on and so forth.

The beautiful thing about spec ads is that you can just put them out there. You can put them in your reel, you can put them online, you can send them to potential clients. As long as you call it a spec ad, it fits in like any other work that you've done in the past. And because it's a fake ad controlled entirely by you, you're able to show off your specific style and storytelling in a way that can highlight all of your strengths.

I've worked on a couple of spec ads that have led directly to work with the targeted brand, and a couple that have led to adjacent brands. And while spec ads don't get you new work overnight, they do get your foot in the door, and offer a long term way of getting new business.

What makes a spec ad good?

I have three main guidelines that I follow when it comes to spec ads.

1. Spec ads should be 51 / 49.
2. Spec ads should serve a greater purpose
3. Spec ads should tell a good, realistic story

Spec Ads should be 51 / 49

Spec ads should be 51% your creative vision, and 49% what the brand does already. You can also frame this as, spec ads should be 51% new & 49% familiar. Why?

Mainly because you have to walk a fine line between new and familiar for marketers and agencies.

These are the decision makers, and the ones who ultimately choose which directors to work with based on the director's pitches. In their world, a lot of the brand's visuals follow carefully thought out rules and guidelines. People have spent a long time thinking just how much sweat should be on the bottle, just how much ice should be in the cup, and just how much cheese should be on the burger. Consequently, that means that they know exactly what situations and visuals they can imagine for their product.

If you go too new, it could be scary for a brand that already has an established idea of what their ads "should" look like. Straying too far could mean that everything that they've already established goes out the window. Everything they've done before is gone. If there's one thing, brands don't like losing their hard work.

Inversely, if you go too familiar, well, then you're already making something they have seen before, and the ad you make won't feel "fresh." Too familiar is just a rerun of an episode the audience has seen already. It doesn't further brand goals or communication or messaging because it's already been done: It's not pushing the brand further, just restating what's already been said.

So a good spec ad walks the tight rope between the new and the familiar.

What does this look like in practice? It means having two or three of the classic shots you see in every real ad: the shoe close up, the liquid pour, the perfume in water. But the other shots are you, and your style: an intense oner, wide angle perspectives, quick extreme zooms.

It's okay to show off your style, because spec ads are about defining your style. But you need to also show how your style can fit the brand.

Spec ads should serve a greater audience

For the love of god, add one or two shots that are not specific to the brand you want to work with but that speak to what their competitors might want, or even better, what you think is freaking cool.

Remember, your audience is not Nike; it's Nike's audience. Because at the end of the day, your work needs to resonate with their audience. Otherwise, it's a proper shit ad. Why would Nike hire you if your spec ad doesn't resonate with their core audience?

The nice thing is that the people who work at Nike (or are creatives for Nike's creative agency) fall into that core audience. The people who work for Nike's competitors fall into that core audience. The people who work in commercial enterprises that would pay money for a similar ad you make fall into that core audience. Your audience is not Nike. It's Nike's audience. That's what makes spec ads so powerful; they can resonate with a wide audience, be seen and understood by so many people by leveraging the brand you're targeting.

And by falling into that core audience, the shots you add to the spot that are definitively yours - your style, your je ne sais quoi, your artistic identiy -- will stand out.

Which leads us to the third point.

Spec ads should be realistic

A good spec ad is indistinguishable from a real ad. It feels like something that the brand would put out. It should feel like the brand. The story must be a realistic story the brand would tell.

One thing that I see a lot are people trying to do wild takes on established brands. The stories are good – phenomenal even – but they venture too far out of the brand comfort zone. Spec ads need to be a realistic story that the brand would tell. Nike would not be featuring a robbery. Gatorade would not be drunk by an Esports team, and Porsche would not be enjoying the sunset with a Prius. While these would be great stories, that's all they would be. A good story. But it would fail as an ad; an ad uses the power of story to further a brand's message or goal.

If you mess with the goal of a brand - the one thing marketers (aka your future clients) - obsess over, you're going to lose your opportunity.

These stories are great if your goal is to get to a competitor - specifically a punk competitor that needs to establish themselves. Risk is great for brands that don't have their equity tied up in established norms. But if you're goal is to work with the Nike's and the Coca-Cola's, you need to be able to follow the established brand ideals. Otherwise you're too much of a risk.

How to take and build better

The nice thing about ads is that they will tell you a lot in 30 seconds. The big national brands are hiring the people they want to work with and are obsessing about every minute detail. They are working with the pros. So you're first step is to look at what the pros are doing and to learn from them.

Whenever you see the product on screen, you need to take notes. Within each commercial are a set of brand guidelines that directors and filmmakers had to adhere to. Labels are always fronted/shown towards camera. The athlete is always just so tired/sweaty. The coffee is always this high in the glass cup; the beer has just the right amount of froth. All of these are minute details that when done well make a whole lot of difference.

For example, having worked on my share of Gatorade content, the fronting of the label is always so important, to the point that we'll be rotating it a couple of degrees just to get that perfect moment. The bottle must be sweated so it looks refreshing. Mcdonald's has a very specific way that their food must look, with the fries looking crisp and neat. Beer companies had specific requirements on the tongue of the pour.

Every thing we do in filmmaking is intentional; the best teacher is finding out why such a thing was done, and then applying it to your own spec commercial.

Pay attention to the small details

I can't tell you how many times I've seen someone make such a powerful sports drink spec ad, and then ruin it by having the brand logo covered in the drink shot. To marketers, that's like painting the Mona Lisa and then adding a smiley face in the corner.

If you've gone through the trouble of making this ad, go the extra mile and pay attention to the small details, especially when the product is on screen. Yes, it takes extra time, but it makes a world of difference. Mistakes like not fronting the label, or having a frothy glass, or having the logo be too dark are a way of killing the moment for a brand. Because if you didn't care enough to do it in your spec ad, would you care enough to do it when the opportunity is real?

So at the end of the day, even when things are hectic, when the time is dwindling, and when you are up against the ropes, take the time to do things right. If you don't do them right, it's almost like you didn't do them at all. And if you're willing to go the extra mile, to follow the brand guidelines that are spelled out to you in every single ad you, you'll be ahead of everyone else who had a brilliant idea, but poor execution.

Thanks for reading. What are your thoughts? Is there anything I missed? Join the conversation.