Writing a Script Outline for a Infomercial

[AmateurD]

Hello guys. How are you?

A friend of mine asked me if i could help him to do a script outline for a infomercial, about a product that he will have to choose. But i've never done one and i dont know how to write one for this format. It is for a school work.

Can someone give me some lights please? Maybe showing some examples? Anything would be helpful.

Thanks. Stay well.

 

[FantasySciFi]

Hello guys. How are you?

A friend of mine asked me if i could help him to do a script outline for a infomercial, about a product that he will have to choose. But i've never done one and i dont know how to write one for this format. It is for a school work.

Can someone give me some lights please? Maybe showing some examples? Anything would be helpful.

Thanks. Stay well.

You will need to check what format his instructor wants. Some advertising firms continue to use the audiovisual scripting format. This is basically two columns with the visual scene description on the left and the narration/dialogue on the right which goes with the scene. Since an infomercial purports to provide information for an informed (albeit 'guided') decision, a basic marketing model is often followed. The simplest is the five step model: Why-What-How-What If-Closer

WHY -      Have you ever wonder why ... ?
           Maybe you've tried .... and been unsuccessful while others seem to 
                  have no trouble.
WHAT -     Experts have studied this and found ....
           Now, using patented technology, everyone can be successful using ...
HOW -      The patented secret behind this product works by ...
          ... makes it easy.  All you have to do is ...
WHAT IF -  If you've failed in the past, can you imagine how your life will change 
                     using ...?
            Experts have shown this is the easiest way to ...
CLOSER -  Because you watching, we'd like to offer a special bonus of ...
          You need to hurry because this offer can't last long due to demand.
          Here's how you order ...

Yes, it sounds cheesy. But it works because it's a standard formula, just like many movies follow a standard formula (Hero's Journey). Since it's a school assignment, your friend will need to do a bit of research, but this should give some ideas for you he can approach the process. Searching on the AudioVisual format will show the two-column format. The following link is a bit less informative but does highlight some of the points mentioned above:
http://www.procopytips.com/tv-commercial-script
Good luck.

 

[AmateurD]

Thanks a lot FantasySciFi! This is really helpful

 

[brianluce]

I've written and directed a few infomercials. We did it just like Fantasy says. Yes, they're cheesy and stupid, but it's a multi billion dollar industry. Cliches work great in informercials for some reason. They're poison anywhere else, but fill your show up with them nonetheless.

Alot of infomercials succeed on the basis of the offer. The ginsu knives were such a product. They kept adding more worthless crap for the low low price of $29.95 so it becomes hard to say no.

Be careful of product claims, you need to be able to substantiate them.

 

[AmateurD]

Thanks for your input brianluce!