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Let me preface this by saying that any similarities to existing voice-over artists’ slogans are purely coincidental. But it’s time someone addresses the lazy approach to voice-over slogans. Wikipedia says:

Advertising slogans are short, often memorable phrases used in advertising campaigns. They are claimed to be the most effective means of drawing attention to one or more aspects of a product.

Some voice-over slogans are indeed short and memorable, but they’re not effective. They sacrifice what I call “casting efficiency” for the sake of being clever. Being clever is not the goal; neither is just being memorable. Think about the TV commercials you remember. Most of them are clever; and though you remember the commercial, you can’t remember the product was. It’s no different with voice-over slogans.

Take these slogans for example (again, from memory or made up – my intention is not to single out any of my fellow vo artists):

• The Voice Choice
• The Voice
• Your Choice of Voice
• The Voice in Your Head
• The Voice of Your Dreams

Most of them are short. Some are memorable. But none tell me anything about the product. They have no personality. No persona. No identification. “The Voice Choice” is only the choice if you fit the voice I’m looking for. It also leaves me hanging, “The choice for what kind of stories? What will you bring to my story? How will you enhance it? Are you a match or a contrast?” I’d like to know. Why not just tell me? Entice me, so that I can hit “play.

The second one is just scared to be anything other than just a voice. It’s The Voice. Oh, wait, THE Voice. Well, what about the voice? Better still, what about the persona? That should be the first consideration before even thinking about the voice. Even “That Voice” would be better than “The Voice,” because it creates an ounce of mystery and familiarity – you’re telling the person that they’ve heard it before, “You know… that voice.” It still falls short of casting efficiency.

The Voice in Your Head is much better than the former three. Its biggest challenge is that if it’s the voice in my head, then it must be the voice in the head of the next person that reads it – therefore trying to be everything to everyone. If there’s no specificity, then there’s no market to dominate. No specific archetype to position yourself as number one for. “The Dark Voice in Your Head,” on the other hand, would then position it as a voice of horror, mystery, or suspense. That’s “casting efficiency.” You now will start to market to producers in those genres or who are known for certain types of work. By positioning yourself in a specific market, genre, or style, you also lower your advertising costs while increasing your profit margin.

I’m not going to touch the last one – The Voice of Your Dreams – because young children might read this.

These are all lazy slogans. Not lazy people behind the slogans, but rather a lazy approach to the process of developing a slogan. It’s a process; rightfully so. These three to four words (five tops), your slogan, should identify you, your brand, in order to achieve casting efficiency. It will open doors for you. You might seem like you’re limiting yourself, but what we’re doing is cracking the wall. Trust me when I tell you that you will work in other areas; it’s happening to me now, even with my Hispanic American Urban Cool slogan, I am now getting more shots at work in the general market than I ever expected – including trailers! But there are more voice-over artists now than there ever was, and casting a project can be overwhelmingly time-consuming. It’s one of the top reasons why producers go with the same talent over and over again. It’s easier. Now, you have to make easier still!

I’ve done several promos for Speed. And even though Scott Rummell seems to be the usual suspect on that cable network, one of their senior producers always calls on me when they need a promo with street edge – the urban factor, if you will. I’d love to be on Speed all the time, and I know that’s on its way, but for now, I have no problem at all with being a pinch hitter, because I’m still in the “Majors.” I’ve made it easy for them to think of me when they need… well, me.

Where do you fit in? The process of finding your voice-over slogan can be frustrating. However, I’d like you to start with two rules that I believe will force you to stretch your thought process:

1. Do not use the word “voice” in your slogan
2. Do not use the word “choice” in your slogan

Neither Pepsi nor Coke use “soda” in their slogan. Neither FedEx nor UPS use the word “shipper” in their slogan. Deer Park does use both their name and “water” in theirs, but that doesn’t make it a good slogan. Tropicana’s current slogan, “Pure and Simple” is brilliant. Notice that there, too, is no generic product name used.

Let go of your fear that they won’t know you’re a voice-over without a microphone on your website or the word “voice” in your slogan. Don’t insult the intelligence of your buyer – give them more credit than that. They’re don’t shop for milk in a clothing store or for a t-shirt in the frozen food section. They know better than that.

Short on ideas? Start here or here. But mind the Lazy Voice-Over slogan “rules” (I added one more):

1. Must achieve casting efficiency
2. Do not use “voice” or “choice”
3. Limit it to three, four, or five words tops (four or less is best)

Enjoy the process, it’s about self-discovery; and what best to discover than your SELF.

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Here are some of my favorite vo-bb voice-over artists’ slogans:

• Caryn Clark – The Hip Chick
• Amy Snively – Rhymes with Lively
• DB Cooper – Real Wild

I just noticed that the best slogans are for female talent. Hmmm… maybe it’s because we men just want to be “your everythang.” But that’s another post.

Enjoy your Thanksgiving, baby. Sure you’re right!

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