![The template open in Strokes: the title “:30 script: [Brand], ‘[Spot title]’”, then a details table for Brand, Spot title, Media and Versions and the heading “The one thing”.](/_next/image?url=%2F_next%2Fstatic%2Fmedia%2Fhero-light.930f98f2.webp&w=3840&q=75)
![The template open in Strokes: the title “:30 script: [Brand], ‘[Spot title]’”, then a details table for Brand, Spot title, Media and Versions and the heading “The one thing”.](/_next/image?url=%2F_next%2Fstatic%2Fmedia%2Fhero-dark.2df1ef02.webp&w=3840&q=75)
When to use it
- TV and streaming spots bought in 30-second slots
- Radio :30s, produced or read by an announcer
- Social video ads for vertical feeds, built to work with the sound off
- Cutting a :30 down to a :15 and a six-second bumper
- Spec ads for a copywriting or directing portfolio
A 30-second commercial script plans an ad second by second: what the audience sees, hears and reads in a hook, a story or demo, the product and the brand. At the average US speaking pace of about 150 words a minute, a :30 read straight through holds 75 words. Most produced spots carry fewer: around 55 to 65 on radio once sounds and the tag take their seconds, and 60 or under on TV, where the picture does much of the talking. This template plans the beats and the word budget, and the five scripts below show the math for TV, radio and social.
The 30-second beat plan
The National Center for Voice and Speech puts the average rate of speech for English speakers in the US at about 150 words a minute, which is 2.5 words a second. TV copy usually runs slower, at two words a second or less, because viewers are also watching. That gives each beat a ceiling:
| Seconds | Beat | Its job | TV, at most | Radio, at most |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seconds0:00–0:03 | BeatHook | Its jobStop the scroll or the channel change | TV, at most6 words | Radio, at most7 words |
| Seconds0:03–0:18 | BeatStory or demo | Its jobShow the problem and the product solving it | TV, at most30 words | Radio, at most37 words |
| Seconds0:18–0:25 | BeatProduct and proof | Its jobName it and give one reason to believe | TV, at most14 words | Radio, at most17 words |
| Seconds0:25–0:30 | BeatBrand and end card | Its jobName, line, where to go | TV, at most10 words | Radio, at most12 words |
Here is the plan filled in with the TV version of one idea, for an invented coffee subscription. The last column marks how much of each row's time the voice actually uses.
| Time | Picture | Sound | Voice time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Time0:00 | Picture6:42 a.m., half-light. A man scoops coffee into the grinder. Inside the bag: one scoop left. | SoundSFX: beans into the grinder, the bag crinkling | Voice timeNone: 4 seconds of picture and sound |
| Time0:04 | PictureHe looks into the bag and winces. The doorbell rings. On the mat: a Daybreak Roasters box. | SoundSFX: doorbell | Voice timeNone: 4 seconds |
| Time0:08 | PictureHe tears it open. A fresh bag; close on the roast date. | SoundANNCR (V.O.): Daybreak Roasters sends your next bag before the last one runs out. | Voice timeAbout 6 of 8 seconds |
| Time0:16 | PicturePhone in hand: he slides delivery from every three weeks to every two. | SoundV.O.: Roasted to order, on your schedule. Change it in two taps. | Voice timeAbout 5 of 8 seconds |
| Time0:24 | PictureFirst sip. End card: logo. SUPER: Refill Ahead · from $14 a bag · daybreakroasters.example | SoundV.O.: Daybreak Roasters. Never open an empty bag. | Voice timeAbout 4 of 6 seconds; the logo holds the last 2 |
Thirty words in thirty seconds, and none in the first eight. At two words a second the voice takes about 15 seconds; the picture, the sound effects and the pauses take the other 15. The picture tells the problem (one scoop left) and the turn (the doorbell), so the voice only has to explain the box. The plan name, the price and the web address sit on the end card, where a viewer can read them, so the voice-over never has to say them.
How to use this template
- Write the one thing and the mandatories
One sentence the audience should remember, like a logline for the spot, and the items that must appear: name, logo, price, web address, legal line. List them first, because they spend seconds before the idea does.
- Fill the beat plan before writing lines
Give each of the four beats its seconds and its job. If the story needs 20 seconds, the product gets five, and you know it before you fall in love with a line.
- Write the main medium first, then translate
Write TV picture-first, radio sound-first and social as if the sound were off. Then rebuild the idea for the next medium instead of pasting the words across.
- Time it with a stopwatch
Read the voice against the picture, the rough cut or a silent count to 30, and note how many seconds pass with no voice at all. Leave a second of air at the end for the logo to land. If it runs long, cut a beat, not the pauses.
Radio and social :30 versions
Here is the same idea rewritten for the other two media. The message stays the same. The timing math doesn't, and neither does what has to be said aloud.
Radio :30
SFX: A scoop scraping the bottom of a coffee bag. A rattle.
WOMAN: (quietly) No. No, no, no.
SFX: Doorbell.
ANNCR: That's Daybreak Roasters, with your next bag. We send it before the last one runs out: roasted to order, on your schedule, and you can change it in two taps.
SFX: A box tears open. Beans pour into a grinder.
WOMAN: (relieved) Oh, thank you.
ANNCR: Daybreak Roasters. Search Daybreak Roasters and never open an empty bag.
The sound replaces the picture: a scraping scoop is the empty bag, and the doorbell is the turn. The TV version could leave the plan name, the price and the web address on its end card. Radio has no end card, so anything the listener needs has to be spoken. This version says the brand three times, starting around 0:06 in the announcer's first words, and swaps the price and the address for one instruction a listener can remember: search Daybreak Roasters. Forty-eight words is about 19 seconds; the sounds and the woman's two reactions fill the rest. For live reads, sponsorship mentions and donut spots, see the radio commercial script template.
Social :30
On TV and radio a :30 is a slot you buy; online it's a length you choose. As of November 2026, TikTok accepts in-feed video ads of up to ten minutes and recommends a vertical 9:16 frame, and Google lets viewers skip a skippable YouTube in-stream ad after five seconds. So a social :30 that can be skipped or scrolled past should name the brand before the skip button appears and make sense with the sound off.
| Time | Shot (9:16) | Caption | Voice |
|---|---|---|---|
| Time0:00 | Shot (9:16)Phone-shot close-up: two beans fall out of an empty bag | Caption6:42 a.m. Out of coffee. | VoiceCREATOR: This used to be my Monday. |
| Time0:03 | Shot (9:16)Logo sticker in the corner; the creator opens the front door | CaptionDaybreak Roasters fixed this | Voice(none) |
| Time0:05 | Shot (9:16)Box on the doorstep, roast date in close-up | CaptionThe next bag arrives before you run out | VoiceNow the next bag shows up before I run out. |
| Time0:15 | Shot (9:16)Screen recording: delivery moves from every 3 weeks to every 2 | CaptionRoasted to order · change it in two taps | VoiceIt's roasted to order, and I change the schedule in two taps. |
| Time0:24 | Shot (9:16)The pour, then the end frame with the platform's button | CaptionRefill Ahead · from $14 a bag | VoiceDaybreak Roasters. Link's right there. |
The logo is up at 0:03 and the name in a caption before the five-second skip. Every fact in the voice is also in a caption, so a viewer scrolling with the sound off gets the whole ad. The voice is a customer's, not an announcer's, to match how the feed sounds. If a creator posts it for the brand in the US, the FTC's Endorsement Guides apply: the words have to reflect the creator's honest opinion and experience, a creator who says they use the subscription has to be a real user, and the paid connection has to be disclosed clearly and conspicuously (16 CFR 255.1 and 255.5, as of November 2026).
30-second TV commercial: a story
A :30 can tell a story if it has one character, one change and almost no words.
0:00. Dawn at the shelter. Kennel 14: an old dog with a gray muzzle, chin on paws, watching the door. SFX: a gate, distant barking, then quiet.
0:05. Visitors walk past kennel 14 to the puppies. The tail thumps once and stops. MUSIC: one slow piano line.
0:12. A woman in her sixties stops, then crouches. The dog's ears go up.
0:18. Her living room: the dog asleep with its head in her lap. SUPER: Pickle, 9. Adopted October 4.
ANNCR (V.O.): Pickle waited forty-one days.
0:22. End card: shelter logo. SUPER: Adoption fees waived for dogs 7 and older, all October · aldershelter.example
V.O.: All October, adopting a dog seven or older is free. Alder County Animal Shelter.
Eighteen seconds of story with no voice, then 18 words: a fact about this dog and the offer. The offer gets the last eight seconds, enough for 14 words at two a second and a beat of quiet on the logo. The ears going up is the turn; a narrator explaining it would weaken it. That's show, don't tell on a 30-second clock.
30-second social ad: talking head
The cheapest :30 to make is one person talking to a phone camera. It works when that person is the business.
0:00. Rosa holds up a pair of jeans dragging on the floor. Caption: Your jeans are 3 inches too long.
ROSA: Your jeans are three inches too long.
0:03. She pins a customer's hem. Caption: Hemmed by tomorrow.
ROSA: I'm Rosa. At Mendwell we hem jeans in a day and keep the original hem, so they still look like they came that way.
0:13. The sewing machine in close-up, then a before-and-after split. Caption: Drop off by noon · $15 a pair.
ROSA: Drop them off before noon, pick them up tomorrow after four. Fifteen dollars a pair.
0:21. Rosa at the counter. Caption: Mendwell Alterations · 41 Pike St · Tue–Sat.
ROSA: Bring the ones you've been rolling up. I'll be here.
At 56 words this is the busiest script on the page. That works for one person talking to camera, who can speak at a conversational pace because there's little else to watch. The first line names the viewer's problem, the business and the founder arrive by 0:05, and the offer is specific enough to act on (by noon, after four, $15).
Cutdowns to :15 and :06
Campaigns often need shorter versions. Keep the hook, the turn and the brand; cut the middle. As of November 2026, Google's bumper ads run five to six seconds and can't be skipped, which makes a :06 worth writing on purpose.
| Version | What it keeps | Voice |
|---|---|---|
| Version:30 | What it keepsThe whole story: kennel, visitors passing, the woman, the living room, the offer | Voice18 words |
| Version:15 | What it keepsKennel 14 (4 seconds), the ears going up (4), the end card with the offer (7) | Voice“All October, adopting a dog seven or older is free. Alder County Animal Shelter.” 14 words |
| Version:06 | What it keepsThe ears going up (3 seconds), then the end card (3) | Voice“Older dogs adopt free in October.” 6 words, or none and a SUPER |
Tips for a tight :30
- One idea per spot. A :30 has room for one claim and one proof. A second message competes with the first for the same seconds.
- Spend the first three seconds on the hook. A sound, an image or a line the audience didn't expect. The logo can wait; the reason to keep watching can't.
- Put numbers where they can be read. On TV and social, prices and addresses go on screen. On radio, say them the way they'll be spoken and say the important one twice.
- Write the end card as a beat. Brand, line and where to go, with a second of quiet so it lands. It's part of the 30, not an extra.
- Translate, don't paste. The coffee spot uses 30 words on TV, 48 on radio and 33 on social. Same idea, different math.
For a :30 with a :60 and cutdowns in one approval document, use the commercial script template; for a two-column script of any length, the video script template.
Frequently asked questions
What is the format of a 30-second TV script?
A common layout is two columns, picture on the left and sound on the right, with a time on every row so each line of voice-over sits beside the shot it plays over. On-screen text, such as prices and legal lines, is marked SUPER. Radio scripts are usually one column with a cue label on each line.
How do you turn a 30-second ad into a 15-second ad?
Keep the hook, the turn and the brand, and cut the middle: the second proof, the extra feature, the scene that sets up the scene. Rewrite the voice-over for the new length rather than speeding it up. A six-second version usually keeps one image and the end card.
Do social media ads have to be 30 seconds?
No. On TV and radio, 30 seconds is a slot you buy; online it's a length you choose. As of November 2026, TikTok accepts in-feed video ads of up to ten minutes, and YouTube lets viewers skip a skippable in-stream ad after five seconds. Whatever the length, name the brand early and make the ad work with the sound off.
