![The template open in Strokes: the title “Commercial script: [Brand], ‘[Spot title]’”, then a details table for Product, Versions, Runs on and Flight and a “Creative brief” box.](/_next/image?url=%2F_next%2Fstatic%2Fmedia%2Fhero-light.64acb3d9.webp&w=3840&q=75)
![The template open in Strokes: the title “Commercial script: [Brand], ‘[Spot title]’”, then a details table for Product, Versions, Runs on and Flight and a “Creative brief” box.](/_next/image?url=%2F_next%2Fstatic%2Fmedia%2Fhero-dark.9bc4d32d.webp&w=3840&q=75)
When to use it
- TV and streaming spots that run at :30, with a :60 and a :15 cut from the same idea
- Radio ads, read by an announcer or produced with voices, music and sound effects
- Pre-roll and social video ads, where the brand has to land before the skip button
- Local ads read live by a host from a script and a fact sheet
- Spec spots for a copywriting portfolio
How to use this template
The template holds one spot at two lengths, its radio version and its cutdowns, so the whole family gets approved from one document. Delete what you don't need. If the job is a single two-column script with no brief around it, the A/V script template is lighter.
- Write the one thing and the mandatories first
The strategy lines decide what the spot is for before anyone argues about the joke. "The one thing" works like a logline: one sentence, or you have two spots. Then list the mandatories, because they spend your seconds before you write a word. A two-second logo, a legal line and a price can take four or five seconds of a :30.
- Budget the seconds, then the words
Most voice-over reads run about 130 to 160 words a minute, so a :30 read straight through holds 65 to 80 words and a :60 about 130 to 160. A TV spot should carry fewer, roughly two words per second of talking, because the picture does half the work and the end card needs quiet. The timing plan does this arithmetic beat by beat.
- Write the main length first, then build the others
Start with whichever length carries the media budget. Turning a :30 into a :60 means adding a story beat or a second proof, not slowing the read. Turning a :60 into a :30 means keeping the hook, the product line and the tag, and cutting the middle. The cutdowns table says what each shorter version keeps.
- Read it aloud with a stopwatch
Read it three times at the pace the voice talent will use and write down the middle time. Then copy every SUPER, claim and legal line into the on-screen text table word for word, so the client, the lawyer and the editor all approve the same text.
Example: one radio spot at :60 and :30
Radio shows the cutting most clearly, because every word is heard. The bike shop, its offer and the phone number are invented. Numbers from 555-0100 to 555-0199 are reserved for fictional use.
SFX: A bike chain rattling. A squeak on every turn of the pedals.
DAD: Hear that?
KID: The squeak?
DAD: It started in August. I named it Gerald.
KID: Why Gerald?
DAD: Because it never stops talking.
SFX: Squeak. Squeak. Squeak.
ANNCR: If your bike has a Gerald, bring it to Halvorsen Bike Works. All November, a full tune-up is forty-nine dollars. We adjust the brakes, tune the gears, clean and oil the chain, true the wheels and check the tires. Drop it off in the morning and most bikes are ready the next day.
KID: Will Gerald be there?
ANNCR: Gerald will not be there.
SFX: Pedals turning. A quiet, smooth tick.
ANNCR: Halvorsen Bike Works, two-twelve Mill Street. Tune-ups are forty-nine dollars through November thirtieth. Call five five five, oh one four two. That's five five five, oh one four two.
DAD: (quietly) I kind of miss him.
SFX: Chain rattling. A squeak on every turn.
DAD: It started in August. I named it Gerald.
ANNCR: If your bike has a Gerald, bring it to Halvorsen Bike Works. All November, a full tune-up is forty-nine dollars: brakes, gears, chain and wheels, ready the next day.
SFX: A quiet, smooth tick.
ANNCR: Halvorsen Bike Works, two-twelve Mill Street. Call five five five, oh one four two.
DAD: I kind of miss him.
| Beat | :60 | :30 |
|---|---|---|
| BeatHook | :60Five lines of dialogue set up Gerald | :30One line names him |
| BeatOffer | :60Price, five services, drop-off timing | :30Price, four services in a list, next day |
| BeatTag | :60Address, end date, phone number twice | :30Address, phone number once |
| BeatButton | :60“I kind of miss him.” | :30Kept, because it pays off the hook |
| BeatSpoken words | :60115 | :3056 |
At a relaxed 130 words a minute, the :60 is about 53 seconds of talking and the :30 about 26, which leaves room for the squeaks, the tick and the pause before the last line. The :30 says the phone number once. If calls matter more than the joke, shorten the list of services and say the number twice.
Timing rules that hold up
- Time the read to 0:28, not 0:30. A read that lands on exactly 30 seconds leaves no room for the music to finish, the logo to settle or the talent to breathe. The same goes for 0:57 on a :60.
- Get the name in early online. Viewers can skip a YouTube in-stream ad after five seconds, and a bumper ad lasts six at most. A version that saves the brand for the end card is one many viewers skip before they learn whose ad it was.
- Write numbers the way they should be said. In a radio script that means "two-twelve Mill Street" and "forty-nine dollars." On TV, put the exact figure in a SUPER, where the viewer can read it.
- Count the legal line in the budget. Regulators such as the FTC expect disclosures to be clear and conspicuous, and a two-line disclaimer flashed for one second is neither. Agree the wording and how long it stays up with whoever clears the ad.
- Keep one idea per spot. A :30 has room for one claim and one proof. If the brief lists three messages, it is three spots. Set the tone of voice in the strategy lines so all three sound like the same brand.
TV, radio and online: what changes
| Medium | Layout | Usual lengths | Watch for |
|---|---|---|---|
| MediumTV and streaming | LayoutTwo columns: video and audio | Usual lengths:15, :30, :60 | Watch forBroadcasters review spots before air, so leave time for clearance |
| MediumRadio | LayoutOne column, cue labels on the left: ANNCR, SFX, MUSIC | Usual lengths:60 is the most common. Also :30, :15, :10 | Watch forNo pictures: say the name, the address and the number |
| MediumOnline video | LayoutTwo columns, with on-screen text planned | Usual lengths:06 bumpers, :15, :30 | Watch forSkippable after five seconds. Put the facts on screen for viewers with the sound off |
Frequently asked questions
How many words fit in a 30- or 60-second commercial?
Read straight through at the 130 to 160 words a minute most voice-over reads run, a :30 holds about 65 to 80 words and a :60 about 130 to 160. TV spots usually carry fewer, around 50 to 60 for a :30 and 100 to 120 for a :60, because pictures, music and the end card take time. Read the script aloud with a stopwatch before you trust any count.
What is the difference between a TV and a radio commercial script?
A TV script has two columns, so each line of audio sits beside the picture it plays over. A radio script has one column with a cue on the left of every line: ANNCR for the announcer, character names for voices, SFX for sound effects and MUSIC for the score. With no pictures, the radio script has to say everything the listener needs, including the name and where to go.
What do ANNCR, SUPER, V.O. and button mean?
ANNCR is the announcer. SUPER is text superimposed on the picture, such as a price or a disclaimer. V.O. is voice-over, a voice heard over the picture. The end card is the closing frame with the logo, and the button is a short final beat after the tag, often a last joke line or a music sting.
Should I write the 30 or the 60 first?
Write the length that carries most of the media budget. Often that is the :30, with the :60 adding a story beat or a second proof and the :15 keeping only the hook, the product line and the tag. Save the long draft before you cut, because the short version often wants a line back.
