A lot. And if you’ve heard the way Timothy Spall says the name Wickes in the company’s latest TV commercials – you’ll know what I mean.
In a past life I had to direct scores of voice-overs – mainly for business-to-business or business-to-employee videos and presentations. I trotted up and down to London studios to record voice artistes who could earn in an hour what I earned in a week.
I’d written the scripts in most cases, and soon learned what worked and what didn’t from the talented beings who read my words. Most of them were well-known stage and screen actors who were either resting or paying their bar bills. It must have been trying for them to be squeezed into a booth and bleated at by some upstart when a few days before they were the toast of Theatreland or relaxing between takes.
I have to say though, they rarely showed any irritation. Mind you, they were good actors – which gets me back to Timothy Spall. I’m not sure if by the time you read this post the Wickes TV ads will still be running, but if they are, listen carefully to the way he says Wickes at the end. Somehow he manages to invest that simple little name with a host of meanings and associations.
First off – he pitches it as the only possible recourse for anyone wondering where they’re going to get everything they need to construct a great bathroom or kitchen or whatever. But it’s more than that. The word Wickes, when interpreted by Mr Spall, also expresses something like: Of course! It’s obvious! Why on earth didn’t I think of them before?
And we’re not just talking about subtleties of meaning; the natural warmth of his friendly-uncle-voice seems to shine a beam of golden sunlight into the gloomy mega-sheds of the DIY universe – and that’s reassuring for people with a morbid fear of grout.
You probably know that we copywriters spend a deal of time arguing and fretting about tone of voice. This is because, regardless of whether words are taken into the brain through ears or eyes, they can entice or repel your punter in an instant.
They say job applicants are judged in the first 15 seconds of an interview. In marketing communication you don’t get that long and, unlike an interview panel, nobody has any obligation to stick around and feign interest. The lesson is clear – get the voice right and you’re at least halfway there.
With effusive apologies to the brilliant Frank Carson, the way you tell ‘em really does make the difference.