As we know, an elevator pitch is a super-short explanation of an idea, a business, or a person which is designed to create further interest. Over at the Idea Sandbox blog, Paul Williams shares how the intros to television shows have mastered the elevator pitch. (Brilliant. Just bloody brilliant! A must-read post!!!)
Paul cites numerous examples from Star Trek to My Name is Earl to Bosom Buddies which all support his TV Intro as Elevator Pitch idea. Paul also highlights how the intro to every A-Team episode is a well-crafted elevator pitch. Notice how this intro quickly explains the premise of the show and compels us to watch further to see what happens.
A-Team intro:
"In 1972 a crack commando unit was sent to prison by a military court for a crime they didn't commit. These men promptly escaped from a maximum security stockade to the Los Angeles underground. Today, still wanted by the government, they survive as soldiers of fortune. If you have a problem. If no one else can help. And if you can find them. Maybe you can hire... The A-Team."
RSS Readers ... click here to view the video.
Come to think of it, the TV intros Paul highlights fall into the MADE TO STICK sweet spot of being Simple Unexpected Concrete Credentialed Emotional Stories.
I hope Chip & Dan Heath, the authors of MADE TO STICK, pick up on Paul’s bloody brilliant insight of how TV show intros are made to stick elevator pitches. Good stuff.
We have an interesting controversy brewing on our site with a lively dialog regarding Clear Channel removing a billboard advertisement we had placed. We are interested in your opinion if you can find the time to visit: www.msco.com/blog/mark-stevens-vs-warren-buffet
Thanks,
Chris Kieff, Editor Unconventional Thinking
Posted by: Chris Kieff | January 31, 2007 at 09:35 AM
This is priceless. The above comment from Chris is so off-topic — wrong message at the wrong time at the wrong place. What makes this truly priceless is Chris works at MSCO and the president of MSCO wrote a book called, YOUR MARKETING SUCKS. Guess what Chris, your marketing sucks. Spam is spam no matter how you flavor it. Dig?
Posted by: johnmoore (from Brand Autopsy) | January 31, 2007 at 12:07 PM
Thanks for sharing, John. Growing up as an diehard fan of the A-Team, I can recite the intro on-cue, verbatim. Sometimes we make business topics too complicated and forget the simplicity in the message.
As an aside, I love the way you handled Chris' comment. What's great about blogging is that it allows us to join the conversation. It's not about creating a bigger megaphone. I don't mean to take the message away from the original topic but I hope you don't mind if I direct my colleagues to this comments section to serve as what NOT to do when posting (Disclosure: I work at a digital marketing consultancy).
Back to the topic at hand: I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the He-Man intro as another awesome model to craft your "elevator pitch" after.
He-Man.org comprehensively examines every He-Man intro ever (and I do mean EVER) as a marketing piece. You should check it out.
Posted by: Johnny Chan | January 31, 2007 at 03:42 PM
Johnny ... I also called Chris by phone and talked to him about his off-topic comment. Yep, I picked up the phone and engaged in a voice-to-voice conversation.
During our chat, Chris commented how I was practicing "extreme marketing" by picking up the phone to call him direct.
Funny ... isn't it ... that talking to someone on the phone can be considered an extreme form of marketing.
I replied back to Chris than an even more extreme form of marketing, that is sure to get my attention, is to send me a fax. The times we live in...
Posted by: johnmoore (from Brand Autopsy) | January 31, 2007 at 05:20 PM
Wow. It is funny...but it's a lot more disappointing than it is funny.
You know, I ran a quick search for Chris and this last week he's posted the same message (he uses a quote) on two blogs signing off with his contact info. Same story: wrong place, wrong time, wrong message, and he doesn't join the conversation. So this type of blog marketing is okay but voice-to-voice conversations is "extreme"? Come on, Chris.
Since we're obviously creating buzz words here, here's a new term I just created for this type of marketing: The "Wham, Bam, Thank You Ma'am" approach to blog marketing. And frankly, I'm left a bit unsatisfied...
This isn't to roast Chris. The irony is, as often happens in real life, I'd surmise that a simple apology would probably have cleared the air.
On a personal note, meeting you through this dialogue is what's great about blogs. I found your site through Steve Rubel's and just through this conversation, I can already tell that I like your style.
Keep it up, John.
Posted by: Johnny Chan | January 31, 2007 at 06:43 PM
After Googling myself and finding this post high in the list I thought I should add a postscript.
Yes I did post comments on several blogs inviting visits and comments to Unconventional Thinking. And as I told John in our phone conversation, I was surprised that any of the comments were posted live.
I always read every comment we receive before it is posted. And we have received a few contacts that were intended as private conversations, not public postings, via the blog comments. I didn't realize that it was considered bad form when I did it.
So as I had explained to John on the phone, I choose comments as a private way to contact the blogger and invite comment on our blog, fully expecting my comments never to see the light of day. I also apologized for the ignorant breech of netiquette.
Johnny Chan, my method sucked due to my ignorance. I'm sorry I didn't apologize to you personally, I'll do so now: I'm sorry that my post was inappropriate Johnny. I've not done it since and I'll never do it again.
However, I did apologize to John Moore at the time and I asked to take my comment down.
Posted by: Chris Kieff | March 21, 2007 at 06:16 PM