I’ve been doing voice over since the stone ages, if you count 1995 as prehistory. So I’ve seen the industry change quite a bit.
Nothing brought that point home harder than what I found when cleaning out one of our little-used closets. In a box with some old photos and a few used notebooks were two pieces of paper.
These were no ordinary sheets of vellum. They were windows into a long-forgotten time where things were a little slower, ad agencies were a little more thoughtful, and the business was a little more genteel.
It was a letter from an ad agency that was sent to agents nationwide as they looked for the new voice of Nissan.
I’ve redacted the personal info.
Now, just look at the length of this thing. By today’s standards, it’s a book. The writer takes eight(!) paragraphs to describe what they’re looking for in terms of their new voice. These days we call these qualities “the specs.”
Basically, they want everything. A male voice who is not too old or young, not too loud or gravelly, maybe famous maybe not, one who can enunciate but who is also natural, a voice with character but isn’t funny or comedic.
These are specs put together by committee, as are most decisions made on large (and small) accounts at agencies.
But as we all know, most specs today are a little more simple. Here’s an example:
These specs are actually pretty long and detailed. I’ve also gotten one- or two-word specs like, “Friendly.” or “Not announcery.”
Now obviously, the bigger the account, the more likely the specs are going to be very detailed. The writer of the letter was obviously dealing with a huge client who was ready to spend millions on the right voice talent.
The second set of specs was for a little-known brand, but one in a heavy hitting industry: big pharma. So it’s not like they weren’t going to be spending some serious coin.
I was also struck by the politeness of the letter. The intro is great. “…it is a pleasure to invite you to participate in exploring voice talent options…”
And I also love this near the end: “Please provide me your finest selections…” as if the producer is ordering wine in an award-winning fine dining establishment.
I’m struck by how the letter almost takes the position that the agency was in partnership with the talent agency as they all look together for the next voice of Nissan. There’s no us-vs-them mentality here like there can be today.
It’s just an interesting illustration of how things used to be vs. how they are now.
