♪ ♪
- Hi, I'm Danny.
- And I'm Alan from "Third String Kicker"
and this is pitch versus pitch.
♪ ♪
- Now we're about to have a client walk in
and he's gonna give us a challenge for a pitch for his product.
- Oh boy.
- Okay. I'm a little stuck.
We're gonna have to split up and brainstorm
and pitch and present it to them.
We open up on a sweeping wide shot.
- He comes up with a brilliant idea.
And this client is going to pick whoever he thinks is the best pitch.
And that person wins.
- So buckle your belts for a pitch parade.
- That's right. Make sure you like and subscribe to StudioBinder
and push the bell icon for notification.
- Good afternoon, gents.
- Hi.
- I'm Bill Watterson your client.
Your commercial challenge is this.
Supercharged motor oil.
And whomever delivers the best pitch
to make a commercial for that product wins.
But there's a catch.
I don't want to see any vehicles of any kind.
No vehicles whatsoever.
Any questions?
- Tough. Welcome to the real world, gents.
- Well, this is pretty daunting.
I don't even know what motor oil does.
- Yes, we've got a lot of work to do.
So we're going to split off and start our brainstorming.
And may the best pitcher pitched their pitch.
- He said pitch a lot.
- Pitch!
♪ ♪
- Okay. So what do I know about motor oil?
The answer is nothing.
There are a lot of different ways
that you can brainstorm an idea.
I mean you can actually brainstorm
all the different ways to brainstorm.
- Now, first thing you got to do is understand the value proposition of the product.
For example, Skittles are tasty.
"- My doctor says I have Skittles pox.
- Are they contagious? - I don't think so.
- Contract the rainbow. Taste the rainbow."
You can't pitch something if you don't know what it does.
So I asked myself what does motor oil do
and I've actually gone to Wikipedia and looked it up.
Ohh, oh!
It's a lubricant.
- One great tool is free association.
Just whatever is in your head write it down.
I mean you can list all the different scenarios
that pop in your head.
And then now you have a starting point.
- Lubrication is used in erotic activity.
A commercial about sex and motor oil
sounds horrible.
- I know that...
Oh, I know that you can't just throw it away in like grass and stuff
because it can pollute the water.
I know that because in Oklahoma
we used to do that all the time growing up.
Maybe cut that part out.
So after that, you pulled everything that you know from your head
the next great tool is research.
Go on the internet. Read a magazine.
Watch a movie. Watch a TV show.
There's so much information out there.
Just read, read, read.
- You can use oil in lawnmowers, chainsaws.
Okay, chainsaw.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, okay.
- Having limitations like today can actually help you in the creative process.
I mean restrictions can make you start thinking outside of the box.
We're going to get a little zany with our ideas,
but I think you're going to get the point.
- That masked chainsawed guys, you know, he's got a chainsaw.
He's in a creepy bar and he's about to chainsaw this scared guy.
Suddenly, the chainsaw just grinds to a halt.
The mask guy tries pulling the cord a couple of times
that just makes his harsh grinding noises.
You know, he puts up his finger.
He says, hold on give me a second.
The potential victim, you know, looks around
sort of confused.
And then the mask chainsaw guy
takes a can of Supercharged motor oil and pours it into the chainsaw
and then he gives the cord a rip
and it starts up.
And it's actually sounds better than ever.
And then he just continues on,
chainsawing the guy in the barn.
Just really hacking up his body
behind a hay bale because you know,
we want this to be tasteful.
I feel good about that one.
Yeah, that could work.
- Okay. I came with this idea.
I wrote it down.
So we have pollution.
Some reason makes me think of environmentalist,
so makes me think of hippies.
So let's say we got this big burly mechanic
in this campsite.
And he's got this big tan full of oil.
And he is about to dump it
when suddenly this hippie floats in on a magic carpet.
And he's like, whoa, man
better not dump that poison into Mother Earth, man.
And the mechanics are like
who cares about the environment your hippie?
No, man.
This aggression will not stand.
And sparks fly everywhere
and they get into the forest and burns everything down.
God, why did I go dark?
Oh, boy.
- If you get stuck
think about this product, what is it do competitively better
than other similar types of product?
So if I don't have a car...
- I don't want to see any vehicles of any kind.
What is a situation
where I need a little bit extra power?
I need a little bit extra something.
"- Extra power. - Extra life.
- Extra power. - Extra life.
- Extra power."
Also trying a product can be a great way to open up ideas in your mind.
I got a sample of the supercharged motor oil,
so I used it and I figured out exactly what it does.
Kind of.
When you're pitching storyboards are a great way to visualize your idea.
I mean here at StudioBinder they have a great storyboard program that you can use.
Visualizing will definitely help you pitch.
Okay, after talking to the mechanic...
Is there anything you can use motor oil for
that's not for a vehicle?
I came up with something.
So here goes nothing.
All right.
I call it "The constipated man."
We have a shot here of our hero
holding a stomach in pain
because he is backed up.
I mean, it is glacier slow in there.
And to make matters worse,
he's got a hot bumble date on Saturday.
And he really, really doesn't want to miss it.
So we show him
and he's trying all the different products.
He's guzzled everything he can get in.
It's the 11th hour.
He's got to do something.
And then he remembers his grandpa
taught him all about motor oil
and how it made engines run smoothly and regularly and...
Bing!
A light bulb goes off in his head.
Supercharged motor oil.
I'll drink it.
Bottoms up.
And it's disgusting.
Oh, oh, oh.
And then suddenly things start to happen.
The Supercharged motor oil is doing its job.
It's in his guts and it starts moving things.
Life's good.
Then his organs begin to fail.
Eventually, he dies.
And so then we have the Supercharged logo pop up that says
"To relieve constipation, Supercharged is NOT for you...
But to relieve your automobile, Supercharged is your brand!"
And there's a little disclaimer at the end of says
"Supercharged is for automobiles, not to be recommended to drink."
That's it.
- All right.
Here's my idea for Supercharged motor oil.
- Alan.
Deliver a pitch that we would actually make.
- Okay.
We open up on a sweeping wide shot of a strange mystical land.
In the distance, we see a young innocent girl
walking up a yellow brick road.
It's Dorothy.
She whispers to her dog.
I don't think we're in Kansas anymore, Toto.
"- I have a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore."
That's when she spots the Tin Man.
He's frozen in place, rusted and miserable.
Help me, he barely mumbles.
Don't worry I have just the thing for you.
And Dorothy pulls out a Supercharged can of motor oil from her picnic basket.
She pours it into the seams of the Tin Man
who suddenly springs to life.
The Tin Man becomes incredibly limber
and he's doing ridiculously high leg kicks.
Dorothy skips down the yellow brick road
with a tin man liquid dancing beside her.
Their silhouettes go off in the distance
as we get a close-up shot of Supercharged motor oil.
With a voiceover saying,
Supercharged. We keep you moving.
- Danny.
Well, that was a disaster.
In every way.
I'm not really sure what you were thinking.
- The constipated man.
- Or how that helps the product?
- Bottoms Up. Oh, oh, oh.
- You would have to be crazy to
think that would land.
Or ever get produced.
Or even be worth putting down on paper.
- But Alan
I love what you did.
Very ambitious, very creative.
You took advantage of the challenge
yet still let the product do what it does.
Great work. - Yeah.
- Well, that kind of went as I expected. Really?
- Yeah. I bet you thought it was good idea.
- Well, it was funny and it was definitely memorable.
But you know, I didn't, you know,
think about the value proposition parts.
- The value proposition.
- And the value proposition.
- And the value proposition of your product.
- So let us know what you thought was the best pitch?
And what you would do if you had to pitch something,
what would be your idea?
Let us know in the comments down below.
- And the next time that your guys are coming up with a pitch
StudioBinder has some great screenwriting software
and storyboarding tools to help you craft your next perfect pitch.
And it's free to get started. - Yeah.
- Pitch!
- Don't put your pores in the veins of Mother Earth.
Don't produce, like a real, like Pete Seeger type song.
Don't butcher bird.
We should get him. Pete Seeger.
- It doesn't sound anything like Pete Seeger, and he's dead.
- Pete Seeger is dead?
Hmm.
What about Bob Dylan? Is he alive?