Commercial voice over sells. That is why it is important. The sales value of this method of advertising is why people consistently reap benefits from it.
Anyone that does not believe that commercial voice over works needs to consider the Dos Equis commercials. The character that you see visually is not interesting at all and is hardly the most interesting man in the world.
The man is old, wears shabby clothing, and has a bottle tan that makes him look orange. The ads have sold more beer than any other ad campaign because of what the voice tells you about the man. The technique has been so effective that people are actually tweeting about who the next most interesting man in the world will be.
These are the things that the ad has going for it that you need to incorporate into your ads to produce a response. The response is buying your product.
Gravitas
The voice behind the man is serious, smart, and charming. The voice is a counterpoint to the ridiculous idea that the man is interesting at all. The seriousness of the voice conveys humor and engages the viewer instantly.
Real credibility is created
The viewer knows that the man in the beer ad is just an actor. The voice content produces a superior level of credibility that compels the viewer to suspend reality in favor of accepting the presentation as true. Credibility is a key in selling.
The tone is sincere
The voice behind the less than interesting man is absolutely sincere. The tone and the mental image of the person that owns the voice convey a level of trust in what he is saying even though the visual images tell the viewer exactly the opposite is true. The sincerity of the voice is used to promote the sincerity of the product and its makers.
You get an irresistible feeling
Selling requires an emotional response. The voice in the ads invokes the emotions perfectly. The viewer is compelled to believe that they will be interesting if and only if they drink the beer. The point of the voice is to create an emotional desire that makes the hearer want that whatever that may be.
Immediate empathy is established with the audience
The voice along with the visual in the ad creates empathy in the viewing audience. Who does not want to be interesting? What man does not want to be exceedingly wealthy? What man does not want to be surrounded by beautiful women? The viewer knows that the dream is a dream but the appeal to the desire is established by the man that says you can have all of that.
The viewer gets to laugh
Most salespeople understand the use of humor in making a sale. Laughter puts a potential buyer in a frame of mind to say yes to your sales pitch. The voice in the ad creates a feeling of real humor by saying the opposite of what the viewer sees. This is subtle humor that works.
The power of the ridiculous means memorable
The ads are memorable because of the incredibly ridiculous claims that the announcer makes about the most interesting man in the world. The creation of a memory in the viewer’s mind is enhanced by the humor of the phrases and the gravitas with which they are delivered. The whole idea is to make a memory that lasts in a beer drinker’s mind so that the next time they buy beer they think of your brand first.
Covey quality
Despite the incongruity of the audio and video, the ads convey a sense of the quality of the product in a very unique away. That sense of quality creates a buying decision.
A subtle sales pitch
The ads do not ask you to buy the beer. They make you want to buy the beer. The difference is very powerful.