A political radio ad script is the most constrained piece of writing in a campaign. Thirty seconds is roughly seventy five spoken words. The disclaimer takes some of those. The candidate name has to appear at least twice. And whatever argument you are making has to survive being heard once, by someone driving, who was not paying attention when it started. This guide covers the structure that works, how to write to the clock, where the disclaimer goes, and the mistakes that make campaigns re-record spots they have already paid for.
The structure that works
Almost every effective political audio spot follows the same five part shape. It is not a formula for its own sake; it is the order in which a distracted listener can actually absorb information.
1. The hook, three to five seconds. Open with the problem, not with a greeting. Rent went up again. The school roof is still leaking. Nobody has fixed the bridge. A listener decides in the first couple of seconds whether this concerns them, and a spot that opens with a candidate name they do not recognise has already lost.
2. The turn, five to eight seconds. Introduce the person or the idea that answers the problem. This is where the candidate name lands for the first time, attached to the solution rather than floating on its own.
3. The evidence, eight to twelve seconds. One specific, checkable thing. A record, a plan, an endorsement, a number. Not three things. One. The listener will remember at most one, and if you give them three they will remember none.
4. The ask, three to five seconds. A single action. Vote on this date. Visit this address. Call this number. Never two.
5. The disclaimer. Legally required, and it has to be clearly audible. Write around it rather than squeezing it in afterwards.
Writing to the clock
Spoken English runs at roughly one hundred and fifty to one hundred and sixty words per minute for a natural, unhurried read. Political copy read faster than that sounds like a pharmaceutical warning, which is the exact tone you do not want.
| Length | Total words | Words after a five second disclaimer | Best used for |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15 seconds | about 38 | about 25 | Get out the vote reminders, deadline spots |
| 30 seconds | about 75 | about 62 | Issue spots, contrast spots, the workhorse length |
| 60 seconds | about 150 | about 137 | Introduction spots, testimonials, ballot measure explainers |
Write the script, read it aloud with a stopwatch at a normal pace, and cut until it fits with two seconds to spare. Never write to the exact limit, because the moment a voice actor adds a natural pause the spot runs long and something has to be cut in the session, which is always the wrong thing.
Where the disclaimer goes
Disclaimer requirements vary by jurisdiction, by office, by sponsor and by whether the spot mentions a candidate or a ballot measure. Your compliance counsel decides what the language has to say, and that is genuinely not a production question. What production can control is whether the disclaimer is actually audible.
Three practical rules. First, put the disclaimer at the end rather than the start, unless the rules in your jurisdiction say otherwise; a spot that opens with legal language loses the listener before the hook. Second, do not compress it under music at the last second. If the requirement is that it be clearly audible, then bury it and you risk the whole spot being rejected. Third, budget the seconds. Count the disclaimer words into the total before you write anything else, because discovering it at the session means cutting your evidence line.
Casting the read
Casting is the single largest driver of whether a political spot sounds credible, and it is where campaigns most often economise wrongly. A polished national announcer voice reading a county commission spot sounds like an advertisement. A voice that sounds like it lives in the district sounds like a neighbour.
- Candidate voice for introduction spots. A candidate who can read naturally should read their own introduction. It is more credible than any professional narration, even if it is slightly less polished.
- Professional narration for contrast spots. Contrast read by the candidate sounds petty. Read by a neutral third party it sounds factual.
- Real people for testimonials. A real nurse or firefighter, imperfections included, beats an actor imitating one every time.
- Match the region. Accent and pace matter. A New England read in a Gulf Coast district is noticed immediately.
- Native Spanish for Spanish spots. Translated copy delivered by a non native speaker is worse than not running in Spanish at all.
Example structures
These are structures rather than finished copy, since the specifics have to come from your race and your compliance review.
Introduction, sixty seconds. Hook on a local problem the candidate has personal experience of. Candidate introduces themselves in their own voice. One sentence of biography that explains why they understand the problem. One concrete commitment. Ask. Disclaimer.
Issue spot, thirty seconds. Hook on the issue in plain language. Name the candidate as the person addressing it. One specific, sourced piece of evidence. Ask. Disclaimer.
Contrast spot, thirty seconds. Hook on the consequence voters are feeling. State the opponent record with an attributable source. State the alternative. Ask. Disclaimer.
Get out the vote, fifteen seconds. Deadline. Location or method. Candidate name. Disclaimer. Nothing else fits and nothing else is needed.
Mistakes that force a re-record
Writing forty words too long. The most common problem by a distance. Cut before the session, not during it.
Listing priorities. Five priorities in thirty seconds communicates nothing. One priority, five times across the flight, communicates one thing well.
Unsourced claims. Every factual claim in a contrast spot needs an attributable source, both for legal reasons and because platform ad review will look at it.
Two calls to action. Vote and donate and visit the website is three spots, not one.
Ignoring ad review. Political spots are reviewed before they run. A script that arrives the evening before the flight starts is a scheduling risk, not a rapid response strategy.
Writing for the eye. Subordinate clauses, statistics with decimal places and long organisation names all read fine on paper and collapse when spoken.
Frequently asked questions
How many words is a thirty second political radio ad?
About seventy five in total at a natural pace, which leaves roughly sixty after a short disclaimer. Write to sixty and you will land comfortably inside the clock.
Should the candidate voice the spot?
For introduction spots, usually yes, if they can read naturally. For contrast spots, usually no, because it sounds better coming from a neutral voice.
Where should the disclaimer sit?
Normally at the end, clearly audible and not buried under music. What it has to say is a legal question for your counsel, and the requirements differ by jurisdiction and office.
Can we reuse the same script across several races?
Yes, and committees and consulting firms do this constantly. One script architecture with per race names, districts and tags, produced as a batch so everything sounds consistent.
Do you write scripts or only produce them?
Both. Send finished copy for casting and production, or send the polling memo and the stump speech and we will write it. We also cut copy that is running long, which is most of what arrives.
Need a script written, cut to the clock and produced? Start with the political ads overview, the page for candidates or for campaign managers and consultants, and see our guide to political campaign ads.