[Please note: I’m only allowed to share the scripts of these spots and can’t identify the client’s location.]
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Lonnie’s customers describe their experiences at other vehicle repair shops, including franchises and dealerships, as a source of frustration. “How do I know whether the price is fair and the repairs are necessary! I’m not a mechanic,” the customers say. They appreciate the fact that at Lonnie’s, they’re always taken back to the service bay, shown the actual problem, and given an understandable explanation of what’s wrong. The creative conjures up a scenario to which the audience can relate, and contrasts Lonnie’s as a better alternative. Separate versions feature a female adult with a car and a male adult with a truck.
:60 “Charge Me Whatever (Female/Car)”
MUSIC UNDER: “Merry-Go-Round Music: Over the Waves ‘Calliope’”
VO: FEMALE, 40s, NERVOUS
You take your car in for service, and you feel like you’re wearing a sign that says, “I don’t know a thing about car repair, so charge me whatever for whatever.” And the guy behind the counter says, “What seems to be the problem?” And you say it sounds like a dying dinosaur under the hood.
SFX: POWER STEERING BELT SQUEAL
And you give him the key and sit in the waiting room for what feels like forever, and he comes back out and mumbles in mechanicspeak, and you smile because what else can you do when you don’t have a clue. And you wish you knew what he was talking about. And he says, “That’ll be five-sixty-two ninety-seven including parts and labor,” and you say, “Go ahead.”
VO: MALE, 40s, MATTER OF FACT/EARNEST
At Lonnie’s, that’s not how we do things. We take you to the service bay and show you the problem, explain what it means, and tell you what it’ll take to fix it.
And then our certified mechanics take care of it.
Come to Lonnie’s. One-thirteenth and Mason Road. Call us at XXX-XXX-XXXX. At Lonnie’s, we fix your car, not your wallet.
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:60 “Charge Me Whatever (Male/Truck)”
MUSIC UNDER: “Entry Of The Gladiators” – Julius Fucik (minus the fanfare at the beginning)
VO: MALE, 40s, NERVOUS
If being a guy means you’re supposed to know everything about trucks, like you were born with a wrench in your hand, well, that’s not the way it works. I take my truck in for service, and I feel like I’m wearing a sign that says, “I don’t know a thing about truck repair, so charge me whatever for whatever.”
SFX: POWER STEERING BELT SQUEAL
I hand over the keys and read a two-year-old magazine until the mechanic comes out and mumbles in mechanicspeak, and I’m smiling because hey, I’m a guy, and we’re supposed to know everything about trucks, right? And I wish I knew what he was talking about. And he says, “That’ll be nine forty-three sixty-eight including parts and labor,” and I say, “Go ahead.”
VO: MALE, 40s, MATTER OF FACT/EARNEST
At Lonnie’s, that’s not how we do things. We take you to the service bay and show you the problem, explain what it means, and tell you what it’ll take to fix it.
And then our certified mechanics take care of it.
Come to Lonnie’s. One-thirteenth and Mason Road. Call us at XXX-XXX-XXXX. At Lonnie’s, we fix your car, not your wallet.
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Customers often come in to Lonnie’s and try to imitate the sounds their cars and trucks make when they need repair. Lonnie’s created the Squealometer from a set of recordings of common vehicle malfunctions and a player front end with speakers. Customers can pick out their vehicles’ funny noises from the line-up of audio suspects. If the sound’s not in the Squealometer, a Lonnie’s mechanic takes the vehicle out for a road test with the customer to listen for the sound, and can use a portable recorder to capture it for addition to the Squealometer. Two versions use nearly identical scripts with a female narrator (car) and male narrator (truck).
:60 “Squealometer (Female/Car)”
MUSIC UNDER: Game-show-style theme music
VO: FEMALE, 40s, NERVOUS
My car started making that noise today. [MAKES NOISE] You know that noise? The one it’s not supposed to make? [MAKES ANOTHER NOISE] The one you imitate when you take it in for service? Except no matter how hard you try, you never sound the same as that noise. [MAKES YET ANOTHER NOISE] I don’t know what it means, so what else can I do except try to imitate it?
SFX: POWER STEERING BELT SQUEAL
VO: MALE, 40s, MATTER OF FACT/EARNEST
At Lonnie’s, our exclusive Squealometer plays recordings of those sounds you imitate when you bring in your car for service. That one’s your power steering belt.
SFX: DYING BATTERY
VO: MALE, 40s, MATTER OF FACT/EARNEST
And that’s your battery.
VO: MALE, 40s, MATTER OF FACT/EARNEST
Play the Squealometer till you hear the right sound. And if you don’t hear it, don’t worry. We’ll figure it out and tell you what it means.
And then our certified mechanics will take care of it.
Come to Lonnie’s. One-thirteenth and Mason Road. Call us at XXX-XXX-XXXX. At Lonnie’s, we fix your car, not your wallet.
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:60 “Squealometer (Male/Truck)”
MUSIC UNDER: Game-show-style theme music
VO: MALE, 40s, NERVOUS
My truck started making that noise today. [MAKES NOISE] You know that noise? The one it’s not supposed to make? [MAKES ANOTHER NOISE] The one you imitate when you take it in for service? Except no matter how hard you try, you never sound the same as that noise. [MAKES YET ANOTHER NOISE] I don’t know what it means, so what else can I do except try to imitate it?
SFX: POWER STEERING BELT SQUEAL
VO: MALE, 40s, MATTER OF FACT/EARNEST
At Lonnie’s, our exclusive Squealometer plays recordings of those sounds you imitate when you bring in your truck for service. That one’s your power steering belt.
SFX: DYING BATTERY
VO: MALE, 40s, MATTER OF FACT/EARNEST
And that’s your battery.
VO: MALE, 40s, MATTER OF FACT/EARNEST
Come in and play the Squealometer till you hear the right sound. And if you don’t hear it, don’t worry. We’ll figure it out and tell you what it means.
And then our certified mechanics will take care of it.
Come to Lonnie’s. One-thirteenth and Mason Road. Call us at XXX-XXX-XXXX. At Lonnie’s, we fix your car, not your wallet.