Commercial Television - Auditions
Commercial auditions are different than film or television auditions, with the goal of the commercial actor being to aid in the selling of a specific product. The etiquette is the same as with most auditions; show up fifteen to thirty minutes before your scheduled time and be professional. When entering commercial auditions don’t touch anything and do as you are instructed. Don’t bring food, candy or gum into the audition. A small bottle of water is fine. Don’t make yourself a distraction when others are auditioning and remain quiet until it is your turn.
The most important thing to remember when going on commercial auditions is that you are selling something. You may be playing a character that needs to seem natural, so the viewer buys-in to the advertisement. The actor is the advertiser’s vehicle to sell the product. In this way the commercial actor becomes a theatrical salesman.
In commercial auditions there are two main kinds of performances depending on the type of commercial and product being sold. The two types are the character performance and the salesman performance. The salesman performance is for a commercial that has the subject talk directly to the camera like a Mom telling the camera how absorbent Bounty Paper Towels are. The character performance is where the subjects in the commercial are seen through the camera as subjects, like three guys going into a bar to drink Miller Lite. The character performers usually don't look at the camera while the salesman performers do look directly at the camera. Depending on the commercial audition, you may have to perform both styles. Just try to be yourself when auditioning. Advertisers want to see actors that portray real people because it is real people that will ultimately be buying their product.