Nobody wants to be sold to anymore
The paradox of the commercial voiceover today
There’s been a noticeable shift in advertising over the last few years.
Not just visually. Sonically too.
When people think of “commercial voiceover”, a certain sound usually comes to mind. A big, booming “advertising voice” that used to dominate TV and radio commercials has quietly stepped aside for something far more subtle: conversation, honesty, warmth and restraint.
Because the truth is — nobody really wants to be sold to anymore. We all want to feel like we made the purchase decision ourselves, not that we were told to buy.
Audiences are sharp. We know when we’re being pushed towards something. We can hear when a performance feels overly polished, overly performed or just slightly too “on”. And in a world where we’re all constantly filtering information, people tend to switch off the moment something sounds insincere.
That’s why modern commercial voiceover has become much more about trust than performance.
Take, for example, the way social media ads slip into your feed and talk to you like a friend. That’s no accident.
Oh, and have you noticed they’re filmed vertically too? A bit like a video call from a friend.
Tricksy.
As a commercial voiceover artist, I increasingly read briefs and receive direction like:
“Can it feel really natural?”
“Not like an announcer.”
“Conversational.”
“Like you’re talking to someone you know.”
To a non-VO, this probably sounds incredibly easy. Surely you just “talk naturally” and that’s that.
In reality, that kind of read is often far harder to do well than the big and bold reads of yestertelly.
Because sounding natural on a script that’s been rewritten twelve times by marketing, legal and creative teams is a skill in itself.
The best commercial voiceover often doesn’t sound like voiceover at all. I live for these, they make me sit up and take notice and I can’t wait to talk about them with my VO students..
It sounds like someone who understands the audience. Who is the audience. Someone who knows when to hold back. Someone who understands that tone, pacing and intention matter just as much as the words on the page.
In fact, when I coach voiceover artists, I often get them to think about what would actually convince them to buy the product or service, and then approach the read from there.
I bring a lot of brand awareness into my coaching too, because understanding the brand we’re voicing — and ourselves as brands — helps us find the truth in a read.
And truth is usually what audiences respond to.
None of this “conversational, low key, understated” talk means the energy disappears from advertising. Far from it. But audiences tend to respond more to authenticity with an energy that underpins the whole “journey” of the VO.
The brands that feel human are the brands people remember. They feel a connection. They can’t help it if all the elements are doing what they should.
And from a creative perspective, that’s where voiceover becomes really interesting.
A small shift in delivery can completely change how a campaign feels:
• warm instead of corporate
• confident instead of pushy
• playful instead of forced
• grounded instead of performative
That’s the craft of it.
As a voice actor, a lot of my work sits in those subtleties. Finding the rhythm in a script. Understanding who we’re actually speaking to. Knowing when a line needs a smile behind it — and when it needs what one of my students calls “zero Fs given”.
It’s also why I spend time playing with character, musicality, accents and conversational texture outside of commercial sessions too. Exploration sharpens instinct. And instinct is often what makes a read feel believable.
Because ultimately, people rarely connect with perfection.
They connect with something that sounds real.
And in commercial voiceover, that’s become the most valuable commodity of all.
Clare Reeves has been a professional Voiceover Artist for the last 16 years, has studied Brand and coaches new and more established VOs.. with Brand at the heart of her work – yours and theirs.
