A man, his puppy, a night of drinking—and a writing lesson

I love it when media consultant Al Tomkins does his close reads of TV commercials for storytelling tips on Poynter.org. I don’t know why they always seem to be about Budweiser ads, but I like them all the same.

This time, Tompkins is looking at Bud’s minute-long viral video “Friends Are Waiting,” which has more than 13.5 million views on YouTube. It’s an anti-drunk-driving spot, with the relationship between a young man and his dog at the center of it.

Tompkins shows how the video quickly unfolds the story of the man and puppy falling in love—”In just nine seconds, the story builds the relationship,” he writes—which sets up the context for the dog, now grown, anxiously waiting for his “friend,” who has gone out drinking with friends and stayed out all night.

“We can learn so much about news writing from watching, listening to and reading great stories of all kinds,” Tompkins writes.

Short stories like commercials are especially useful models to study because they are short, like most news stories. This spot never wastes my time, builds emotions and connections quickly, makes a clear solid point and leads to a resolution. We don’t know the dog’s name or the man’s name because we didn’t need to. The production is subtle and never competes with the message. The natural sound punctuates the story. Seemingly small things like lighting are not small.

In a news story, or a sports story, you’re probably going to need the names of the leading “characters.” But the lesson is to focus on the details that are essential, and keep your story moving forward, while offering telling details. In this case, for example, the dog both playfully running away with his leash but also gently comforting the man when he’s sick gives shape to their relationship. The dog perking up at headlights shining through the window, then sadly lowering his head again when they pass shows how anxious he is as he waits.

With the possible exception of an artful shot of the dog playing with a chew toy in a beam of light, there’s nothing in the video that couldn’t have been conveyed in text. And I bet you could make me see that chew toy moment if you really worked at it.