Eight sample radio commercial scripts covering the industries that buy the most local airtime — with the standard script format, exact word counts for 15, 30 and 60-second spots, and production notes written the way voice talent expects to read them.
Every script below follows the same four-part structure. It exists because radio is a background medium — the listener is driving, cooking or working, and you get one pass with no rewind.
A question, a number or a problem stated out loud. It has to earn the next four seconds. Never open with the business name; nobody is listening yet.
One specific thing. Not three. A spot that advertises a sale, a new location and extended hours communicates none of them.
Years in business, a guarantee, a price, a named neighbourhood. This is the line that separates a real business from a generic one.
One action, with the business name repeated. Phone numbers get said twice; web addresses get said slowly. This is the only line that must survive a distracted listener.
Anything the voice talent should not read aloud goes in square brackets or capitals — [MUSIC: upbeat bed, fade under at :03], [SFX: car door], (warm, unhurried). Put the client name, spot length and air dates at the top of the sheet. If you are handing the script to a station, that header is what their traffic department files it by.
Radio copy is read at roughly 150 words per minute — slower than conversation, because emphasis needs air. These are the counts every script on this page is written to.
| Spot length | Word count | What actually fits |
|---|---|---|
| 15 seconds | 35–45 words | One offer, one call to action. No proof line, no second idea. |
| 30 seconds | 70–90 words | The full four-part structure. The workhorse length for local radio. |
| 60 seconds | 150–180 words | Room for a scene, a testimonial or two voices. Easy to pad — cut hard. |
Read it aloud with a timer before you record. A script that scans perfectly on the page routinely runs three seconds long once you add the pauses that make it sound human. If it overruns, cut adjectives before you cut the call to action.
Free to copy and rewrite. Swap the bracketed placeholders for your own business name, offer and contact details — these are frameworks, not finished copy, and they work best when the specifics are genuinely yours.
The highest-spending category on local radio. Urgency plus a number beats adjectives every time.
Food advertising works on sensory detail, not on the word “delicious”. Name one dish.
A deadline is the whole ad. If there is no deadline, invent a real one before you write.
Sell the emergency, not the equipment. Nobody books a furnace tune-up because of a brand name.
Sellers respond to market data; buyers respond to reassurance. Pick one audience per spot.
Fitness advertising fails when it sounds like a lecture. Undercut the cliche instead.
Healthcare copy sells the removal of dread. Keep every claim checkable.
The long form earns its length only if something happens in it. Two voices create motion.
A script is half the job. Once the copy is right, paste it into the radio ad generator — pick one of 65+ professional AI voices, drop a music bed underneath, and download the mixed 15, 30 or 60-second spot as MP3 or WAV with a commercial license included. No studio booking, no voice talent fee.
Writing for a presenter rather than an advertiser? Free DJ radio scripts covers show links, weather breaks and station IDs. For a sung brand signature rather than spoken copy, see the radio jingle creator.
Roughly 70 to 90 words. Radio copy is read at about 150 words per minute, so a 15-second spot is 35 to 45 words, a 30-second spot is 70 to 90 words, and a 60-second spot is 150 to 180 words. Always read your script aloud with a timer before recording — a script that looks right on the page often runs long once you add pauses for emphasis.
A radio ad script has four labelled parts: the hook (one line that stops the listener), the problem or offer, the proof or detail, and the call to action with the business name repeated. Production notes for music and sound effects go in brackets or capitals so the voice talent does not read them aloud, and the client name, spot length and air dates sit at the top of the page.
At least three times in a 30-second spot, and always in the final line. Radio is a background medium — most listeners catch only part of any given ad, so repetition is what makes the name stick. Put it in the hook, once in the body, and again in the call to action alongside the phone number, web address or location.
Yes. Every template on this page is free to copy, edit and run as your own commercial — swap in your business name, offer and contact details. They are written as starting frameworks rather than finished copy, so expect to rewrite the specifics for your market.
Paste your finished script into the AI JingleMaker radio ad generator, pick one of 65+ professional AI voices, add a music bed, and download the mixed spot as MP3 or WAV with a commercial license included. That removes the studio booking and voice talent fee that normally sit between a written script and an on-air ad.
A radio ad script is spoken advertising copy — it sells a specific offer and usually runs 15, 30 or 60 seconds. A jingle is a short sung or musical brand signature, typically 5 to 30 seconds, built to be memorable rather than to carry detail. Many spots use both: a jingle to open and close, with scripted voiceover in between.