This 60-second Jeep commercial is a perfect example of story structure.
In the space of SIXTY SECONDS, whoever wrote and edited this commercial completely demonstrated the Three-Act Structure.
The first act has our main character, Doggo, living his best life with Woman. Jogging, going for drives, hanging his head out the FRONT window–the life every dog dreams. of.
At 15 seconds, the end of Act One, Woman meets Man. Doggo is sidelined. At 23 seconds in (close enough to the 22.5 second First Pinch Point), Woman goes for a drive, WITHOUT DOGGO. Just Man.
As Doggo watches from the window.
Devastating.
The mid-point “this changes everything” moment (at thirty seconds — half way through the commercial), Doggo is back in the car, but now he’s relegated to the back seat. Man has supplanted him in Woman’s heart.
BAD news for Doggo.
The second pinch point would be midway between 30 and 45 seconds. And at 38 seconds, Woman and Man stop for a woman pushing a baby in a pram. He sees them look at each other and smile. A baby would drop Doggo further down the pecking order. He might NEVER get to go for rides again.
It’s the worst possible news for Doggo.
So Doggo takes matters into its own…paws.
Frames Man. Woman dumps Man.
Doggo is back in the front seat again.
It’s a masterclass in writing and editing.
