A lot of local television commercials try very hard to be funny and end up falling flat on their faces. If you must go for something a bit goofy, it is best to hire actors who are legitimately humorous. There are multiple directions you can go with a comedic commercial. One popular commercial idea that can be seen often on television is the crazy customer coming up with lots of demands while the employee answers everything with ease. The reason this idea is so popular is because it portrays your store as a group of experts able to deal with even the most unruly customers. Often local commercials try to portray themselves as insane with "insane deals!" This just makes the store look strange and it should be avoided.
If your store has a good history of service with your customers, you can enlist your customers help with the commercial. Your customers can tell stories about receiving great service as your store. Ask your best customers if they would be interested in being on camera. Some should be interested and prompted to be as natural as possible on camera. Have it framed with a narrator or the owner saying, "why do people keep coming back to (blank) hardware?" This commercial serves several purposes. If any friends of the testimonial speakers see the commercial, they will pay extra special attention to your store's information. Testimonials also help your store appear more trustworthy.
One of the major advantages a small hardware store has over a larger chain store is customer service. Create a commercial that plays on how big and sparse corporate hardware stores are. For example, a customer can become lost in a giant warehouse of a hardware store without finding what he needs or anyone to help him. He finally ends up coming to your hardware store and is helped right away by the intimate customer service. This will appeal to customers who have ever felt like they weren't attended to in a big corporate store.
If you have a special deal or promotion coming up, you can base your commercial around it. For instance, if the holiday season is coming up, and you have a special on Christmas lights and tree stands, mentioning the deal and showing a family enjoying the items can go a long way. Even promoting a deal that makes you stand out from other stores, such as a lower price, will be enough to get the word out.
One of the ways to truly emphasize the small-town feel of a local hardware store is to have someone tell stories about the crazy things that have happened there in the past. The owner narrates a tale about someone doing something offbeat in the store or when the store ended up doing an extremely exciting and charitable thing. Telling a few stories and following them up with the store information will help to show the community that your store is honest, interesting and local.