Have you seen it yet? The new Sky Atlantic ad with Dustin Hoffman? I honestly think it’s one of the best ads I’ve ever seen. Not because they bagged a big-name movie star, but because the experience he describes is spot on. This is the script…

Stories.
We all spend our lives telling them.
About this, about that, about people.
But some, some stories are so good, we wish they’d never end.
They’re so gripping that we’ll go without sleep just to see a little bit more.
Some stories bring us laughter and sometimes they’ll bring us tears.
But isn’t that what a great story does? Makes you feel?
Stories that are so powerful, they really are with us forever.

It’s not just that this ad describes my perfect viewing experience. It inspires me. It makes me want to write, to tell my own stories. This is an advert written by a writer, for the viewer, but it’s also a beautifully written pep talk for us, the writers of the world. And I stand in awe.