The Creativity in Advertising Con

Part of a creative campaign that resonated with players in the golf industry

There’s a lot of talk in the advertising business about the value of creativity. I see hundreds of campaigns that are funny. Campaigns that are memorable. Campaigns that are cute. Campaigns that tug at your heartstrings and campaigns that entertain you. That does not mean that any of the campaigns make any money for the clients. Although they may win awards, critical acclaim in the advertising press and inclusion on a list of the greatest, funniest, most clever or best ads ever. I always remember that acronym used by the great David Ogilvy INCUS.

It’s not creative unless it sells!

As we saw in my recent article on big agencies far too many campaigns use sex, shock value, humor, celebrity spokespersons or puppets to gain the attention they need yet fail to provide the end-user with a single benefit or motivation to buy the product in question.

Campaigns should be out-of-the-box, should cut through the clutter, but they must have some connection to the product they’re trying to sell. It must arouse emotion, provide a benefit or reason for action, and motivate the viewer, reader or listener to do something. That’s something should not be to laugh and move on to the next funny ad.

How do you achieve the state of Nirvana where you grab their attention, connect with their emotions, and…