How To Advertise: An Analysis of Contemporary Advertising (part 33)

Creative Strategy and the Creative Process 

(part D)

by

Charles Lamson

The Artist Role: Developing and Implementing the Big Idea

The next step in the creative process (continued from last post), playing the Artist's role, is both the toughest and the longest. But it is also the most rewarding. The Artist must actually accomplish two major tasks: searching for the big idea and then implementing it.

Task 1: Develop the Big Idea

The first task for Artists is the long, tedious process of reviewing all the pertinent information they gathered when they played the Explorer role, analyzing the problem, and searching for a key verbal or visual concept to communicate what needs to be said. It means creating a mental picture of the ad or commercial before any copy is written or artwork begun.

This step (also called visualization or conceptualization) is the most important in creating the advertisement. It is where the search for the big idea---that flash of insight---takes place. The big idea is a bold, creative initiative that builds on the strategy, joins the product benefit with consumer desire in a fresh, involving way, brings the subject to life, and makes the audience stop, look, and listen.

What is the difference between a strategy and a big idea? A strategy describes the direction the message should take. A big idea gives it life. For example, a creative brief for a Taylor Guitar campaign contains a strategic brand character statement:

Taylor Guitars---handcrafted from the finest materials to give the sweetest sound.

They could have used that strategy statement as a headline. But it would have been desperately dull for an ad aimed at musicians. It lacks what a big idea headline delivers: a set of multiple meanings that create interest, memorability, and, in some cases, drama. Note the long, provocative, slightly poetic, and very witty headline that Taylor Guitars chose to convey the same strategic concept:

In one pair of hands, a piece of wood can become a living room coffee table.

In another pair of hands, that piece of wood can become the sweetest-sounding guitar.

This is for everyone who has no desire to play the coffee table.

While strategy requires deduction, a big idea requires inspiration. The big idea in advertising is almost invariably expressed through a combination of art and copy. Most ads use a specific word or phrase to connect the text to the visual, like "wood" in the Taylor Guitar ad. Think what this ad would look like without the beautiful photograph of the trees in the background, with just the headline and body copy on an otherwise bare page. It would have saved a lot of money. But it would have greatly reduced the boom factor and lost a lot more money due to low readership.

Transforming a Concept: Do Something to It

Creative ideas come from manipulating and transforming resources. When we take on the Artist role, we have to do something to the materials we collected as Explorers to give them value. That means asking lots of questions: What if I added this? Or took that away? Or looked at it backward? Or compared it with something else? The Artist has to change patterns and experiment with various approaches.

Vitro and Robertson had two concepts to begin with: "guitar" and "music." Looking at the guitar, they noted it was made of wood---special wood. So "wood" became a third concept. Thinking about wood led them to "trees." Interesting notion. But now they had to figure out how to turn these four concepts into a "big idea."

At this point in the creative process, a good Artist may employ a variety of strategies for transforming things. Here are several techniques for manipulating ideas:

1. Adapt. Change contexts. Think what else the product might be besides the obvious. A Campbell's Soup ad showed a steaming bowl of tomato soup with a bold headline underneath: "HEALTH INSURANCE."
2. Imagine. Ask what if. Let your imagination fly. What if people could do their chores in their sleep? What if animals drank in saloons? Clyde's Bar in Georgetown actually used that idea. The ad showed a beautifully illustrated elephant and donkey dressed in business suits and seated at a table toasting one another. The headline: "Clyde's. The People's Choice."
3. Reverse. Look at it backward. Sometimes the opposite of what is expected has great impact and memorability. A cosmetics company ran an ad for its moisturizing cream under the line: "Introduce your husband to a younger woman." A vintage Volkswagon ad used "Ugly is only skin deep."
4. Connect. Join two unrelated ideas together. Ask yourself: What ideas can I connect to my concept? A target ad showed the rear view of a high fashion-type model clad only with a backpack and a lampshade---the latter wrapped around her middle like a miniskirt. Next to the Target logo the ad said simply "fashion and housewares." To get people to send for its catalog, Royal Caribbean Cruises ran an ad that showed the catalog cover under the simple headline "Sail by Mail."
5. Compare. Take one idea and use it to describe another. Ever notice how bankers talk like plumbers? "Flood the market, laundered money, liquid assets, cash flow, take a bath, float a loan." The English language is awash in metaphors because they help people understand. Jack in the Box advertised its onion rings by picturing them on a billboard and inviting motorists to "Drive through for a ring job." An elegant magazine ad for Parker Premier fountain pen used this sterling metaphor: "It's wrought from pure silver and writes like pure silk."
6. Eliminate. Subtract something, or break the rules. In advertising, there is little virtue in doing things the way they have always been done. Seven-Up became famous by advertising what it was not ("the Uncola") and thereby positioned itself as a refreshing alternative. To introduce its new models one year, Volkswagon used a series of humorous teaser ads that did not show any cars. In one, a shaggy dog sat patiently in front of a fan. He was presumably replicating what dogs do in cars, sticking their heads out the window to catch the breeze. The only difference was he was doing it indoors.
7. Parody. Fool around. Have some fun. Tell some jokes---especially when you are under pressure. There is a close relationship between the ha-ha experience of humor and the aha! experience of creative discovery. Humor stretches our thinking and, used in good taste, makes for some great advertising. A classical radio station ran a newspaper ad: "Handel with care." And speaking of classics, Fila USA  got a rave review from Advertising Age for its "bizarre, absolutely hillarious, and totally cool" spot of a praying mantis racing up a leaf stem in Fila sneakers to escape his murderous mate.

Task 2: Implement the Big Idea

Once the creatives latch onto the big idea, they have to focus on how to implement it. When Vitro and Robertson suddenly thought "trees" and connected that idea to "guitars" and "music," they then had to translate that concept into a tangible ad. This is where the real art of advertising comes in---writing the exact words, designing the precise layout. To have a sense of how advertising creatives do that, we need to understand what art is in advertising, how artistic elements and tools are selected and used, and the difference between good art and bad art.

In advertising, art shapes the message into a complete communication that appeals to the senses as well as the mind. So while art direction refers to the act or process of managing the visual presentation of the commercial or ad, the term art actually refers to the whole presentation---visual, verbal, and aural. For example, the artful selection of words not only communicates information but also stimulates positive feelings for the product. An artfully designed typeface not only makes reading easier, it also evokes a mood. By creatively arranging format elements---surrounding the text with lines, boxes, and colors, and relating them to one another in proportion---the art director can further enhance the ad's message. Art also shapes the style of photography and illustration. An intimate style uses soft focus and close views, a documentary style features unusual angles or blurred action images.

In short, if copy is the verbal language of an ad, art is the body language. TV uses both sight and sound to involve viewers. Radio commercials use sound to create word pictures in the minds of listeners. The particular blend of writing, visuals, and sounds makes up an ad's expressive character. So while the quality may vary, every ad uses art.

In advertising, balance, proportion, and movement are guides for uniting words, images, type, sounds, and colors into a single communication so they relate to and enhance each other.


The Creative Pyramid: A Guide to Formulating Copy and Art

Depending on the product category and the situation, the creative pyramid is a model that can help the creative team convert the advertising strategy and the big idea into the actual physical ad or commercial. Based on the cognitive theory of how people learn new information, it uses a simple five-step structure (see Exhibit 1).

Exhibit 1

The creative pyramid offers a simple guide for establishing copywriting objectives.

The purpose of much advertising copy and design is to either persuade prospective customers to take some action to satisfy a need or want to remind them to take the action again. In a new-product situation, people may first need to be made aware of the problem or, if the problem is obvious, that a solution exists. For a frequently purchased product, the advertiser simply has to remind people of the solution close to the purchase occasion. In either case, the advertiser's first job is to get the prospect's attention. The second step is to stimulate the prospect's interest---in either the message or the product itself. Next, it is important, especially for new products to build credibility for the product claims. Then the ad can focus on generating desire and finally on stimulating action. These five elements should be addressed in just about every ad or commercial. We will deal with each step briefly.

Attention

An ad or commercial is a stimulus. It must break through consumers' physiological screens to create the kind of attention that leads to perception. Attention, therefore, is the first objective of any ad and the fundamental building block in the creative pyramid. The Artist may spend as much time and energy figuring out how to express the big idea in an interesting, attention-getting way as searching for the big idea itself.

The attention step is critically important to triggering the ad's boom factor. Print ads often use the headline as the major attention-getting device. The copywriter's goal is to write a headline that expresses the big idea with verve. Usually designed to appear in the largest and boldest type in the ad, the headline is often the strongest focal point conceptually as well as visually. Many other devices also help gain attention. In print media, they may include dynamic visuals, unusual layout, vibrant color, or dominant ad size. In electronic media, they may include special sound effects, music, animation, or unusual visual techniques.

Some factors are beyond the creatives' control. The budget may determine the size of the ad or length of the commercial. And that may influence how well or quickly it penetrates consumers' screens. Similarly, a TV spot's position in a cluster of commercials between shows or an ad's position in a publication may determine who sees it.

The attention-getting device should create drama, power, impact, and intensity. It must also be appropriate, relating to the product, the tone of the ad, and the needs or interest of the intended audience. This is especially true in business-to-business advertising, where rational appeals and fact-based thinking dominate.

Headlines that promise something but fail to deliver in a credible manner will not make a sale. Ads that use racy headlines or nude figures unrelated to the product often lose sales because prospects cannot purchase the item that first attracted their attention.

Interest

The second step in the creative pyramid, interest, is also extremely important. It carries the prospective customer---now paying attention---to the body of the ad. The ad must keep the prospect excited or involved as the information becomes more detailed. To do this, the copywriter may answer a question asked in the attention step or add facts that relate to the headline. To maintain audience interest, the tone and language should be compatible with the target market's attitude. As we discussed in an earlier post, the successful ad resonates.

The writer and designer must lead prospects from one step to the next. Research shows that people read what interests them and ignore what does not, so the writer must maintain prospects' interests at all times. One way to do so is to talk about their problems, their needs, and how the product or service will answer them. Copywriters use the word you a lot.

There are many effective ways to stimulate interest: a dramatic situation, a story, cartoons, charts. In radio copywriters use sound effects or catchy dialogue. Television frequently uses quick cuts to maintain interest.

Credibility

The third step in the creative pyramid is to establish credibility for the product or service. Customers today are sophisticated and skeptical. They want claims to be backed up by facts. Comparison ads can build credibility, but they must be relevant to customers' needs---and fair.

Well-known presenters may lend credibility to commercials. 

Advertisers often show independent test results to substantiate product claims. To work, such "proofs" must be valid, not just statistical manipulation. Advertisers and agencies must remember that many consumers have extensive product knowledge, even in specialized areas.

Desire

In the desire step, the writer encourages prospects to picture themselves enjoying the benefits of the product or service. Essentially, they are invited to visualize.

In print ads, copywriters initiate visualization by using phrases like "Picture yourself" or "Imagine." In TV, the main character pulls a sparkling clean T-shirt from the washer, smiles, and says "Yeah!" In radio, the announcer says, "You'll look your best."

The desire step hints at the possibilities and lets the consumer's mind take over. If prospects feel they are being led by the news, they may feel insulted, resent the ad, and lose interest in the product. In some cases, writers maintain this delicate balance by having a secondary character agree with the main character and prattle off a few more product benefits. 

In print advertising, the desire step is one of the most difficult to write (which may be why some copywriters omit it). In TV, the desire step can simply show the implied consumer experiencing the benefit of the product. Ever notice how cosmetics advertisers almost invariably show the happy life that awaits their product's user?

Action

The final step up the creative pyramid is action. The purpose is to motivate people to do something---send in a coupon, call the number on the screen, visit the store---or at least to agree with the advertiser.

This block of the pyramid reaches the smallest audience but those with the most to gain from the product's utility. So the last step is often the easiest. If the copy is clear about what readers need to do and asks or even nudges them to act, chances are they will.

The call to action may be explicit---"Call for more information"---or implicit---"Fly the friendly skies." Designers cue customers to take action by placing dotted lines around coupons to suggest cutting and by highlighting the company's telephone number with large type or a bright color.

With today's technology, it is important to not only ask people to act but facilitate their action, through either a toll-free phone number or an attractive Web site. In relationship marketing, the ad basically enables people to select themselves as being interested in a relationship. Then the market can use more efficient one-on-one media to develop the relationship.

*SOURCE: CONTEMPORARY ADVERTISING 11TH ED., 2008, WILLIAM F. ARENS, MICHAEL F. WEIGOLD, CHRISTIAN ARENS, PGS. 384-392*

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