Creative Advertising

CREATIVITY IN ADVERTISING

EXECUTIVE SUMMARYEXECUTIVE SUMMARY

“THE CAT IS ON THE MAT,” is not the story. “THE CAT IS ON THE DOG’S MAT,” now that’s the

story.

Advetising is both art and science. The science of advertising is the

analyititcal part that we have been looking at up yo this point: setting

goals, deciding strategy, choosing among different creativity styles. Some

people call this step convergent thinking because the process is to distill

lots of information into the core advertising strategy.

What is it that adds sparkle and life to a well-planned and implemented

advertising campaign? It’s th ‘ah’ factor: that brilliantly simple,but inspired

creative edge.

In Advertising the world is flat. Agencies are structured on a linear basis.

Campaigns are created in linear formats. There are all kinds of rails and

fences and obstacles to keep creative thinking linear. Advertising is a big

business and ranks among the top industries in the world. The growth of

the top advertising industry in any country is in direct relation, its creative

senses and talents if the advertising professionals.

The word advertising is derived from the Latin word ‘adverto’, that means

“To turn towards”. Advertising leads to attention towards something i.e.

the advertising message, which is the purpose of advertising and the

objective of the advertising Creative Advertising starts with proper

creative planning. This includes the conceptualizing of basic ideas to

CHETANA’S H.S.COLLEGE OF COMMERCE AND ECONOMICS

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their final implementation. The ideas are visualized considering basic

human motives.

Advertising is nothing but selling ideas. Creative thinking is the sound

ground where one can reap a rich harvest of ideas.

The creative part of advertising is what comes before the potential

customers and it is here that the fate of the campaign and consequently of

the product being sold could be decided.

Objective of the Project:Creativity is something you cannot think of as ‘Let’s stop and be creative’. You need to think of “Creativity” as a discipline, just like

‘Organization’, ‘commitments to results’, or ‘responsibility’. This project

tells us the importance of Creativity in Advertising as creativity demands

abundance. The foundation of creativity is in individual, and so the

techniques and methods discussed in this project are just mere tools to

enhance and liberate one’s creative skills.

So don’t confuse the menu with mealIt is observed that “Far too many people are leading their lives lie they’re

driving their cars with brakes on” this projects will enable you to know how

your foot is taken off that brake pedal.

Research Methodology:The information is gathered from various sources like books, periodicals

and journals and sites.

Limitations:Creativity is a gift most of us desire, but only a few seem to have. Project

report debunks some of the myths surrounding creativity and then

carefully takes through the five I’s of the creative process. It also gives the

insight of future creativity and the tools that can be helped to help


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advertising professionals to enhance and enliven their work.The subject of

creativity in advertising is something of an enigma. Project shows how

creative director in an ad agency goes ‘under the skin of creative’ to use it

to greater effect in their work and in wider aspects of their lives.


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WHAT IS CREATIVITYWHAT IS CREATIVITY

There are many definitions of creativity. A number of them suggest that

creativity is the generation of imaginative new ideas (Newell and Shaw

1972), involving a radical newness innovation or solution to a problem,

and a radical reformulation of problems. Other definitions propose that a

creative solution can simply integrate existing knowledge in a different

way.

Definitions of Creativity

There are many definitions of creativity; dictionaries give the following

meanings:

Heritage Illustrated Dictionary:

create: To cause to exist, Bring into being, Originate, To give rise to, Bring

about, Produce, To be first to portray and give character to a role or part

(appropriate to creating fictional characters and writing stories) creation:

An original product of human invention or imagination.

Creative: characterized by originality and expressiveness, imaginative

Macquarie Dictionary (an Australian dictionary)

Create: to evolve from one's one thought or imagination to make by

investing with new character or functions.


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Create: author, bring into being, compose, conceive, parent, form, give

rise to, and throw together

Creative: generative, ground-breaking, innovative, originate, handmade

According to Boden (1998), there are three main types of creativity,

involving different ways of generating the novel ideas:

The “combinational” creativity that involves new combinations of

familiar ideas.

The “exploratory” creativity that involves the generation of new

ideas by the

Exploration of structured concepts.

The “transformational” creativity that involves the transformation of

some dimension of the structure, so that new structures can be

generated

Other related words re: creativity:

Creativity creativeness, formativeness, innovation, inventiveness,

originality, productivity, craftsmanship, authorship, creatorship

"Being creative is seeing the same thing as everybody else but thinking of

something different"

There are many aspects to creativity, but one definition would include the

ability to take existing objects and combine them in different ways for new

purposes. For example, Gutenberg took the wine press and the die/punch

and produced a printing press. Thus, a simple definition of creativity is the

action of combining previously uncombined elements. From art, music and

invention to household chores, this is part of the nature of being creative.


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Another way of looking at creativity is as playing with the way things are

interrelated. Creativity is the ability to generate novel and useful ideas and

solutions to everyday problems and challenges.

Creativity involves the translation of our unique gifts, talents and vision

into an external reality that is new and useful. We must keep in mind that

creativity takes place unavoidably inside our own personal, social, and

cultural boundaries.

The more we define our creativity by identifying with specific sets of

values, meanings, beliefs and symbols, the more our creativity will be

focused and limited; the more we define our creativity by focusing on how

values, meanings, beliefs and symbols are formed, the greater the chance

that our creativity will become less restricted.

In the creative process there are always two different (but interrelated)

dimensions or levels of dynamics with which one can create:

The system which may be a particular medium (e.g. oil painting or a

particular musical form), or a particular process (like a problem solving

agenda, or an approach to creativity like Synectics). The creative person

manipulates that means to a creative end. The second dimension is

described by the conceptual "content" which the medium describes.

Again, the creative person depicts changes, manipulates, and expresses

somehow the idea of that content.

There is no one definition of creativity that everyone can agree with.


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Creativity researchers, mostly from the field of psychology, usually claim

at being creative means being novel and appropriate. Subsumed under

the appropriateness criterion are qualities of fit, utility, and value.

At least three aspects of creativity have drawn much attention.

The creative process, receiving the most attention, focuses on the

mechanisms and phases involved as one partakes in a creative act.

A second aspect of creativity is the creative person. Here, personality

traits of creative people are central. The environmental atmosphere and

influence are concerns of a third aspect, the creative situation.

Lastly, the criteria or characteristics of creative products have been

sought. This area is of particular importance because it is the basis of any

performance assessment of real world creativity and may provide a

window on the other aspects of creativity.

Briefly stated, creativity is often thought to exist on at least five levels:

1. A higher level versus a lower level

2. Grand versus modest

3. Big "C" versus little c

4. Paradigm-shifting versus garden-variety

5. Eminent versus everyday

Some researchers claim other categories of creativity as well:

1. Expressive versus Productive

2. Expressive versus Inventive


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3. Expressive versus Innovative

4. Invention versus Discovery

5. Theory versus Invention versus Discovery

6. Accommodative versus Assimilative

7. Personal versus Public.

There are three general ways of achieving a creative solution:

Serendipity

Similarity

and meditation

Also, the mode of activity one is in when being creative differs. For

example, there is a distinction between real-time creativity and multistage

creativity. Real-time creativity is spur-of-the-moment, improvisational, and

demands output in a short interval of time; whereas in multistage

creativity, sufficient time is allowed for the generation and selection of

ideas. Creative thought can be divided into divergent and convergent

reasoning.

Divergent thinking is the intellectual ability to think of many original,

diverse, and elaborate ideas.

Convergent thinking: the intellectual ability to logically evaluate

critique and choose the best idea from a selection of ideas.

Both abilities are required for creative output. Divergent thinking is

essential to the novelty of creative products whereas convergent thinking

is fundamental to the appropriateness. To combine this variety of

definitions, we can say that creativity involves the generation of new ideas


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or the recombination of known elements into something new, providing

valuable solutions to a problem. It also involves motivation and emotion.

Creativity “is a fundamental feature of human intelligence in general. It is grounded in everyday capacities such as the association of

ideas, reminding, perception, analogical thinking, searching a structured

problem-space, and reflecting self-criticism. It involves not only a cognitive

dimension (the generation of new ideas) but also motivation and emotion,

and is closely linked to cultural context and personality factors.” (Boden

1998). Thus, any general definition of creativity must account for the

process of recognition or discovery of novel ideas and solutions and

hence most of the definition fall into one or more of these categories like

as an individual talent, as a process, as a product and last but not the

least as a recognition by others.

OBJECTIVES OF CREATIVITYMain objectives of a creative thinking process is to think beyond existing

boundaries, to awake curiosity, to break away from rational, conventional

ideas and formalized procedures, to rely on the imagination, the divergent,

the random and to consider multiple solutions and alternatives (Candy

1997, Schlange and Juttner 1997).

The result of the creative thinking process is especially important for

businesses. Managers and managerial decisions and actions, confronted

with fast-changing and ambiguous environments in business, need to

develop creative solutions and creative action-based strategies to solve

problems, as they allow to increase understanding of problematic

situations, to find multiple problems, to produce new combinations, to


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generate multiple solutions that are different from the past, to consider

possible alternatives in various situations that could occur in the future and

“to expand the opportunity horizon and competence base of firms” (dt

ogilvie 1998).

DESCRIPTION / STRUCTURE OF THE METHODOLOGY / ALTERNATIVE SOLUTIONSCreativity is not an innate quality of only a few selected people. Creativity

is present in everyone. It can be learned, practiced and developed by the

use of proven techniques which, enhancing and stimulating the creative

abilities, ideas and creative results, help people to move out of their

normal problem-

solving mode, to enable them to consider a wide range of alternatives and

to improve productivity and quality of work. “Creativity is thus constructed

as a learned ability that enables us to define new relationships between

concepts or events, which seemed apparently unconnected before, and

which results in a new entity of knowledge” (European Commission 1998).

Knowledge and information are the basis for creativity. There are

numerous creative techniques, which are also classified in many ways

(Higgins 1994). In general, a certain type of question or a certain area of

application (such as marketing, product or service development, strategic

and decision planning, design, quality management, etc.) often calls for a

certain type or a certain group of creativity techniques.

Fundamental concepts for all creative techniques are:

The suspension of premature judgement and the lack of filtering of

ideas.


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Use the intermediate impossible. Create analogies and metaphors,

through symbols, etc., by finding similarities between the situation, which

we wish to understand and another situation, which we already

understand.

Build imaginative and ideal situations (invent the ideal vision).

Find ways to make the ideal vision happen.

Relate things or ideas which were previously unrelated.

Generate multiple solutions to a problem.

Main points to increase or encourage creativity in a company are:

· To be happy, to have fun

· Keep channels of communication open

· Trust, failure accepted

· Contacts with external sources of information

· Independence, initiatives taken

· Support participatory decision-making and employees’ contribution

· Experiment with new ideas.

EXPECTED RESULTS / BENEFITSCreativity, through the generation of ideas with value, is needed in order to

solve concrete problems, ease the adaptation to change, optimize the

performance of the organization and best practice manufacturing, and

changes the attitude of the staff of the organization. Creative thought

processes are also important at all stages in the R&D process.

Some expected results of the creativity process are:

Innovation through new product and process

ideas

Continuous improvement of products or service


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Productivity increase

Efficiency

Rapidity

Flexibility

Quality of products or services

High performance

CHARACTERISTICS OF PROVIDERSThe implementation of creative techniques within work groups, requires

the assistance and advise of external consultants. One or two consultants,

experts in creative techniques, is normally enough to undertake the

implementation process in a company. His/hers job normally consists of

presenting the different techniques and their application method, defining

the problem to be studied for the participants, initiating and clarifying the

rules of the technique, gathering the necessary data and information to

approach the problem, stimulating the generation of ideas of participants,

and evaluating the ideas before proceeding to put them in practice.

Training of management staff by experts may also be very useful.

Management staff must be trained to stimulate creativity in employees, to

provide motivation, to facilitate a creative climate and to encourage the

use of creative techniques. Managers can also be trained to implement

creative techniques by themselves.


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APPLICATIONAPPLICATION

Creativity processes are used regularly by many private and public sector

organisations of all sorts in manufacturing, services, banking, or

construction companies. Big firms such as Xerox, AT&T, Frito-Lay, as well

as car manufacturing firms, software development firms, railroad

pharmaceutical firms etc., use creativity techniques to increase efficiency

and quality, especially in their research, strategic planning and marketing

departments.

Creativity techniques may be applied in almost any functional area of the

company: strategic planning, corporate business strategy, product

development, improvement of services, functional strategy, finance,

human resources, marketing, management of collection of information,

product design, software design, quality management, etc.

TYPES OF FIRMS / ORGANISATIONS CONCERNEDCreativity techniques can be implemented by all firms and public

organizations that confront with problem solving and focus on innovation

in processes, products or services.

In case where the implementation of creative techniques is focused on the

support of personal creativity, such as to support individual designers work

for new product development, or to support individual scientists work in

the laboratory, very small firms or a person can implement creative

techniques for individuals.


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In case where the company focus is to increase group creativity and to

create environments where a collaborating team works creatively together,

the firm must have at least 20 employees, including 3 members as

management staff.


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WHAT CREATIVITY MEANS IN ADVERTISINGWHAT CREATIVITY MEANS IN ADVERTISING

I once read a quote somewhere that said, "We do not separate

advertising from life."Creativity is a very subjective term. Who can really say what is creative,

for we all have different opinions on what we individually think is creative.

Some people believe creativity is an engrained concept that you are born

with it. Other people believe it is a talent that can be learned and taught.

I personally believe it is a little of both. The essential elements of creativity

are really imagination and inventiveness disciplined by routine skills. Your

imagination is something you are born with, it can be large and wild or it

can be small and constrained. Inventiveness is something that can be

disciplined, it can be taught and learned with practice and skill.

Put those two concepts together and anything is possible. In advertising,

agencies live and die by creative communications. Creativity is one of the

reasons clients justify advertising and their choice of agencies

So what exactly is creative in advertising? Some creative commercials are

effective, some effective ads are creative, and other ads are neither

creative nor effective. Creativity and effectiveness ultimately join in the

consumer’s minds rather than remain separate.

We must then ask, what is efficiency? Well, efficiency of an ad is

determined by the correct combination of its impact and retention. Impact

being the ability of an ad to attract attention and retention being the ability

of an ad to stay on viewers’ minds. We can thus say with certainty that an

advertisement needs to be creative to succeed. Its creativity needs to be


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effective in both its impact and retention. I found the quote at the

beginning of the page and thought it was just great. Although creativity in

advertising is an important factor, one must remember to not be creative

just for creative sake. The creativity must also be effective.

Successful creative strategies result from pinpointing an idea, a nuance,

an insight, or a nugget of information gleaned from research or sometime

from an intuitive understanding or quickness of human nature. The true

role of the strategy is to make that intuitive leap which defines the

relationship between the brand and its user.


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HOW CREATIVITY IS DIFFERENT FROMHOW CREATIVITY IS DIFFERENT FROM INNOVATIONINNOVATION

Creativity versus InnovationAs this is an advertising study on the subject of “Creativity” it is only right

there should be some advertising efforts to create greater understanding

on behalf of the subject “Creativity” itself. For many the word ‘creativity’

has what may be called a touchy –feely nature to it, not really suitable for

the hard world of business. Yet, mention the word ‘innovation’ and

suddenly the act of creating new ideas takes on a more credible

resonance in certain quarters, such as the business media and various

government-backed development agencies.

Professor Simon Majaro of Cranfield School of Management defines

innovation in this manner in his book Managing Ideas for Profit (Majaro,

1992): ‘Creativity is the thinking process that helps us generate ideas.

Innovation is the practical application of such ideas towards meeting the

organization’s objectives in a more effective way.’ But this means all ideas

are creative. In reality, many ideas will be rejected. Using the working

definition of creativity, it would recognize that, to be ‘creative’, the idea

must offer some form of added value.

Innovation can instead be defined as the ‘adoption, adaptation, or

implementation by a third party of someone’s creativity (ie an added value

product)’. When appraising a painting, one does not say: ‘artist is being

innovative.’ Should another artist adopt some element of this work , such

as its style, subject matter, materials or techniques used, then the original


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work can be said to be innovative; it has inspired the application of some

creative element of the original work by a third party.

Thus, creative thinking in a disciplined manner can play a real role in

innovation. “Creativity and innovation are normally complementary

activities, since creativity generates the basis of innovation, which, in its

development, raises difficulties that must be solved once again; with

creativity…It is not possible to conceive innovation without creative ideas,

as these are the starting point.” (European Commission 1998).Innovation

results when creativity occurs within the right organizational culture. The

right organizational culture is one that provides through creativity

processes (creative techniques) the possibilities for the development of

personal and group creativity skills. We can define creativity IMT as the

establishment of skills by implementing creativity generation techniques.


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BASICS OF CREATIVITYBASICS OF CREATIVITY

Creative Thinking Skills Can Be Learned!!

What can I do to Increase my creativity??The first task in becoming more creative is giving you permission to do

things creatively. The second is overcoming your personal blocks to

creativity. For some people, being creative involves trying not to be

embarrassed by their own ideas; for others, it is a matter of being aware

that things can be done in many different ways. Some people are self-

aware or confident enough to have fewer inhibitions and can just let their

creative natures work.

Surround yourself with people who love and support you and you will be

even more creative. Spend time meditating on your own worthiness,

reading about other creative people and creative solutions, concentrating

on the positive power of your own creative forces - these activities,

combined with a belief in your own intuition and creative abilities, will help

improve your confidence.

Action Steps

Here are a few additional things you can do to improve your creativity:

Study books on creative thinking techniques and put them into

practice

Attend courses on creative thinking and put the ideas into practice.


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Keep a daily journal and record your thoughts, ideas, sketches, etc.

as soon as you get them. Review your journal regularly and see

what ideas can be developed.

Indulge in relaxation activities and sports to give the mind a rest

and time for the subconscious to digest information.

Develop an interest in a variety of different things, preferably well

away from your normal sphere of work. For example, read comic

books or magazines you wouldn't normally get. This keeps the

brain busy with new things. It is a common trait of creative people

that they are interested in a wide variety of subjects.

Don't work too hard -you need time away from a problem to be

creative after periods of intense focus. It really helps to think of

creativity as a skill or set of skills. By practicing, one can get better

at using them. So whenever you have a chance try and do

mundane things in novel ways - it will make them more entertaining

and you will get more used to expressing your abilities.

Practicing at overcoming irrational inhibitions will also help to improve your

creativity. When you're at a standstill, and you witness somebody with a

vital and flowing creative force, it can be intimidating. The thing that's easy

to miss when you're caught up in the magic of somebody doing something

effortlessly that seems impossible is that it doesn't happen all at once.

Anything can be achieved by breaking it down into its component parts.

Creativity requires patience and a willingness to work for a creative

outcome rather than simply wait for enlightenment. Still, it is important to

creativity to happen. This can be encouraged by setting up an


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environment that encourages creative output, a comfortable space within

which you feel non-threatened and able to create.

A program to improve your personal creativity might include the following

steps.

1. First set a measurable goal. Some goals might be:

to generate 10% more solutions within 6 months to come

up with

an original solution for problem "X" within 2 weeks to practice generating

ideas bybrainstorming (for example, "find at least 100 ideas for a new

pen")

to find a new and effective way to relate to my children

that results in them wanting to spend more time with me.

2. Second, set up criteria to indicate whether or not you have or are

reaching your goal. Typical criteria are:

a) the ideas are novel (in that particular context)

b) the ideas are useful, they solve the problem or meet the

challenge

c) the ideas can be implemented within an appropriate time and

budget

3. Third, read and learn about creativity techniques which are one of

the sections of the Creativity Web. This information can be


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gathered from books, conferences, other people, software products

and the Internet. Spend time with people who you believe are


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creative and ask them how they did it. There are many paths to

creativity.

4. Fourth, surround yourself with people who love and respect you; people who encourage you to take risks.

5. Fifth, celebrate your progress in reaching your creativity goals.

6. Finally, begin thinking of yourself as a creative person. Surround that identity with beliefs about your creative abilities.

Learn the skills of creativity, act creatively every opportunity you get

and find environments that support creative behavior.

Creativity is increased by acknowledging that it exists and by nurturing it.

Create a sensory stimulating environment, increase awareness of that

environment and provide sufficient quiet time to allow that ensory

stimulation to be translated into external reality ... a poem, a bridge, a

meal, a song, a quilt, a business report, a game, a dance, a garden.

Flood yourself with information in your chosen area of creativity then

deliberately expose yourself to information outside your area. Respect and

care for your creativity as you would a child. Attend to your needs, listen to

your creative inner voice, and spend time with yourself. Manage stress in

your life as much as possible.

Practice meditation or some kind of peaceful, relaxing activity such as

handwork or quiet exercise. Avoid becoming too entrenched in your

routines. Don't allow your beliefs to distort your perceptions. A useful

technique is to deliberately and consciously attempt to integrate opposites


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at every opportunity within your own mind. Develop the attitude that your

creative work is important even if others do not share your belief; allow


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such judgmental attitudes to be their problem, not yours. Practice using

affirmations and reframing (seeing things from another angle or in another

context) to de-program your self critical habits.

Creativity is not a gift of some sort, it is a state of being ("un etat d'ame",

as they say in French). Learning a creativity- increasing technique of some

sort will give you some tools and help you, but will not automatically

change your point of view about yourself and your creativity; your belief

and value systems about creativity and creativity myths must change as

well.

Creativity and Leadership

"Everyone has creative potential, but creative people think they are creative."

Self-esteem is one of the most important elements of creativity. People

must believe in their ability to develop original ideas and they must

continue to believe in themselves after repeated failures.

Creativity flourishes in an environment that rewards attempts, as well as

successes, and is conducive to failure. People must feel comfortable

failing before they will repeatedly take risks or attempt creative

approaches. Roger von Oech labels four stages of the creative process:

Explorer. Finding new ideas and resources

from which an idea may be built.

Artist. Transforming ideas (gathered by the

explorer) into something new.


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Judge. Ideas developed by the artist are

evaluated and their merits are weighed; suggestions are

offered on how they can be improved or further

developed.

Warrior. Implementation of the ideas approved

by the judge requiring persistence and determination.

Secrets to Creative Problem Solving

Be an optimist

Take your time

Get enough information

Brainstorm by yourself

Redefine the problem

Plan for results

Break the routine

Make a minus a plus

Don't give up.

Allow yourself to daydream

Ask questions

Have a sense of humor

Tolerate ambiguity

CREATIVE FORCES

Force-Field Analysis

Force-field analysis characterizes the conflicting forces in a situation. The

recommended approach to this method is to outline the points involved in


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problematic situations at the problem exploration stage, followed by

recognizing factors likely to help or hinder at the action planning and

implementation stages.

1. Members of the group identify and list the driving and restraining

forces (perhaps using a suitable brainstorming or brain writing

technique) openly discussing their understanding of them.

2. The group leader is representative of the current position as a

horizontal line across the middle of the page. The leader will draw

all the driving forces as arrows that either pull or push the line

upwards, and all the restraining forces as arrows that pull or push

the line downwards (see below). Where driving and restraining are

paired use arrow thickness to signify strength of impact of a force

and arrow length to show how complicated it would be to adapt. It is

normally best for the team to reach agreement on these details.


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3. The diagram should then be used to find as many possible

combinations of moving the centre line in the desired direction. Try

to:

Find ways to strengthen or add positive forces

a. Find ways to weaken or remove negative forces

b. Recognize that the negative forces are too strong and

abandon the idea.


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REATIVE ECHNIQUE

“How do you come with a creative idea when faced with a blank sheet of paper?” ‘Easy. Don’t have a blank sheet of

paper.’Every working day, creative directors are faced with emands to come up

with creative solutions to the problems. Some outstanding creative heads

may display what is called unconscious competence in appearing to be

able to come up with ideas inuitively. There is no magic wand for coming

up with ideas, but there are some echniques and process to help being

creative. These tecniques, coupled with a knowledge and understanding

of the creative process -- with its five stages

Information

Incubation

Illumination

Integration,

Illustration -- will help considerably to improve one’s creative

abilities.

CREATIVE RANGE:CREATIVE RANGE:Whenever faced with a well-defined task, such as coming up eith an idea

for a launch product or phottocall, establish a ‘Creative Range’. Pose what

is called ‘the Safe Bet’ questin: ‘What is the very least, the safest, most


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conservative idea that can be used?’ Then check ‘ what is the most

outrageous idea that could solve the problem?’ so as to create the

Extreme Option. By these two question , intial limiting parameters are

created.

The above can be visualised as below,

After creating the Creative Range of the situation see, ‘What further ideas

can you come up and then jot downall the ideas that come to mind. Thus,

by establishing the ‘Creative Range, you have already taken the pressure

off yourself and at the very least you have a safe option to fall back on,

and more importantly you ar harnessing the incremental nature of the

creative process. This also helps to suspend judgements because you are

not automatically screening every idea but merely filing in the ‘Creative

Range’.


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Safe Bet Extreme

Option OptionTHE CREATIVE RANGE

30



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SNAKES AND LADDERS: SNAKES AND LADDERS: Snakes and Ladders is good technique that helps use of the incremental

nature of creativity to quickly establish an overview of a

situation,identifying strengths and weakness, and to establish tactics to

improve the positives and reduce the negatives of a task at hand.

Draw a grid on a sheet of paper to represent the squares of a snakes and

ladders board. Imagine the objective of the task is at the top left-hand

corner on the winning square. You are the start, at the bottom left-hand

corner. Draw five short ladders and five long snakes. The objective can be

anything from: ‘ How can I improve my creativity’ and so on…

This is an excellent way of getting a handle on everything you need to

consider. It also facilitates incremental to\hought as you come up with

deas.

.


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Competitor Activity

Interesting

Photography

Lack of Brand

Awareness

Lack of Brand

CredibilityPersonality of MD

Media Apathy

Forthcoming Events-

Exhibition

Limited

Budget

News value of

Story

Timing of

lanch


Below is give one example of how to launch a product creatively

Finish

Start


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Group Techniques to Generate Creativity

Brainstorming - Groups generate as many ideas as possible, listing ideas

on a chart so that group members may modify them or combine them to

create additional ideas. Criticism is not allowed during brainstorming, nor

is evaluation of ideas.

Storyboarding - An adaptation of brainstorming, but it is primarily

nonverbal so articulate group members are not able to dominate the

process. Storyboarding uses a process similar to parliamentary procedure

to gain support of an idea before it can remain part of the discussion.

Storyboarding allows group members to produce data and solutions to

problems generating ideas off of previous suggestions.

Nominal Group Technique - Focuses attention on individual members'

ideas by having members write down their ideas/solutions on their own

before sharing them with the group. Ideas are all recorded, everyone

votes to prioritize ideas, and then discussion is held on only the top ones

before another vote is taken. This technique allows everyone to participate

and contribute ideas before the group reaches its decision.

Roadblocks to Creativity

Thinking there is one right answer - Many of us have the tendency to

stop looking for alternative right answers after the first answer has been

found. Often it is the third, fifth or tenth right answer that is what we need

to solve a problem in an innovative way. "That's not logical" - Logic is an


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important creative thinking tool when you are searching for ideas,

however, excessive logical thinking can short circuit your creative process.


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Following the rules - You often have to break out of pattern to discover

another.

Being practical - Practical people know how to get into an open frame of

mind, listen to their imagination and build on the ideas they find there.

Avoiding ambiguity - Too much specificity can stifle your imagination!

Being afraid of making a mistake - Errors are a sign that you are

diverging from the norm. If you are not failing every now and then it is a

sign you are not being very innovative.

REAM EAM: A FRAME WORK FOR

GREAT CREATIVE PERFORMANCEDream Team is a list of rules of creative teamwork that form the

foundation of all the methods. Whichever technique you’re using, Dream

Team rules is like a framework whenever you’re working as a team. They

provide creative space to let imagination fly and launch all the team

members on their way to original ideas.

Dream team Tools in the company would keep the playful atmosphere, in

order to refine their tem-working skills and build up creativity. They are

both rules for the top-quality creative performance and strategies that can

be used as highly effective methods of communication in meetings.


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DD REAM REAM TT EAM EAM RR ULES:ULES:

Switch On All Five SensesThe best ideas take time. The more one thinks about the product,

analyses it, examines it from every angle - plays with it, in other words the

more freely great ideas will flow. Get the information you can get hold of

which can be used as triggers. Feel the product to activate all your

senses. The key factor is that physically coming face to face with the

product itself will stimulate all five senses and have positive and inspiring

effect on the process of generating ideas.

‘Creative without strategy is called Art. Creative with strategy is called Advertising.’

Set Clear GoalsThe goal and solution are like question and answer. Only a good question

can give a satisfactory answer.

What Does A Goal Achieve? The goal is in clear view and acts a focal point, leading to a clearly defined

objective. It helps to prevent chaos and time-wasting discussions.

Fine - Tuning the Goal Saves Time and Nervous EnergyOf course it isn’t possible to achieve a clear goal and straightforward

definition of the goal at the first attempt. Often it is only while you are

formulating the goal that you realize that brief does not describe the

product fully, that the target group is not defined precisely enough or that

there is no clear strategic positioning.


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Always Separate The Ideas Phase From The Evaluation Phase:

Ideas need imagination more than knowledge, so it’s important to keep the

stage when ideas are being generated strictly separate from the stage

when they’re being evaluated. In this stage people should set their

imaginations to roam free, and no limits to be set on creative game-

playing.

Avoid Idea KillersHow would you like your ideas to be received – Sabotaged, Sniggered at

or simply Ignored? Idea killers have one thing in common: they always

work!! Everything from verbal stun-gun to the wry twitch at the corner of

somebody’s mouth is capable of trampling down the first little shoot of an

idea.

Idea Killers in Your Own HeadOften the killer phases of others do less damage than the little voice inside

our own heads, whispering, “Forget it, it doesn’t work”! Our own ideas

killers are particularly are deadly because we often are not conscious of

them. They are the product exaggerated expectations we have of

ourselves, or of the belief that we have to

come up with ideas that are brilliant from the word they go—a strategy

almost certainly doomed to failure.


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The 10 Best Responses to Idea-Killer Phrases Nothing will come out of that.Not if you just dismiss the idea Let’s just wait and see what happensWhat, until everyone else has overtaken us? That doesn’t work!!But it’s great idea We do things differently!!So, no change there This mail shot idea doesn’t work!!But what if…? That’s ridiculous!!So what it is We’ll come back to your idea.All right. When? The client will never accept that!!Give it a chance What’s so original about that?The fact that no one else has thought of it Anyone could come up with that.Exactly

Use Doodles To Visualize Your IdeasYour ideas must be visual if it’s really going to take root in others

people’s heads. Often it only takes a quick scribble, a few lines to bring

the idea to life. Think about it: your ideas are mostly internal


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images that only you can see. A doodle releases the idea from your head

and so raises your chances of enthusing others.

Three Arguments In Favor Of Doodles Doodles are an essential means of communication, enabling the

others in the team to see, and therefore understand, the images in

your head.

Doodles reinforce the associations of internal images and so trigger

new ideas new playful way.

Doodles enables teams to develop raw ideas in gradual stages and

so prevent good ideas from being killed off prematurely.

Look For The Positive In Other People’s IdeasIf you want to promote the flow of ideas, look for the positive aspects

of other people’s ideas. Even if you don’t get anywhere with an idea

first, put forth the question, ‘What’s in it that we can use?’ There

will always be some aspect that can be build on; replace your inner

CRITIC with an inner CREATIVE and exploit all possibilities from

this new perspective. Take the idea’s good point and improve it by

developing and cultivating the seed of the idea. This strategy makes

flexible and opens new perspective.

One can learn to think What if…? And this will develop in time into

an inner attitude, which will open doors to new ideas instead of

closing them.


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Thinking What If…?

What would be the advantage of losing your job tomorrow?

Anything that looks like a catastrophe at first may reveal a whole,

surprising series of positive aspects on a second look. Develop the play of

ideas a little more and losing your job opens the door to new freedom,

new opportunities, and a new future.

Thinking “What if…? Is a conceptual switch, a change of perspective?

You look at the very same thing from a different perspective. And you can

be sure that there are hundreds of other standpoints that you’ve never

envisaged

Make Mistakes And Have Fun Doing It“To swear off making mistakes is very easy; all you have to do is

swear off having ideas”

Mistakes are basic learning principle, accompanying all great

discoveries and often lending to brilliant ideas. Get rid of the

compulsion to come up with nothing but good ideas that are ready to

use! Say everything that occurs to you, no matter how silly it sounds –

it could be the raw material for the brilliant idea. So Make Mistakes &

Enjoy it!!

A Fool’s Freedom

The greatest fear of many people is making mistakes and looking silly I

front of other people. Learn to live with this fear, by making a fool of

you deliberately but staying in control. Put yourself in a ridiculous


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position by making an abstruse suggestion, and exaggerate it to the

point where you have to laugh at yourself. By doing so you can

achieve a degree of inner freedom that allows you to leave familiar

paths behind and let your imagination run free.

Develop Your Sense Of HumourHumour is the healthy way of creating a ‘distance’ between one’s self and

the problem, a way of standing back and looking at a problem with

perspective!!

Humour reveals new aspects. Humour disarms, relaxes, and releases

happiness hormones, it’s also infectious, and so it’s one of the most

important creative tools for teams looking for great ways to communicate

ideas. Don’t just make jokes at other people’s expense, however. Instead,

look out for a really funny topic in meetings – yourself. Learn to laugh at

yourself. Anyone who can see what’s absurd and laughable about him

gains a new freedom and gives the team a creative boost.

Select Ideas CreativelySometimes the really interesting ideas are simply eliminated or talked out

during the evaluation phase. Anything unusual, wild, uncomfortable, or

harder to translate into action, gets dropped. At this stage, you need to

make new ideas from old, in order to save potentially great initiatives.

Three Ways to Evaluate and Select Ideas:

In the final analysis, there are three ways to reach a decision

about which of the basic ideas should be worked up:

Democratically: - The team leader invites every member of the

meeting to give a score to the ideas they think are best and


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deserve to be worked up for the presentation. The idea with most

points wins.

Use the Brief as a Yardstick: - The main criteria from the client’s

brief are used as the yardstick for assessing which ideas have

reached the objectives.

Creative Director or Art Director: - Depending on the agency

culture, it is of course possible that the creative director or the art

director will be the one to decree which of the starter ideas will

developed for the presentation

Turning Ideas Into ActionArt Direction brings an idea to life, determining whether it gives the

campaign the boost that it needs or weakens it by going off on the

wrong course.

To Decide the Best Course of Action

What does the basic idea need, for the solution to hit the

bull’s eye?

What change could give the idea an emotional kick?

What weak points does the idea have, what seems

implausible? How could it be improved?

Is the idea to the point? What works better?

What substitute or alternate can be used to improve the idea?

Add new elements

Change a copy

Develop new headlines


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What could be done to make idea so appealing

that people will want to see it more than once?

What results Can You Expect From The Dream Team Rules? They produce a bigger catch of valuable ideas.

They give the team a creative boost.

They build structured freedom and prevent sessions of

destructive chaos.

They foster faith in the team and enhance motivation.

They allow a brilliant ‘group brain’ to develop.

They promote all sorts of fun and increase individual

creative potential.

They save time, money and nervous energy in the hunt for ideas.

ICKSTART ATALOGUE

What is Kickstart Catalogue?Kickstart Catalogue offers strategies likely to promote great ideas for

campaigns. There are no discussions within the catalogue itself about

what is good or bad advertising, nor are the tips on how to improve layout

or copy.

A Toolkit for the BrainSystematic analysis of the work produced by creative reveals certain

patterns and strategies in their thinking. Some creative strength lies in


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analogy, while others always try to induce a change of perspective and

others develop ideas by turning every day’s situating on their heads. One

thing is clearing every case even the best creative use only the part the

spectrum of possible ways of thinking. If your strengths lie, for example in

the filed of metaphor or comparative juxtaposition, then you probably don’t

combine or reframe things very often. This catalogue is a tool box

containing an inexhaustible supply of new brain tools which one can use

to expand their own strategies.

This is incredibly useful when you are looking for new unusual campaign

ideas for the press, TV and cinemas, events, promotions, packaging, web

banners, brochures or direct mailing.

Without Words

“A picture is worth a thousand words”The object of this little exercise is to display the central advertising

statement about the product at a glance and without using the words. It’s

the best to start by working out a goal with single-minded proposition. For

Example: ‘How can you show without words that the new sports car

accelerates faster than any other car?’ Here, first look for pictorial way to

represent “Acceleration”. The key question is: ‘What are the key features

of “acceleration” and how can it be represented pictorially, without words?’

Think of the era of silent movies and how ingenious the actors had to be to

convey complex situation and feelings without words. Jokes which don’t

need words are another fruitful source of non-verbal stories to tell.


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Mixing & Matching

The goal of Kickstart questions is to represent the central advertising

statement clearly and convincing by combining or associating different

things. This method of developing visual advertising messages is one of

the most frequently used today and offers infinite possibilities. Try it for

yourself- there are no limits in your imagination.

Combination as Creative Strategy One of the most important creative strategies is to combine two

concepts or objects that were previously unconnected, so as to

produce something completely new. The result should be a

simple, unambiguous advertising message. Combine elements

in such a way so as to make the benefit immediately apparent:

the product, parts of the product, people from the target group, the

product’s raw material, the original problem, the benefit, the context,

plants, packaging, or people who have nothing to do with. The less things

you combine have to do with each other originally, the more exciting and

surprisingly the result will be.

Comparative Juxtaposition

Comparative Juxtaposition such as ‘before and after’ are undoubtedly

some of the classics of advertising. To tap into new sources of inspiration

for comparisons, one can use the method to compose typical pairs of

opposites, like ‘before and after’, which can then be used to stimulate

advertising ideas. List of Pairs of Opposites:

Old-Fashioned- Fashionable

Blindness- Vision


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Ugly- Attractive

Mass produced- Exclusive

Past- Future, etc.

Exaggeration

Exaggeration in the depiction of features of the product, problem situations

or solutions can grab the viewer’s attention and emphasizes the benefit.

Use distortion and overstatement to develop great ideas; with stating clear

message and simple, to avoid any misunderstanding that would lead the

target group to make any negative associations. Don’t have any qualms

about exaggerating things, but do it with a wink so that the credibility of

your message doesn’t suffer.

Provocation & Shock Tactics

Attention is in short supply nowadays, so if you want people to notice your

campaign, be provocative! Provoking means challenging, inciting,

stimuling. But be careful: being seen is not the same as being looked at.

Provocation takes you across a frontier, but it requires skill and will only

lend you to your goal if you think about what you’re doing: for example,

drawing attention to social issues, or warning people of dangers.

A Change of Perspective

A change of perspective is first of all an excellent way to

generate a creative impulse during the process of looking for

ideas,and secondly it can be used in advertising to show the

target group new or interesting perspectives on the product.


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There are two ways to use the Change of Perspective as a creative tool.

First, they can be used spatially, by showing objects or situations from

unusual viewpoints: bird’s eye view, extreme close-up, extreme distance,

detached from space and time. From outer space, or simply from possible

angle. The second way is to imagine yourself leaving your body and

slipping inside other people, objects or animals. Many creative

symbolically take on other identities to get a creative boost from the new

view point of view. For example: Walt Disney, used to “become” the figure

he was currently drawing, going so far as to speak, gesture and stand like

the character in his imagination.

Symbols & Signs

A symbol is a visual image that stands for an object, a concept or a

situation. The drawing of a stylized car next to a spanner

represents a car workshop, a cigarettes with a line across it means

“No Smoking”. The meaning of Some Signs derives from a casual

connection- Smoke is a sign of fire. Another function of many

symbols is to convey information that can’t be expressed in words.

Absurd, Surreal, Bizarre

Plunging into the world of the absurd, the surreal and the bizarre is

fascinating in itself, and it also opens up a rich source of ideas.

Contradiction, exaggeration, distortion, fantasizing and zany ideas are the

tools one need to create something absurd or surreal.


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Change the Product

Altering the product means changing its shape, cutting it into pieces,

adding things, subtracting things, bending it, squeezing it, bringing it to life,

blowing it up, making it transparent, transplanting it to another body or

letting it rot. There are endless possibilities of changing it physically or

giving it a new meaning. Talk non-sense and really take off. You can’t

judge whether what you have is good or bad

Alternative Uses

Playful approaches to the idea of finding new uses for the product. Where

the product could be used, outside of its original context? What new

situations could it be put to emphasize the benefit, highlight a feature

through exaggeration, or reveal a new perspective or an unexpected

function

Double Meanings

This refers to visual and as well as non verbal double meanings. Most

visual ambiguity is based on optical illusions which are a playful way to

attract the viewer’s attention. Most verbal ambiguity, on the other hand,

makes its point by wordplay or suggestions, leading the reader along a

path that usually ends in an alternative meaning. Both types involve

people playfully by inviting them to see both meanings in a context that

makes sense.


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Play With Words

Playing with words means making pictures with them. Its an invitation to

experiment with type, so that the copy turns into pictures and the

typography becomes the message. Try to break down the bounds of

normal copy to make the content leap out. Then style your words like a

clue in a crossword puzzle. This will help you to scrutinize your Ad copy as

a source of ideas about design (preferably fun ones) and present the

message even more clearly and effectively.


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LET’S TAKE A BREAK…LET’S TAKE A BREAK…


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A group of carpenters are at work. However, their attention is divided between their work...

...and a TV set, where a man hanging over a chasm is clinging on to a woman for dear life.

"Pakde rehna," the woman screams. "Chodna nahin," the man pleads. The workers watch...

...as the couple on screen keep up the "Pakde rehna-chodna nahin" strain for an incredibly long period.

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Headline: Fevicol Ka Jodd Hai Tootega Nahin…Agency: O&M (National Winning Award)

Client: Pidilite Industries


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Fed up with the melodrama, one of the carpenters gets up in disgust. "Arre, yeh bhi koi film hai!" he exclaims.

Wanting to continue with his work, he walks over to the TV and picks up a can of Fevicol placed on top of it.

Instantly, the man on screen plummets. Surprised, the carpenter peers at the can of Fevicol he has picked up. Slowly, he turns...

...and eyes another TV, atop which a tub of Fevicol is perched. The man on screen is still dangling over the chasm. "Chodna nahi..."

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Anti- Smoking Campaign


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Best Social Message Award


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onclusion: The foundation for creativity is in individual, and so these

methods and techniques are to be taken as tools and stimuli, to give you

more freedom of choice and so enhance and liberate your creative skills.

There is no one right way to be creative. Creativity is a living

process with many possible strategies, and the creative outcomes to

which they lead will depend on the context and the individual.

If one person has learnt how to develop really creative ideas,

it stands to reason that everyone else can.

Creativity demands abundance, which is why the objective is

to increase the possible choices, and so improve flexibility.

Don’t confuse the menu with the meal: theoretical knowledge

will do nothing to increase your creativity. Try the methods out, experience

will nourish you and become a part of your strategies in future.

If something doesn’t work for you, stop using it and try

something else.

Have fun!


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ARTICLESARTICLES

“ What’s The Future Of Advertising”After Hours Correspondent DNA

Tuesday, November 08, 2005

It cannot be denied that as one of the most rapidly growing professions in

India - advertising - is undergoing a lot of change. To tap these changes,

to incorporate consumer and media perspectives, and to celebrate their

60-year existence in the industry, the Advertising Agencies Association of

India (AAAI) is organising a three-day symposium discussing the future of

advertising in India.

Primarily focusing on traditional and contemporary methods in advertising,

the symposium will include consumer reactions and influences with

respect to the profession. “Predominantly, we are trying to identify the

current challenges in advertising and the different ways to meet them. The

industry per say is witnessing a lot more ways to reach out to their

consumers like MMS, blogs, the internet, and ad guys need to catch up on

these new techniques,” says Colvyn Harris, CEO, JWT India, who is also

one of the keynote speakers during the event.

Targeted towards the burgeoning and existing advertising, media and

marketing professionals, the symposium will examine the future

consumers, communication challenges and new media. “The industry

today needs a thrust and much greater recognition in the international

scenario. Though it has been advancing rapidly, there needs to be a lot

more effort to speed up the growth,” says ad man Piyush Pandey, who will


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be addressing the event with respect to positioning of advertising beyond

boundaries. The symposium will attract a galaxy of eminent speakers

(including the minister of state for tourism Renuka Chowdhury and ad guru

Prahlad Kakkar) who will share their unique perspectives on the future

world in the areas of connecting with audiences.

“Agencies Need To Think Creatively”PTI [FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2005

MUMBAI: Advertising agencies in India should come out of their traditional

styles and start thinking "out of the box" in order to push the creative

frontiers to new heights, Piyush Pandey, a well-known advertising expert

said on Friday.

"We have to struggle to see that the good ideas are accepted by the

clients, and see the day of the light and eventually converted into a real

creative Ad," Pandey, Executive Chairman and National Creative Director

Ogilvy said at a symposium, organised by Advertising Agencies

Association of India (AAAI) here.

"Instead of convincing the clients, we always make excuses that the client

does not accept the new idea or say why tinkle around with the idea that is

working, as sales figures are doing well," he said. "This very attitude has

to be changed and the creative people should come out with ideas that

touch the psyche of a common man and see to it that they convince their

clients about the non-conventional ideas and give their gut feeling a

chance", Pandey said.

He was of the opinion that the advertising community should develop a

habit of not seeing beyond the obvious, and starts seeing beyond the 30


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yard circle in cricket field, "so that we could clear that and see the

boundary lines".

"We, as creative people, should always do constant soul

searching to do things better and in a different manner and

not think of any framework and boundaries to restrict our

creativity", he said and gave a recent example of the Hutch ad's with the

`Chhota Recharge' offer.

“Piyush Pandey Adds Another Feather To His Cap”The Indiantelevision.com Team

(13 December 2002 12:30 pm) MUMBAI: There's no stopping Ogilvy &

Mather group president and national creative director

Piyush Pandey who is moving from strength to

strength. Pandey has bagged yet another international

award. This time he has been judged the 'Creative

Person of The Year Asia Pacific for 2002,' by Hong

Kong based Media Magazine. The award comes in

recognition of his contribution to the advertising industry and efforts to

raise the creative standards across the industry. “It’s an achievement for

us as well as (for) India. We are happy that India

has made its mark at yet another global forum.

And we're sure many more Indians will walk this

floor," Pandey was quoted as saying in The

Times of India.

Ogilvy & Mather has bagged quite a few awards

this year: the most memorable one being the

Gold Lion in the press and poster category for its `Second-hand smoke


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kills' anti-smoking campaign for the Cancer Patients Aid Association

(CPAA); and silver for the `overloaded bus' spot for Fevicol, at the Cannes

Lions, International Advertising Festival held in June this year. The anti-

smoking ad also won a silver Pencil at the One Show 2002 and a bronze

at the Clio Awards 2002.Similarly, Pidilite Industries Limited --- the makers

of Fevicol ---- has won several international advertising awards.


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IBLIOGRAPHY

Reference Books Creative Advertising Mario Pricken

Ogilvy in Advertising David Ogilvy

Search Engines www.google.com

www.angencyfaqs.com

Name: Khushbu.H.OjhaCollege: Chetana’s Management Institute, Bandra(e)E-mail Id: [email protected]


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