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REVIEW QUESTIONS
8-4. This chapter argues that effective advertising is both a science and an art.
Explain what this means and give examples of each.
Effective advertising is a product of both science (persuasion) and art (creativity). The
message plan, for example, is a rational analysis of a problem and what is needed to
solve that problem. However, this logical plan must be translated into a creative idea
that is original, attention getting, and memorable. There are many examples
8-5. How do various strategic approaches deliver on the objectives identified in the
Facets Model of Effects?
Common message objectives that relate to the Facet Model of Effects are listed
below:
See/hear—create attention, awareness, interest, recognition
Feel—touch emotions and create feelings
8-6. Explain the four types of selling premises.
Here is a summary of rational customer-focused selling premises:
Benefit. The benefit emphasizes what the product can do for the user by
Promise. A promise is a benefit statement that looks to the future and predicts
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Reason why. A type of a benefit statement that gives you the reason why you
Unique selling proposition (USP). A USP is a benefit statement that is both
8-7. What is a Big Idea and what are its characteristics?
Behind every effective advertisement is a Big Idea, that is, a creative concept that
implements the advertising strategy so that the message is both attention-getting and
memorable. Big Ideas can be risky because they are different and, by definition,
8-8. When a creative director says your idea needs to make a “creative leap,” what
does that mean?
A creative leap means moving from the safety of a predictable strategy statement to
an unusual idea that hasn’t been tried before. Typically, this requires divergent
thinking, a style of thinking that explores possibilities rather than using rational
8-9. Describe the six steps in the creative process.
Step 1: Immersion. Read, research, and learn everything you can about the
problem.
Step 2: Ideation. Look at the problem from every angle; develop ideas;
generate as many alternatives as possible.
8-10. Explain how brainstorming is used in advertising.
As part of the creative process, some agencies use a thinking technique known as
brainstorming, in which a group of 6 to 10 people work together to come up with
ideas. One person’s idea stimulates someone else’s, and the combined power of the
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8-11. List five characteristics of creative people. How do you rate yourself on those
factors?
Research indicates that creative people tend to be independent, assertive,
self-sufficient, persistent, and self-disciplined, with a high tolerance for ambiguity.
Problem solving. Creative problem solvers are alert, watchful, and observant, and
The ability to visualize. Most of the information we accumulate comes through
Openness to new experiences. Over the course of a lifetime, openness to
experience may give you many more adventures from which to draw. Those
Conceptual thinking. It’s easy to see how people who are open to experience
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
8-12.Divide the class into groups of 6 to 10 people and discuss this problem: Your
community wants to encourage people to get out of their cars and use alternative
forms of transportation. Brainstorm for 15 minutes as a group, accumulating every
possible idea. How many ideas are generated?
Here’s how to run a brainstorming group:
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Identify a cheerleader to keep the discussion on the positive and find gentle
Work for 15 minutes, throwing out as many different creative concepts as your
Go back through the list as a group and put an asterisk next to the 5-10 ideas
When all the groups reconvene in class, each recorder should list the group’s best
ideas on the blackboard. As a class, pick out the three ideas that seem to have the
Here, it would be helpful to review the concept of brainstorming with students. A
group of 6 to 10 people work together to come up with ideas. One person’s idea
8-13. The following are from actual brand communication campaigns. If you were
involved in a go/no go decision, what would you decide? For each idea, explain your
analysis.
You are assigned to develop a Super Bowl ad for the Groupon Internet coupon
website that advertises daily deals in local media. The company has been
using a “Save the Money” campaign with Hollywood stars talking about a
cause they support and then connecting that to a deal they got off Groupon.
So what to do for the Super Bowl? A colleague suggests using a star speaking
about the plight of the Tibetan people and their culture with pictures of snow
capped mountains and dancing children, followed by a scene with the star in a
Himalayan restaurant talking about what he saved on his meal. What do you
think about this idea?
Zappos, an online apparel retailer with a quirky, brash culture, has received a
proposal from its agency. You are on the Zappos management team. The idea
is to show naked models doing everyday things, such as jogging, playing
Frisbee, hailing a cab, and riding a Vespa – all with censor bars strategically
placed. Although using naked people to sell clothing is a little literal, the
agency argues that it also is highly attention getting. What do you think?
This question requires students to evaluate the strength of two creative ideas.
First, from Chapter 3, students should recall problems created by ads that society
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responsibility concerns, students can next use the Leo Burnett agency’s three-step
TAKE-HOME PROJECTS
8-14. Portfolio Project:Find at least two newspaper or magazine advertisements that
your team believes are bland and unexciting. Rewrite them, first to demonstrate a
hard-sell approach, and then to demonstrate a soft-sell approach. Explain how your
rewrites have improved the original ad. Also explain how hard-sell and soft-sell appeals
work. Which do you believe is the most effective for each ad? If you were a team of
professionals working on these accounts, how would you go about evaluating the
effectiveness of these two ads? In other words, how would you test your intuitive
judgment of which one works best?
When preparing this exercise, students must remember that a hard sell is an
informational message that is designed to touch the mind and create a response based on
logic. The assumption is that the target audience wants information and will make a
8-15. Mini-Case Analysis: Summarize the creative aspects of the “Save a Life” effort.
What makes this effort and its promotion creative? Brainstorm on an idea for a new
commercial that would extend the campaign’s theme and develop this new Big Idea as a
proposal to present to your instructor.
The Save a Life campaign, created by copywriter Graham Douglas, is creative on several
levels. The product, a box of bandages the includes a self-contained kit consumers use to
swab their blood and send a sample of it to a nonprofit organization dedicated to the
prevention of blood cancer, is very novel. The message, which communicates to
TRACE North America Case
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Creative Multicultural Communication
Read the Trace North America case in the Appendix before coming to class.
8-16. What is the Big Idea behind the “Hard to Explain, Easy to Experience” campaign?
8-17. How would you describe the campaign’s message strategy?
ADDITIONAL MATERIAL
WEB REVIEW QUESTIONS
1. Who are the key players on the creative side of the advertising agency?
All agencies have copywriters and art directors who are responsible for developing
the creative concept and crafting the execution of the advertising idea. They often
Broadcast producers can also be part of the team for television commercials. The
creative director manages the creative process, plays an important role in focusing the
strategy of ads, and makes sure the creative concept is strategically on target. Of
2.What is a creative brief and what kind of information is typically found in it?
The creative brief (or creative platform, worksheet, or blueprint) is the document
prepared by the account planner to summarize the basic marketing and advertising
A problemthat can be solved by communication.
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Creative direction that provides suggestions on how to stimulate the desired
Different agencies use different formats, but most combine these basic advertising
strategy decisions. The point is that advertising planning—even planning for the
3.How does creative strategy differ from creative executions?
People who create advertisements make a distinction between creative strategy and
4. What role does targeting, branding and positioning play in the development of
message strategy?
The target decision is particularly important in planning a message strategy. It is
essential to understand what moves this group. The demands of the brand are also
important considerations when developing message strategy. Brand positions and
5.Regarding creative strategy approaches, what does it mean when advertisers refer
to “head or heart strategies”?
Two basic approaches are sometimes referred to as head or heart strategies. In the
Facets model the cognitive objectives generally speak to the head and the affective
objectives on the right are more likely to speak to the heart. Another way to refer to
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6.What are the different types of messages that advertisers can create to deliver
various objectives?
Messages that get attention
Messages that create interest
Messages that resonate
7.Discuss the concept of utilizing lectures and dramas as a strategic format.
Most advertising messages use a combination of lecture and drama to reach the head
or the heart of the consumer. A lecture is a serious instruction given verbally. The
speaker presents evidence and uses a technique such as an argument to persuade the
Drama relies on the viewer to make inferences about the brand. Usually the drama is
in the story that the reader has to construct around the cues in the ad. Through
8. In advertising, what is meant by ROI?
According to the DDB agency, an effective ad is relevant, original, and has impact—
which is referred to as ROI of creativity. In traditional business ROI stands for return
on investment, but it means something very different here. According to DDB’s
ASSIGNMENTS
Individual Assignments
1. Visit www.effie.org and peruse some of the IMC campaigns that have won this
prestigious award over the past view years. Choose three campaigns to compare and
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contrast, in terms the various creative strategies used. For each, discuss its message
2. Read again “A Matter of Principle” by Ronald Taylor in this chapter. Working with a
partner, use his framework to generate six potential different message strategies for a
Think-Pair-Share
1. According to Professor Sheila Sasser, advertising agencies represent the perfect
“think tank” to inspire creativity, and her research has found agencies to be natural
incubators in terms of the 3Ps of innovation. With a classmate, review those 3Ps of
innovation: place, person, and process. Then come up with a 5-minute presentation
for the class explaining each of these elements, and how they are important to
creatives. Provide specific examples for each one.
2. As a class, review the “Practical Tips” page in this chapter by Tom Groth. Divide the
class into small teams so that one team covers each of the 10 tips. Then, have each
team select a product they regularly use and apply their assigned tip to that product to
extend the creativity level of its current brand message. How far can each team
stretch their creativity? Finish this exercise with 2-minute presentations from each
team.
OUTSIDE EXAMPLES
1. Revisit Chick-fil-A’s ‘Eat Mor Chikin’ campaign that was introduced in the
previous chapter, this time evaluating it from a creative perspective. Describe the
message design that was selected to address the brand’s situation and the target
audience’s needs and interests. What do you see in its ads that reveal both “head”
and “heart” strategies in advertising? What message strategies are being used and
in what way were those messages matched to campaign objectives? In what ways
does this campaign reflect DDB’s ROI philosophy of advertising? Prepare a brief
PowerPoint presentation that summarizes your findings.
2. Go to YouTube.com and watch the clip entitled Bill Bernbach on Creative
Qualities posted by TribalDDBKorea. Listen closely to his point of view and then
compare it with principles discussed in this chapter. Where do you see
similarities? Prepare a 10 minute presentation for your class that summarizes your
findings.
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