Chapter 09 – Creative Strategy: Implementation and Evaluation
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CHAPTER 9
CREATIVE STRATEGY: IMPLEMENTATION AND
EVALUATION
Chapter Overview
In the previous chapter the importance of advertising creativity was examined along with the creative
process of advertising. Attention was also given to various approaches for determining the big idea that
will be used as the central theme of the advertising campaign. This chapter continues the discussion of
creative strategy by turning attention to how these big ideas are developed into advertising messages. We
Learning Objectives
2. To analyze the various creative execution styles that advertisers can use and the advertising
situations where they are most appropriate.
4. To consider how clients evaluate the creative work of their agencies and discuss guidelines for the
evaluation and approval process.
Chapter and Lecture Outline
I. APPEALS AND EXECUTION STYLES
Once the major selling idea and the advertising campaign theme has been agreed upon, the creative team
then turns its attention to determining the specific type of appeal and execution style that will be used to
carry out the creative concept. The focus in this chapter is on how the advertising message will be
executed and considers the various appeals or approaches used to as well as the creative execution styles
that can be used to turn the appeal into an actual advertisement.
A. Advertising Appeals—the advertising appeal refers to the basis or approach used in the
advertisement to elicit some consumer response or to influence their feelings toward the product,
service, or cause. At the broadest level, these approaches can be broken down into two categories
or classes which are informational/rational appeals and emotional appeals.
1. Informational/rational appeals—these types of appeals focus on the consumer’s practical,
functional or utilitarian need for the product or service and/or specific reasons for owning a
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• Feature appeals
B. Emotional appeals—these types of appeals relate to consumers’ social and/or psychological needs
for purchasing a product or service. Emotional appeals have become very popular in advertising
as marketers recognize that many purchase decisions are made on the basis of feelings and
emotions since rational, functional-based differentiation is often very difficult. Examples of
psychological states or feelings that can serve as a basis for emotional appeals are shown in
Figure 9-1 of the text and can be reviewed. The effectiveness of emotional appeals has been
documented in a number of research studies by Pringle and Field which are discussed in their new
book Brand Immortality. A key finding from their research is that advertising campaigns with
1. Combining rational and emotional appeals—many purchase decisions are made on the basis
of both rational and emotional motives. Thus rational and emotional appeals may be
2. Additional types of appeals—other appeal types that are discussed in the text include
reminder advertising, teaser advertising and user-generated content whereby ads are
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Professor Notes
C. Advertising Execution—Creative execution refers to the manner in which an advertising appeal
is carried out or presented. A particular advertising appeal can be executed in a variety of ways
and a particular means of execution can be applied to a variety of advertising appeals. Some of
the more commonly used execution techniques include:
1. Straight-sell or factual message—this type of execution relies on a straightforward
presentation of information about the product or service such as specific attributes or benefits.
3. Demonstration—this type of execution is designed to illustrate the key advantages or benefits
of a product or service by showing it in actual use or in some contrived or staged situation.
5. Testimonials—many advertisers present their advertising messages in the form of a
6. Slice of life—this type of execution is often based on a problem/solution type of format. The
ad attempts to portray a real-life situation involving a problem, conflict or situation
7. Animation—this technique used animated characters or scenes drawn by artists or on
computer. Animation is often used as an execution technique for advertising targeted at
children. Some advertisers have also been Roger Rabbit style ads that mix animation with
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8. Personality symbol—this type of execution involves the use of a central character or
personality symbol to deliver the advertising message and with which the product or service
9. Imagery—this type of appeal is used when the goal is to encourage consumers to associate
the brand with the symbols, characters, and/or situation shown in the ad. An imagery
10. Dramatization—this execution technique creates a suspenseful situation or scenario in the
12. Combinations—many of these execution techniques can be combined in presenting an
advertising message. For example, slice-of-life ads are often used to demonstrate a product or
make brand comparisons.
Professor Notes
II. CREATIVE TACTICS
Once the creative approach, type of appeal, and execution style has been determined, attention turns to
creating the actual advertisement. The design and production of an advertising message involves a
number of activities such as writing copy, developing illustrations and other visual elements of the ad and
bringing all of the pieces together in a finished product.
A. Creative tactics for print advertising—there are three basic components of a print ad including the
headline, body copy, and the visual elements or illustrations. These elements are brought together
through a layout.
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1. Headlines—the headline refers to the words in the leading position of the advertisement—
those that are likely to be read first or are positioned to draw the most attention. The most
2. Subheads—many ads also contain a main headline and one or more secondary headlines or
4. Visual elements—another major component of a print ad is the visual elements or
5. Layout—a layout refers to the physical arrangement of the various parts of the ad including
the headline, subheads, illustrations, body copy and any identifying marks.
B. Creative Tactics for Television—as with print ads, television commercials have several
components which must work together to create the right impact and communicate the
advertiser’s message.
1. Video—the video or visual elements are what is seen on the television screen. Decisions have
2. Audio—the audio portion of a commercial includes several elements such as voice, music
and sound effects. Voices may be heard in several ways such as through the direct
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3. Music—a very important part of many television commercials is music which plays various
roles and functions such as providing a pleasant background or helping create the appropriate
3. Planning and production of television commercials—the various elements of a television
commercial are brought together in a document known as a script which is a written version
of a commercial that provides a detail description of its video and audio content. The script
indicates the various audio components of the commercial such as the copy to be spoken by
voices, music and sound effects. The video portion of the script provides the visual plan of
the commercial. Once the basic script has been conceived, the writer and art director get
together to produce a storyboard or a series of drawings used to present the visual plan or
layout of a proposed commercial. Once the client approves the storyboard, the commercial is
ready to move to the production phase. The production process for a commercial actually
involves three phases:
• Preproduction – all the work and activities that occur before the actual filming of a
III. CLIENT EVALUATION AND APPROVAL OF CREATIVE WORK
While the creative specialists determine the advertising appeal and execution style that will be used in the
campaign, the client must evaluate and approve the creative approach before any ads are actually
produced. A number of different people on the client side may be involved in evaluating and approving
the creative work of the agency. The amount and influence of these individuals will depend on the
company’s organization and policies, the importance of the product to the company, the role of
advertising in the marketing program, and the nature of the advertising approach being recommended.
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A. Guidelines for Evaluating Creative Output—There are a number of guidelines that personnel on
the client side might use to evaluate the creative approaches suggested by the agency. Some of
the most important and basic criteria or guidelines that might be used in evaluating creative
approaches are discussed in the text and include the following:
• Is the creative approach consistent with the brand’s marketing and advertising objectives?
• Is the creative approach consistent with the creative strategy and objectives and does it
communicate what it is supposed to?
Teaching Suggestions
Nearly every student has an opinion about the quality and effectiveness of various ads and those they feel
are particularly good or bad. Students should enjoy reading this chapter and learning about the various
creative appeals and execution styles that can be used by advertisers. An interesting way of beginning the
lecture on creative strategy is to ask the students to name the TV commercial or print ad they would rate
as the “most outstanding” one they have seen lately. You might then ask them how they think their list of
top commercials would compare against that of ad critics. Publications such as Advertising Age and
AdWeek pick the best ads each year and feature them in special editions. For example, the Advertising
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This chapter does not go into a great amount of detail regarding the process of creating and producing the
advertisement. If more detail is desired on areas such as art and layout, copywriting or print and broadcast
Answers To Discussion Questions
1. The chapter opener discusses the DEWmocracy social media campaign used by PepsiCo to select a
new flavor to add to the Mountain Dew product line. Discuss the pros and cons of using social media
and consumer generated content to select an addition to the Mountain Dew product line. How might
Mountain Dew’s ad agency react to having them do the creative work for the brand? (L01, 2)
The DEWmocracy campaign is an excellent example of how marketers can make effective use of
social media and user-generated content to get consumers engaged with their brands. The first
DEWmocracy initiative opened up the product development process to loyal fans of the soft drink and
2. Some advertising creatives argue that the distinction between rational and emotional advertising is
irrelevant since nearly all advertising includes aspects of both. Evaluate this argument. (L01)
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Emotional appeals relate to the consumer’s social and/or psychological needs for purchasing a product
or service. Emotional appeals are most appropriate for products and services where social and/or
psychological needs and feelings are important or where consumers need to be reached on an
emotional level. Many consumer products are difficult to differentiate on a functional/utilitarian basis
and advertisers often turn to appeals to emotions to create feelings, images and beliefs that can be
activated when the consumer uses the product. Moreover, marketers recognize that commercials must
be meaningful to consumers, as well as entertaining, and emotional appeals are often the best way to
touch the consumer and hold their interest. Emotional appeals are not, however, limited to consumer
products that are difficult to differentiate. Appeals to emotions are also used for major purchases such
as automobiles, financial investments, and many other purchases.
3. Find an example of an advertisement that uses a feature appeal and analyze it giving attention to the
type of product or service attributes discussed in the ad and the benefits they provide to consumers in
the target audience. What is your opinion of the effectiveness of the ad you have selected? (L01)
Advertising using feature appeals focus tend to be very informative in nature and present a number of
important product/service attributes and benefits that will lead to favorable attitudes and purchase
4. IMC Perspective 9-1 discusses the need for a creative revolution in online advertising. Discuss how
online advertising differs from the type of advertising done in traditional media such as print or
television and the challenges marketers face when advertising on Internet web sites. (L01)
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Online advertising can take various forms including various types of banner ads such as skyscrapers
and leaderboards, text-only ads that are used for paid search, webisodes and video. Many online
5. What is meant by the mere exposure effect? Discuss how banner ads that appear on various websites
might take advantage of the mere exposure effect. (L01)
The mere exposure effect refers to the tendency for novel stimuli to be like more or rated more
favorably after repeated exposure to them. Banner ads that appear on various websites can take
advantage of this phenomenon simply by being presented to consumers who may have a tolerance for
6. What is meant by transformational advertising? Analyze the cinematic-themed ads for Skyy vodka
shown in Exhibit 9-6 from a transformational advertising perspective. (L01)
A transformational ad is one which associates the experience of using (consuming) the advertised
brand with a unique set of psychological characteristics which would not be typically be associated
with the brand experience to the same degree without exposure to the advertisement.
Transformational ads create feelings, images meanings, and beliefs about the product or service that
may be activated when consumers use it and thus “transforms” their interpretation of the usage
7. Discuss the use of slice–of-life execution techniques in advertising. For what types of products and
services might this execution technique work best? (L02)
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The slice–of-life format relies on a problem-solution approach that is often presented with a little
drama. These spots usually begin by showing consumers facing or talking about a problem such as
bad breath, dingy laundry, dandruff, headaches, or dry skin. The short drama always ends with the
problem being resolved by the advertiser’s product. Many advertisers feel that the slice–of-life format
8. IMC Perspective 9–1 discusses how “The Most Interesting Man in the World’ campaign was able to
increase sales for Dos Equis imported beer. Discuss the reasons for the success of this campaign
giving attention to the advertising as well as other components of the IMC program. (L02)
“The Most Interesting Man in the World” for Dos Equis has been a very successful campaign and is
an example of how great creative strategy and execution can be used to differentiate a brand in a
competitive product category and drive sales. Beer is a very heavily advertised product and it can be
very difficult to break through the competitive clutter, particularly for a smaller brand such as Dos
9. Discuss the role of headlines and in a print advertisement. What is the difference between a direct
headline and an indirect headline and when might each be used? (L03)
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The most important function or role of the headline is to attract the readers’ attention and make them
interested in the remainder of the message. Headlines can also perform a segmentation function by
engaging the attention and interest of consumers who may be most likely to buy a particular product
10. Discuss the role of music in advertising. Find an example of a television commercial that is using a
song and discuss the role the music plays in delivering the message. (L03)
Companies/brands pay large sums of money for the rights to use these songs such as because they feel
the music is central to the feeling or image they want to create in the commercial. For example,
General Motors used the music from Led Zeppelin’s hit song “Rock and Roll” in its commercials for
Cadillac as part of its effort to attract baby boomers by creating a more hip image for the brand.
Microsoft licensed the rights to use the classic Rolling Stones song “Start Me Up” in ads for its
Windows 95 operating system as the music helped deliver a message regarding the integral role the
operating system plays in the functioning of a personal computer. The company also licensed the
rights to Madonna’s hit song “Ray of Light” for use in ads introducing its new XP software as the
Chapter 09 – Creative Strategy: Implementation and Evaluation
11. Choose a current advertising campaign and analyze it with respect to the creative guidelines discussed
in the last section of the chapter. Identify any areas where you feel the campaign does not meet the
guidelines and discuss why this is so. (L04)
The last section of the chapter discusses criteria or guidelines that can be used for evaluating the
output from the creative process of advertising. Some of these concern factors that are not directly
accessible and thus more difficult to evaluate, such as consistency with marketing and advertising
Additional Discussion Questions (not in text)
12. Discuss the difference between an advertising appeal and a creative execution style. Find several ads
and analyze the particular appeal and execution style used in each.
An advertising appeal refers to the basis or approach used in the advertisement to elicit some
consumer response or influence feelings toward the product, service, or cause. The creative execution
13. Discuss some of the various social and psychological states or needs that can be used as the basis for
emotional advertising appeals. Find examples of ads that use social and psychological needs as the
basis for their advertising appeals.
Many different feeling states or needs can serve as the basis for advertising appeals designed to
influence consumers at an emotional level. These types of appeals are most appropriate for products
and services where social and/or psychological needs and feelings are important or where consumers
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14. Discuss how teaser advertising might be used to introduce a new product or brand or to reposition an
existing brand. What factors should marketers take into consideration when using a teaser campaign?
Teaser advertising is designed to build curiosity, interest, and/or excitement about a product/service
or brand by talking about it but not actually showing it. Teasers can also be used to draw attention to
15. What is meant by emotional bonding? Discuss how this concept can be used in developing and
advertising campaign for a brand.
Emotional bonding is a proprietary research technique developed by the McCann Erickson
Worldwide advertising agency in conjunction with Stanford marketing professor Michael Ray. This
technique is designed to evaluate how consumers feel about brands and the name of an emotional
rapport or connection they have with a brand compared to the ideal emotional state they associate
16. Describe the use of dramatization as an advertising execution technique. Discuss a product or service
for which dramatization might be an effective form of execution.
Dramatization is an execution technique where the focus is on telling a short story with the product or
service as the star. The approach is similar to a slice-of-life execution in that it usually relies on a
problem/solution approach but uses more excitement and suspense in telling the story. Products and
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17. Why do many advertisers pay large sums of money to celebrities to do the voiceovers for their
commercials? Do you think consumers recognize the voices of the celebrities doing the commercials?
Is it necessary that they recognize them for the commercials to be effective?
Advertisers will often pay as much as $500,000 to celebrities just to have them do the voiceovers for
their commercials. Some celebrities prefer this more subtle form of product endorsement as they do
not have to appear in the ads and thus can avoid the potential negative image of being perceived as
18. The chapter discuses how the campaign featuring the Aflac duck has been very successful in
increasing awareness as well as sales for the supplemental insurance company. Why do you think
this campaign has been so successful? What challenges does Aflac face by continuing to use the duck
as the focal point of the campaign?
The AFLAC campaign is a very good example of how a company can take a cute character such as a
duck and turn it into a personality symbol that can effectively deliver an advertising message with
which the company can become identified. Aflac, which is an acronym for American Family Life
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The primary reason the campaign has been so successful is because the humorous commercials have
clearly struck a responsive chord with consumers. The spots featuring the quirky duck in all sorts of
odd places are very entertaining and have been a very effective way to break through the clutter, get
consumer to attend to the ads, and register the Aflac company name. Supplemental insurance is a
product/service category that is not very easy to advertise as consumers are not interested in it or do
IMC Exercise
Find an example of a print advertisement or television commercial that uses one of the specific creative
execution techniques discussed in the chapter (see the list on p. 302). Discuss how this ad uses the
creative execution technique and why the advertiser may have chosen to do use it. Do you feel the
Chapter 09 – Creative Strategy: Implementation and Evaluation
AdForum Exercise: Analyzing Advertising Appeals and Execution Styles
(See Advertising and Promotion Playlist, Chapter 9)
Part I: McDonald’s
The playlist for this chapter contains three commercials for McDonald’s. Watch these three spots and
answer the following:
1. Analyze the type of advertising appeal used in each commercial.
Part II: Tide Laundry Detergent
The playlist for this chapter also includes three TV commercials for Tide laundry detergent.
1. Analyze the type of advertising appeal and creative execution technique used for each ad and discuss
why the agency may have chosen to use it.