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How to Develop Advertising Conceptsand Demystify the Creative ProcessAn extraordinary point of viewfor something rather ordinary

N G. CoTZlAH

Students creating advertiseme nts fortbe first time seem to go through th((same catharsis. The first stage soinns tobe the relentless pursu it of the hest pun ,augm ented w itb a visual deemed "wildand wacky." in a futile attempt at beingfunny.Once the words "wild and wacky"have been deleted from their vocabulary,

the realization tbat advertising is still inthe communications business seems todawn on most students.The second stage usually comes in theform of a banal statement about thfiproduct accompanied by an even dullerproduct shot. When asked what their adis trying to say, you are inevitablyreferred to tbe squiggles at the bottom ofthe page representing the unwritten bodycopy.

conceived or intuitive object of though[Random House Websters CollegeDictionaiy. 1991]. The notion of conceiing an original thought brings tbeaverage, linear thinking, regimented,book-learned student to an abrupt halt.

Unfortunately, the traditional meansof breaking tbrougb this level is trial anerror. Professors and students waitpatiently for tbat piece of provocativetbinking. which demunstratos somesf!mblanc;e of talent.The problem with trial and error isthe level of frustration incurred. Forevery ad tbat even remotely possesses apiece of original Iliiuking, the studentendures tbe humiliating process ofcreating a great many vacuous ones.It's usually at this point the studentthrows his hands up, quits, and becomean account executive.The School of Visual Arts taughtstudents (of which I was one) a tech-

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product) and looking at it from anextraordinary point of view (an ad). Witbtbat definition, one only needs to striveto see tilings differently.To exemplify this point, lets take thesimple observation that "the sky is blue"and simply ask, what does that mean?Well, for one thing, it means it's notraining. It means the sun is out. It meansyou're looking up. It means there'satmosphere. And it clearly means you'renot in Syracuse, N.Y. Obviously, the lastone is the most interesting point of view

of the boring observation that the sky isblue.If wo break (it)wn tbis simplisticexample, an interesting dynamic istaking place. For one thing, nothing morethan sheer common sense is being usedto look at tbis ordinary thing fromvarious points of view.The choice of "you're not in Syracuse,N.Y." as being the most interestingselection is visceral, not intellectual.This exercise can easilv be elaborated

into creating ads for a product.As an example, let's say the assign-ment is Lexol leather conditioner andpreservative. Tbe first step is to clearlyand succinctly define what this productis and does. By paraphrasing the descrip-tion on the bottle, we define Lexol as "anoil preservative that can repair crackedleather."Working with a black magic marker,on a 17x22 sbeot of white drawing paper,we put what the product is and does inthe middle of the page and circle it.When we apply the same method ofthinking as "the sky is blue" to Lexol,five tangents immediately come to mind,although obviously an infinite numberexist.The five tangents are:1. Skin cream for leather2. Leather protector3. Makes old leather look new4. Heals leather like skin5. Leatber moisturizer.(5f tbese five tangents, 1 would

ILLUSTRATION 1

it beals sometliingtbat's dead HOW MANYPRODUCTS DO

YOU KNOW CANHEAL

SOMETHINGTHAT'S DEAD?

skin is alive leatber isn'tdoes morethan aprofessionaltanner heals leather like skin

Retin A for leather skin cream tor leAn

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ILLUSTRATION 2

isturizer J)

it beals sometbing tbat'sdead HOW MANYPRODUCTS DO

YOU KNOW CANHEAL

SOMETHINGTHAT'S DEAD?

does moretban aprofessionaltannerskin is alive leatber isn't

heals leather like skinRetin A for leather

skin cream for leatherAnOil

PreservativeThat Repairs

CrackedLeather

a dermatologistfor leather leather moisturiz(

makes old leatherlook newercedesBenz - no

protectsleatherbooksleatber

protectorrotects leatherupholstervprotects leather

artifactsTHE EIRST OIL

AND LUBE JOB FERARRIINSISTS YOU DO

YOURSELF

viscerally choose "heals leather likeskin" as the most interesting.Once again, the same tangentialthinking is applied to tbis point of

redefines what Lexol is and does, is thait can heal something that is dead.Thus, if you have a tight shot of thedescription of the bottle where it says

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ILLUSTRATION 3

does morethan aprofessionaltanner

it heals something that'sdead

skin is alive leather isn't

heals leather like skin

Retin A for leather

a dermatologistfor leatherBMW -no

protects leatherupholstery

AnOil

PreservativeThat Repairs

CrackedLeather

leatherprotector

HOW MANYPRODUCTS DO

YOU KNOW CANHEAL

SOMETHINGTHAT'S DEAD?

skin cream for leather

leather moisturizer

makes old leatherlook new

izer J^

protectsleatherhooks

protects leatherartifacts

TeddyRoosevelt'sriding hootsat theRooseveltLihrary

THE FIRSTOIL AND LUBEJOB FERARRI

INSISTS YOU DOYOURSELF

CharlesLindherg's leatherhelmet at theSmithsonian

Ancient Indianleather pieces at theMuseum of Natural

Historv

it's the firstpiece of

It's also protectedthe Smithsonian'ssecurity

in a glasscase

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to our original five tange nts, wo canapply the "sky is blue" technique to say,"leather protector."Three simple tangents would be:1. Protects leather upholstery2. Protects leather hooks3. Protects leather artifacts.If we t.'ikn the first OIK; and simplypose the qnestion, "Is Lexol recom-mended by car manufacturers?", an easyphone call to local car dealers providesus with three new tangents:1. BM W -no2. Ferrari - yes3. M ercedes Ben?^ - yes.My preference is Ferrari. The fnct thatLexol leather conditioner is part of thecar's maintenance lends itself immedi-ately to the headline "The First Oil andLube Job Ferrari Insists You Do Your-self."Let's say this line is considered tooglib, hut we still want to do somethingexecutional. perhaps more visual. Goingback to our three "leather protec;t()r"tangents, a leather artifact could prove tobe quite visual, depending on what it is.After placing phone calls to a variety ofmuseums, we find Lexol is used on thefollowing items:1. Teddy Roosevelt's riding boots at

the Roosevelt Library2. Ancient Indian leather pieces at theMuseum of Natural History3. Charles Lindberg's leather helmet atthe Smithsonian.Because Lindberg's belmet strikes myfancy the most, we apply our techniqueto this point of departure. Three possibletangents come to mind:1. It's in a glass case2. It's ihe first piece of leather to cross

headline: "Protected by a S150.000Alarm System and One Bottle of Lexol.For the purp oses of presentation, thicreative approach has obviously heensimplified. We dealt with no more thanfive tangents in any one level. Howeverbecause we're working with circles (aswell as in them) it becomes clear that nmatter how many points of view youcome up with, there's always another.Since a circle has 360 degrees, there areat least that many points of departure.Thus, il's realized that ideas are infiniterather than finite.Th e other advantage is that it takesthe fear out of a blank piece of paper.Instead of waiting for a bolt of lightningfrom the heavens, students understandthat ideas are something to be pursued.It can even elim inate the word "ca n't"from a student's vocahulary. Withpractice, this has become a provenmethod for a numh er of workingprofessionals at New York's mostcreative agencie.s.

This technique also benefits studentwho have yet to use it to come up withan ad. Because it's visual, it enableslinear thinkers to use their m indslangentially. It helps them focus on theinstinctual rather than their intellectuaahilities. But most importantly, it teachthem thai thinking of an idea can be jusas much fun as executing one.

For the student who uses this tech-nique faithfully, his or her creativemethod begins to take shape. Soon w hafollows is the development of thatindividual's voice and creative style.Then a student can realize the singlemost coveted ability in advertising:consistence.

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