Writing the Idea

The What, The How + Who

AD 216: Lecture 1Gina Collura, Creative Director

Writing the Idea

The What?- It starts with the Creative Brief

- Creative Brief examples

The How?

Bringing a Creative Brief to life, Old Spice + Got Milk?

Who?The Team

The What:It starts with a *!?king awesome, inspiring creative brief

A creative brief bridges the gap between smart strategic thinking +

great communication

A great brief will help answer:

What’s the business problem we’re trying to solve?

A great creative brief liberates.

It does not limit.

A brief should always be interesting, informative + inspiring.

The What:It starts with a *!?king awesome, inspiring creative brief

Every agency has their

own method of crafting a briefThe What:It starts with a *!?king awesome, inspiring creative brief

It starts with a *!?king awesome, inspiring brief

TBWA/Chiat DayDisruption Brief

It starts with a *!?king awesome, inspiring brief

BBHCreative Brief

BBDOCreative Brief

M&C SaatchiCreative Brief

The What:Briefs ask + answerthese questions

Why are we advertising?

What is the advertising trying to do?

Who are we talking to?

What do we know about them that will help us?

What are the realities?

Cultural, Human, Company, Product

It starts with a *!?king awesome, inspiring creative brief

But they all include an important element:

A consumer insight, a human truth, “a pearl”

The What: Example_Consumer insight

Wives and girlfriends are more likely to buy men’s body wash than men.

- Old Spice Creative Brief,

Wieden + Kennedy

The How: The Idea

“The Man Your Man Can Smell Like, 2010”- Wieden + Kennedy

The How: The Idea

“The Man Your Man Can Smell Like, 2010”- Wieden + Kennedy

Hello, ladies, look at your man, now back to me, now back at your man, now back to me. Sadly, he isn’t me, but if he stopped using scented body wash and switched to Old Spice, he could smell like he’s me.

Look down, back up, where are you?You’re on a boat with the man your man could smell like.

What’s in your hand, back at me. I have it, it’s an oyster with two tickets to that thing you love. Look again, the tickets are now diamonds. Anything is possible when your man smells like Old Spice and not a lady. I’m on a horse.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owGykVbfgUE

The How: The Idea

“The Man Your Man Can Smell Like, 2010”- Wieden + Kennedy

In a single uncut shot, Mustafa transitions from a bathroom to a sailboat to riding a horse on the beach,all without pausing his monologue or breaking eye-contact with the camera for more than a moment.

The punch line of the commercial is Mustafa's non- sequitur final statement: "I'm on a horse", delivered as the camera zooms out to reveal to the viewer that Mustafa is now sitting atop a horse.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owGykVbfgUE

The Agency

The Agency

A real world example of a *!?king awesome, inspiring brief

The Idea

Goodby Silverstein + Partners, 1993Directed by Michael Bay

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7JrB7Ygu6zk

The Idea

Let’s reverse-engineer

What’s the business problem we’re trying to solve?

In the early 1990’s, the California Milk Advisory Board was concerned about long-term declining

milk sales- Previous campaign, “Milk does a body good”

- It didn’t change consumers’ behavior- They had to radically change directions

- They had to Zag

Let’s reverse- engineer

What’s the business problem we’re trying to solve?

Instead of selling milk as a complement to foods, the strategy became:

To remind milk drinkers of the anxiety + disappointment that came when milk wasn’t available at crucial moments

Let’s reverse- engineer

Milk became famous

Did it work?From 1994-’ 95, fluid milk sales in 12 regions totaled 23.3 billion pounds, and increased ad

expenditures to $37.9 million.

In 2002, “Aaron Burr” TV spot was named one of the ten best commercials of all time by

USA Today and ran nationwide.

This campaign ran for 20-ish years (‘93-2014).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Got_Milk%3F

Milk became famous

People at Goodby, Silverstein thought it was lazy, not to mention, grammatically incorrect.

“It’s clunky. It’s not even English,” recalls Mr. Silverstein, expressing his initial distaste for

the idea. He later gleefully adds, “It worked!”

Rich Silverstein, Co-Chairman, Creative DirectorFilm, “Art + Copy,” 2009

Who

Who

Creative teams get briefed by the Account Planner/Strategist

- Typically, a combination of Copywriters + Art Directors*

- Some agencies include U/X and/or Creative Technologist

*Depends on agency, ECD/CD, project

Who

Art Directors + Copywriters write-up ideas

- Think of it as an elevator pitch- Write 50 taglines to get to essence of an idea

Some teams:- Write a manifesto

- Write “handles” + create mood boards- Come up with branding devices + write a short

line to go with it- Create “Ad-lobs” (ad-like-objects): a key visual

with a headline

Who

When it’s time to generate ideas

- Art Directors write- Copywriters write

Everybody thinks + writes

Let’s Review

The What:It starts with a *!?king awesome, inspiring creative brief

The How: The Idea

Who:

Project #1

Create an ad from a photo

Pick a photo and…

- What product is it for? - What’s the idea? - What’s the headline? Tagline? - Write.

Project #1

Create an ad from a photo

Due next week/Wall Critique:

Review 3 thumbnails + 1 page rough of

your ads