Whatever happened to creative communication?

The world was a different place at the beginning of the 90s when I started out as a very junior copywriter. At that stage I was chasing the creative dragon, in search of great ideas that would win awards and lofty status with an ad featured in Lurzer’s Archive.

It didn’t happen that way for me: no cocaine, fast cars or heavyweight creative director status for me, though there were a few ads where I sparked and a couple of local awards. Comparing what exists now and the state of then, there really isn’t much going on in Namibia, nothing stand-out, just a series of dull take-it-or-leave-it announcements.

The intent of creative advertising was to engage the viewer. The core creative objective was to create some kind of surprise that would remain with the audience, in a sense create an association so that if the audience saw the logo, the positive association and memorability would be activated, and the desired behaviour would be activated. Second prize went to social engineering, like sharing a cola with friends.

That form of advertising still has relevance. Lurzer’s Archive still publishes, if you care to Google it. You can also search for Good Ads Matter on LinkedIn. People still read print media. And anything that gets the result is valid. But creative advertising is difficult, I don’t see evidence of creative directors at work, and it is being drowned out by very dull social media practices, such as announcements.

The complexity of creative communication can be simplified with the ROSIE system of looking at things. ROSIE is also a blueprint for developing sound, creative communication. ROSIE is an acronym for relevance, on strategy, surprising, a good idea and executed well.

Relevance is important. Creatives often lose sight of the goal of the ad in the creative rush and the messaging may lose relevance. This closely relates to checking whether the ad adheres to strategy, so the questions of what the problem is, what we are saying and what result we expect should be asked. Focus is all-important in this matter as well. Don’t try to sell more than one idea at a time.

I have covered surprise above. A surprising new take on the problem and the solution will create strong associations that come into play when a result is needed. Note that the surprise can also be a visual formulation. Take a look at Lurzer’s Archive and Good Ads Matter to see the visual side of things in action.

Is it a good idea? Creative communication can be surprisingly irrelevant or tasteless. One example of this is the famous tampon absorbency ad in which a woman half empties a pool. It’s a surprising formulation, but revolting for many. The same applies to the Volkswagen ad in which the car withstands the force of a suicide bomber. If it’s not a good idea, don’t do it.

Executed well? Crafting an ad is time-consuming and difficult. If the ad is so complex, that it becomes complicated to craft, step back from the idea and go back to the drawing board. A poorly executed ad will reflect on the brand, and the consumer will judge the book by the cover.

A final word of advice… keep it as simple as possible. The ad must be seen and absorbed in one glance. If it adheres to the ROSIE principles, it will likely attract a second look, it’s memorability will be enhanced and it will better achieve its desired effect.