9

Managing Creativity in
Advertising and IBP

be able to do the
and thinking about this chapter, you will
After reading
following: minds.
characteristics of great creative
1. Describe the
core
with that of business managers/
reative department
role of a n agency's
2. Contrast the tensions between them.
executives and
account
explain the in advertising
and promoting creativity
in managing tensions
3. Assess the role of
teams

and IBP applications.

passion for creativity.
4. Examine yourself and your own

CREEPY KING.
INTRODUCTORY SCENARIO: CREATIVITY BEGETS A
buc
work1ng on loW-budget
(CP+B) was the hot little underdog agency love C'P-B
4 , Cispin Porter Bogusky
with
+
busness press had tallen n

for clients like Mini, IKEA, and Molson. The Akx BVgUSKV,
g-Duzz Campaigns s chet creative tone,
fused with PR tirm.' The agency cro! I
Ue so-Called prototype of
ad agency
thrive un a worli
where S t - a
who had figured out how to
d aointed the ad industry
as guru
its role as the underdog. bit
thetn
lon tt e

CP+B was thriving n

Pearcd everybody's death watch.2

On
would ever be the same the prultuct ne
g-urger King, that isand nothing Customer tratlic steudily derlnng ald was
in rough shape. ad eitnet. igeneics

was
4,l5urger Kmg was pretty
becn good tor Burger Kmgs
Poor results hadut
Cd of some serious cxciteent.
this track record,
in.uny
igenctes tng
o the previous four ycars. Given
CP+B Skeptics, however. preilleted doet
had been hired and fired in
bt m
Ca
Away from signing on witlh the Kine, but not feisty litle

Warre 2004, 111 Tlo

2 M erger, "Dare-Devils," isiness 2.0, April
Calner, "rispin Ups Ante," Avaiing Age. Jauary 10, 2005, S-1,S-
 320

was that CP+B had yet to prove itelf with a major mas-market cT Ta
sCntiCnt
expected that CP+B's culture of creativity would be st1fled by a compary that t*

30-second TV spots. Could the underdog survve

t didntthrough
customers
take long for CP+B to give the King a ncw look Right from the start, n eter
AsV.

the buz factor

And contirming ties
with creative that befiuddled the skepticS and maxed out
y focUs
i4r ve
the one target egnentT4st
eej
stuccess started with an unequivocal on
ai
k
wiOna among the
heaviest useTs Of S
had to win: 18- to 35-year-old males. who arc
t ng
unleashed a series of offbeat
characters to enEAgE the egTA
t a r g e t segment
well defined, CP+B
the new lendeTrsp cniCKET Sanda
viral. onlinecampaign hyping tne
Angis wi
ubservient Chiçken"started it all with a
mocked diet-crazed
consumers
and pusned

over-the-top
an rapper who
ext up Was "Blingo,
burger as the antidote to politically correct fast food I he Kings irv h Waii
new and very
strange peTsona.
CP+B would resurrect The Kng, with a for evaliatirg crprae Kin
nna or course, introduced us to a
whole new dimension
promo z
breaktast menu, but ultimately he machines For exmpie, a nOliday
evive he also proved to be a seling did more t t
NO One does aeepy better than The King. He
Exhibit 9.1) set sales records.
Not
only
Pocketbike Racer and Big Bumpin
(see tor Burger KT
advertisement
Abox tor the adverganmes them a stealth
but they also took home with happens that purcha
videogame, so
ulhon people pay $3.99 for a suble plug for Burger King.
And it juIst
the game, it was one more 2) hours per week plzy1ng v
VeTy iime they played
some
TV but instead spend
much
were those young-adut males who dont watch hard-to-please, mass-12rket di-
with a
survive a reBationsh1p
Gone are the concerns about CP+B's ability to
games.

NOWCRSTYONAMINPASAXTAS

few could resist his creepy charm.

ExABIT 9.1 The King offered his loyal subjects a great deal with value meals,
It's not just the offbeat and out-of-the-box characters that make this story worth tell1ng. Unlike its prede ces
sors, CP+B did not get fired after one year. More mportantly, iU really did help rurn around the fast food busies

3. Ibid.
4. Kate MacArthur. "BK Sets High Score with its Adver-games, dvenusng Age. January 8, 2007, 3. 31.
 2
Managing Creativity in Advertising ond 19P

KiDg, and thie succCss proved sustainalble.

5
rger
Five ycars
yeats ipto
Into
rclationsbip, Burger King
the rclationship, was celebratin
or ivC quarters of samc-store sales 'V
growth, key performance metric
a
K business. Burger
in the fast feeder
metriC in
vas rclevant aga pare Ot the evetyday conversations of men 18 to 35 For their work with Buryer
K11 other clients ike TDominos and The Gap, CP+ B won lots of awards, luding the ritle "Agenecy ot
t h e D e c a d e " from Advertising Age.
he 11atter of just a feW
yeaTs, CP+B
went from
Underdog to Big Dog Yet it 1s noteworthy that (.rispin
ageincy tat tne protessional critics scold for edgy campaigns like Whopper Virgin* a
1s an
rel1areButt.'Hence, the agency's seven elements for creating"Hoopla." describeo in the Ethics box. will
disbelieversS. Dut
rile its chapter im a
advertising creativity, this is exactiy what we shou
on
people and creative organizations have to be risk takers. They shake things up. some
C 'stoes. They are commonly boastful, which of course irks their critics even more. They ney do
people

ferently.Soin discussion of thitg

creativity, we should expect stories about greatingredient
res But there can be absolutely no doubt that creativity is the secret successes, and stories aDta
in great advertising
this ch we will attempt both to convince you of that and to help you understand how to get n
into your recipe.
the secret ingreaient

WHY DOES ADVERTISING NEED CREATIvITY?

what is it about creativity that makes it such a big deal in the advertising business? Why do big success-
sl marketing firms like Procter & Gamble send their employees on expensive junkets to the Cannes Lions
International Advertising Festival to make connections with the best creative minds in the ad business? Why
creativity. the secret sauce that determines the winners and losers? What gives?
There are numerous Ways that creativity contributes, but let's start with the pervasive problem ot advertise
clutter. Everyone hates ad clutter. So to try to overcome it advertisers generate more ads, which typically just
increase the clutter. Yes, clutter begets more clutter in a process that no one seems to be able to shut off." If you
want your message heard, you'l necd a way to stand out from the crowd, and that will require good creative.
Rescarch shows that a primary benefit of award-winning, creative ads is that they break through the clutter and
get remembered." But as suggested by the cartoon in Exhibit 9.2. part of the challenge is always to make sure
that the brand gets remembered as part of the process. Heed the warning.
So for starters we need to get the consumer's attention and be memorable. But that's hardly enough.
Going back to Burger King's 1ssues in 2004, the problem wasn't that consumers were unaware ot Burger
King or didn't know they served Whoppers. It was that Burger King was boring. Largely irrelevant. No
momentum. A syndrome one could expect with many mature brands." Burger King needed to become
relevant again with its core customers. It needed to get back in their everyday conversations. That's what
Subservient Chicken and the creepy King did for Burger King. All ot a sudden, it's relevant, in play. T'his
clearly called for a huge dose of creativity. Another brand that stays relevant wuh ts core customers
through big doses of creativity is featured in the Social Media box and Exhibit 9.3.
Another way of saying it is that great brands make emotional conmections wth consumers. You can advertise
your tires through a lot of mundane details, or you can engage consmers emotionaly, as in Exhibu 9.4 Brands
make emotional connections when they engage consumers through complex sensory experiences and deep
emotional episodes.1" Advertising and IBP in its many forms helps create these experiences, but great creative

5, 2008, 4, 58.
EmilyYork, "Economy, Rivals, No Match for BK's Marketing" Advertising Age, May
. "Ad Age's Best of the Decade Agencies," Advertising Age. December l4, 2009, 6.
7. Eloy Trevino and Scou Davis, "There's Nothing New in Desperate Marketing" Adtvrtising AgeApril 23. 2007, 22 Jereay Mullnan and Enily York.
22. 2009, 5, 31.
t Crispin's Lauded BK Work Doesn't Do: Gain Ground on McDs." Adventising dee. ofJune
8. S Winter 2008, 5- 19.
Sasser and Scott Koslow, "Desperately Seeking Advertising CCrealiviuy. Journal Advetising.
Brian
9. Ma w
ela
Til Creamer,
atnd Datiel
"Caught
Baack."Recall
in the Cluuer
and Persuasion:
Crossfire: Your
DoesBrand,"
Creative
Adventising
AdverusingAge.Mater?"
April 2. Joumal
2007, 1.of35
Adbvertisng, all 2005, 47 57, Daniel Baack. Rick

111.
d Brian Till, "Creaivity and Memory Effects."}eunal of Adentising. Winter 2008, 85-94.
Karen ! "The Maure Bratnd aud Brand lnterest, Journal ef Marketing, October 1993,72-82.
12 M dhlet Chris Allen. and Thomas Madden, York: Allorth, 2001); Hamish Pringle and Peter Field, "Whv
Emo The Neuw Paradigm jr Connecting Brands to People (New
obe. Emoional Branding:Ones."
Emoional Messages Beat Rauonal Adrvertisinng Age, March 2, 2009, 13
 324

SocIAL MEDIA
Creetivity, Going Mobile... beep, beep
arketets have always ermbraced the idea that it is (ood to have consuners talikinig abKHst thesir brands
Wnere milions of the
maintaining momentumconversations have shifted to onine, tthe stakes havg een ráed. Call t
buidirs
.. being part of the conversation of your target aUierce. Stayirig relevanit, Whir
Ou, is

ike these love

critic ally impottant,
Not so hard to do if you market ptodcts ike Pad or Start8-tranid zealrto
to tweet i
their latost encounters with the trand. But what those
Hike toothpaste a'dTOvet paper, about atvout al urinvolvirg prci
doses of creativity. Building buzz and staying relevant in categoriss thess wil require
likg
rerxite fre1er.
freiUert ard r
Creative outcomes are also fostered when brand builders have aspirations for
the basic benefits.
serving Onsurrers hat g
Take Charmin bathroom tissue. For the last decade has embraced he
Consumers find safe and clean restrooms when Charrrir chalence re|
for the they need them the most-away irorn horre. so it rrede tere
Charrmin brandto partner with
Simpy stated, there's an SitOrSquat inc. to heip consumers tind Clean resrorrs whener
werere ard rdWeA
v
app for ita Charmin sponsored app, that S.
ihe
sito Squat iPhone app uses GPS technoloay to allow users to-find publiC restroornS Fi ary
tre user to
provide a rating of the experience for location, adto
potential future users. IheSt raing S Or ourse a
gaod thin
Squat means undesirable. The Charmin brand shows up
narmin bears show frequently as part ot the interace. For earncle, those luee
up in a desperate state as the
Screen throughout, with application ioads (see ExiDt 9.3), and a urarrin banner ad st
the tagline: Gotta go? Relax... we back. Accordng to unar
Hagopian: "Our goal is to connect Charmin with innovativegot your ir s brand marace a
mportance of bringing the best bathroom conver sations and solutions a Diard that urdesterss
as
experience to consumers, even when they
re away romi rome Thats wta
SitorSquat app is all about,
But did it build buzz?
Get Charmin in the conversation?
500,000 consumers had downloaded Keep the brand relevant Ater just 12 months
this Charmin-branded app where it more
in that same
period the wouid ive permanenitly n their motlie
thorss
program generated +500 milion media
by +200 rews outets. Al for a very modest ad impressions, numerouS biogger posts, and coverz
spend. The Wail Street Jourma designated SitorSquat
marketing programs of the year. We call it just darn amcng the bes
creative
Sources Charmin Launches Global
Sponsorship with SitCrSquat Website and Mobile Phone
PEGs Charmin Brand Runs First Mobile Applikation pmewswire.com. AMarch 24, 200N cke, {
2009 The Waf Street Joumal, DecemberSponsorship,"
21, 2009, B1,mobiemarketer.com,
B6. Aprt 10, 2009, Suzanne vranica. "Babies and
Tigers Sest and Wors *sd

made the brand relevant social context. And it all worked

in a
silhouettes. They because of the simple creative
everywhere 'and we couldn't stop watching them.
were gens ot ne in
if we too wanted to become cool. Get that They showed us what we needed to
would be no advertising without it.
thing. So 1s
creativity important advertising? In today's workd, tner
to

1 CREATIVITY ACROSs DoMAINS.

The reative mind plays with the objeas it lores

-C.G. Jung"
Before examining how the creative
uction plays out in the world of advertising and (reatvuy

it manifests in other donmains. reavty, m its

IBP let's consider
the donman. opler
as
essence, Is the same no matter what
reo
14. Carl G. Jung, cited in Astrid liugerald, A A S DN Y
pPko 4 (.olection of Thoughts on At, Atists, dnd
arnd Creatiity
Creativity (New Yor intst
(New York:
8. 1
 Manoging Crarstivity in Advertising and 18P 3253

cther they write

novels,
take
photographs. ponder
the le physte« that drrves the tart
wTitc sorgs. 1ngs. play a misical instriinient, dance, make fils, destgr bsldmgs. pirst, or make invere
eat
a fp
t octry, t

truly grCat
rative accomplishments.
be tr he ability
ability
tlhe consider and hold together
to
tivity
is
This
connect019. This
seemngly mccnsvstent elements arid fce, making
ability to stejP outside of everyday logic, to frer e neelf of thinkimg in terms of "the wry
e H
the way things have to be, aPparently allows creative pe ple to, pur rhngs together inaw thar

t h n p
it. makes sense, 1s hterestng. and is creative. To sec ove and hate as the same entity, to ee "mand
1t, 11ma
sCC

syilarcs,
1WC
or to
ine time bending ike molten steel is to have this abihty ldeas born of creatvty revea trer
and then w e all say, "Oh, I see"
th
logic,
oWn
is sometimes seen as a gitt; a special way of seeing the world Throtighout the ages. create peope
en as special, revered and reviled, loved and hated.They have served as powerfiul poltical mseruments
have been e

ood and evil), and they have been ostracized, imprisoned, and killed for their art For exampie. creativiTy
( o r ,
becn
with various forms of madness:
assoCiated

has

it comes as heaven, is the channel which we receive the greatest blessings... [T|hr
the gyt of by
mem
LeodsD[oVided
h o gae their names saw no aisgrace or repoach in madness; othenvise they would nor have coneTed it UTf

and called by our ancestors, madness is a noler thang

O o f the noblest of ats, the art of discerning thesober
future,
all

Cod, 1ulhereas sense is merely human.

ober sense... {AMJadness comes jrom
-Socrates
ot the best
social Circumstances, and cognitive styles. In one

chianood cxperiences,
Creativity retlects eariy and works of seven of the
on creativity, Creating Minds, Howard Gardner examines the lrves
noks ever written 95). igor
of the 20th century: Sigmund Freud,Albert
Einstein, Pablo Picasso (see Exhib1t
ninds
afest creative Martha Graham, and Mahatma Gandhí.s His
work reveals fascinating sammlariues among
rainsky, T. S. Eliot, self-contident. alert, uncon-
phys1cist to modern dancer,
were
from
seven of these individuals,
OTeat creators.
All
Social life o r hobbies are aimost mmatertai.
and committed obsessively to their work.
entional, hardworking, on the creator's work time.17
at moSt a fringe there s
representing this commitment sounds positrve,
commitment to ones craft 1s the rule. Although
Apparently, total
reflection:
also a darker
only wnoily invoued
in
narcissism: highly absorbed, not
merges with egotism, egocentrisn1, and
/TJhe self confidence costs of other
individuals.
"

but likely to pursue them at

his or her own projects, n o t safe: youl
have tracks
creator and his o r her work. Ita
stand between a great c r e a r v e mnds had
Let's be clear: One should not coincidentaly, these great
the creator will ignore just you. Not Acconhng to
as ther tam1hes)
down your back. Or maybe for ord1nary people (such
did not have time Canuh1
troubled personal lives and simply
ot
t r u e even
to those
around them. 1This was
not very good ireave peopie r e
ardner, they were generally
Wel-ecogzed
were also great
selt-promoters. rarelv c o m e s to

l l seven of these great

creative geniuses tame m the c r e a t v e
relm
work. Apparently,
exposure for their Hovpiu.)
selt-prondtIOnal book
typically shy about seeking also see illustrated
nicely by CP+Bs All ot them had the ab1lhey
lesson
Self-etfacing and timid. (A
w e
childlike m à crucal way mall
e c r e a t o r s were, very
significantly, by pursung n n o
these great revolutionmzing physcS
l
seven of Einstein spent muuch
career
of hus
wth a sttand ot pure 1ghe?
Prcaso
as a clhild does. m o v e along
gs would it be ike to technical skills)
he produced a child: What a child (along
wuh amzungly superior
dreuns had
1dea as
r to paint
like hs chldhood
was his ability with nat nterpretation
ot

tha a that t ultimatelyg r e a t n e s s . Freud's obsession Leuus.t

S. Elots poctry
his 7te lnterpetltkon ef
14lned much of si1gniticant
works,
a
d n t role in what is one of his most
Kv
bugland: Peuguiu,
1970), 4o +7, ited in

(MMidfdesex,
Flaiulton, t u s .
Waller 1993), 51
15. andliighth tetters, Free Pres, Jnd Gidhu (New
tèmpenment (New Youk:
Seventh Gitahim,
Tales, quoled in Plato, Phardnus dnd the Elhot,
Shutnsky;,
lhess and the Atistic
Phiasu)
Redfseld Jamison, Manic-Depressive Seen through the Lives of Freud, Eunstcn,

16. Howa Fie: of Creatirity

York: Basic ealing Minds: An Analomy
Books, 1993).
17. Ibid., 364. Modern Librarv
Freud (New York:
y gmund
18. Ibid. The BStC Vltng
(Ed.).
19. Ibid., 145;, of Dreams, in A. A.
Brill

Sig Freud, Interretition

1400/1938). Teud, The

 326

ExHIBIT 9.5 Pablo Picasso, seen here in a

sef-portrait, was one of the greatest creative minds of the 20th Read obo
the life of Pablo Picasso at Artcyclopedia (www.artcyclopedia.com, or visit the official Pablo Picasso websitecentury.
(www.picassoi
demonstrated imaginative abilities that typically disappear
past childhood. The same is true of Martha CGrahas
modern dance. Even Gandhis particular form of social action was
formulated with a very simple and chiale
logic at its base. These artists and creative thinkers never lost the ability to see the ordinary as extraordnary
not have their particular form of
imagination beaten out of them by the process of
Of course, the problem with th1s childhke "growing up.
thinking is that these individuals also behaved as
chiu
throughout most of their lives. Their soC1al behavior was egocentric and seltish. They
them to be willing to sacrifice at the altar of their gift. CGardner expected those arou
put it this way:"|T|he carnage around a
creator is not a pretty sight, and this destructiveness occurs
whether the individual is
pursuit or ostens1bly working for the betterment of humankind"3°"1hey can, however,engaged
in
s marly
be
charming when it suits their ambitions. T hey could be monsters at home, and darlings whenextraoru
Apparently, the creative mind also desires margmalhty."They love being outsiders. This perro seems to

have been absolutely necessary to these people, and provided them with some margimnality s
requisite energY
Emotional stability did not mark these creative lives either. Al but Gandhi had kdown

a major mental Dreca

some point in their hves, and Gandhi siifered from at least
the
twoperiods of severe depression. Extren
just as popular myth siuggests, sees to come at some
psychological price.
20. Gardner, Creating Minds, 369
21. Ibid.
 Matnging Crarstivity in Acbrertisng nd 327

eaius in the Advertising Busines.

Creahiv

not as ucntial
nflue as the Gandhs or th Treuds, it 1s common t, see imdvidiais frrm he
rhas
aIscd for able
remarkalble carecrs that have clearly revealed sparks of crcatrvc genius One example i
Atdhough

nCss pra7s o fths writing Was b years old and still the main creative force with f HWA Cht
i

Iy
e
the tune
t
o w : n h o a

s work. The Energzer l5unny, billboards for Nike,"Dogs Rule" tor Pedigree. aTd the "199A pt
u know
'sM a c aare
s Mac
from his
r e trom his porttolio. As are the ads featured in Exhibts 6, aTd 7
oa1chcd Apple

Yo Quiero
Taco Bell

ExaT 9.6 Chihuahuas want Taco Bell.

SiPod

favorites fronmt
icudng your

9.7 The ad that the

music business forever.

changed
 328
Tee CJow I ODe of the great c teatve macstros of the modern advertising business. 1 Age referred
o
sinly as"The Dude Who Thonght Difterent "2
But those who have worked side say his real gift i
at his

of rough sketches, J ce is
the guy who he
Sortng thmugh wall
fill of ideas in the form
ereative
syrnthesizet.
how to k a wimner The
a
one siplest marketing idea that is most likely to resonate witn consumer

fervent aboit great (renivity; oth

"Imposuble is Nothmg" fot Add. ot "Shift" or Nis«an Some say he s Now doesnt Say
his way tha
pme of tempet and can
to tits be mean to those who dont see things nd
a lot lhke the other great creatots diseussed above?

Creativity in the Business World.

what crcative and what 1s not in the ar
of determining who and who is not o is
artistic
ne litieilty is creative
detined, how this trait is crrativity 1s
Viewed
rld i paralleled m the busmess world. Certainly,Itnohas becn said thhat creative individuals assturme almost m
matter the
Dsiness World as a postive quality for employees.
mythy.
or what they are. Furtherm
no One is sture who
statius in the corporate world. Everybody needs them, but Tmore
Cal with creatve people will not be casy. Often,they are right.
Nhes types often cxpect that working

Can One Become Creative?

democratic soCiety would be to say, "Yes, sure; von to
in a
mportant qucstion.The popular
answer
T his is an
standard, one that m
can be a Picasso." But in the end the genius
of a Picasso or an Einsten 1s a pretty high
of us will not be able to achieve. And given some
of the costs associated with intense creativity, maybe we don
ls a person creat
on what one means by ceativnty.
want to be that anyway. But this question really depends
creative because of the way he or she think
because he or she can produce a creative result? Or is person
a
Further, who gets to determine what is creative and what is not: When an elephant paints holding a brush with
the elephant 1s creative?
its trunk, and thepaintings sell for thousands of dollars, does it mean that
Even though there are numerous elusive elements on the path to being creative, we need to keep comino
back to the point that in the advertising business, we cant do without it. So we will take the point of view thar
Picasso or even Lee Clow, that doesn t mean that we
although few of us are destined to become the next Pablo
can't learn how to improve our own level of creativity. We all start from a different basel1ne, but we all can leam
to be more creative and contribute to the creativity process in an advertising application. Well reviSit this later

in the chapter.

Against Stereotype.
In concludng our discussion about the traits of extraordinar1ly creative people, a couple ot notes ot cauton arn
order. First, it should be understood that just because you are in a "creative" job, it doesnt folow that you are actualy
creative. Second, just because you are on the account or bus1ness SIde (a.k.a. "a suit") doesnt mean you are uninspired
(2s in Exhibit 9.8).As the folks at CP+B will tell you, good ideas can come from anyone, anywhere.* Sometimes even
che cient (gasp') can have a good idea. Tension and confict (aka., suits versus the creatives) are regular occurrences in
producing great advertising It's normal. One needs to anticipate and manage this contlict in positive ways to get good
outcomes. We take up the issues involved in this challenge in the section to follow.

2 AGENCIES, CLIENTS, AND THE CREATIVE PRoCESs.

As
an employee an agency creative
m you will
deparmenu, most of your time with
spend
your fect up on a
workng on an ad. Across the desk, also with her feet up, will be your partner-in ny case, an art director.And she
dek
will want to talk about movies.

22. Alice Cuneo,"The Dude Who Thought Different," Advetis.ng Age, July 31, 2006, 1, 25.
23. Ibid.
24. Warren
Berger, "Dare-Devils," Business 2.0, April 2004. 11 116
 rd 329

ExHIBIT 9.8 QArtist

Ar David Ross
directors and copywriters.
Swimming Suits, a view ot
corporate individuaity and creative tat s
citar sharad y

L fat. if the truth be known,

You will Spend
dis due in two days. The media fully one-fourth
space has been bought and of your career with your feet up tük1ng abeut
affa drunk behind a paid for. The pressure's building And ie nore
dumpster somewhee. Your pen lies useless. pour nuse
is ieepmg
That's when the tatic person comes So you talk movies
means they also stay on top
by. Traffic people stay
of you. Ihey 'll come by to remind top of a job as it moves thsougir the gency:
on

Creative people who don't come za

So you try to get
through with the goods on time... you of the horrnd things thar happen huai-sse to

your pen moving. And you begin to

partner's shoes. work; and working in this
business means sturnng t e u r
That's what I've been doing from 9 to 5 for almost 20
on
the feet of my partner, parked years. Staring at the bottom of the disgustng
on the desk across ters hes
life atan from my disgusting tennis shoes. This is the sum und
agency. suesiune or
-Luke Sullivan. copwrter nd uthur
Exhibit 9.9 is
illustrative of many creative pursuits: lots of time
tryng to get an uiei, or the righe dea. You u r n
gs over and over in your head, trying to see the
light. You try to tnd that o e Wi weng
that amuker ot
a121 into place. Or it just comes to you, real easy, just like that.
t
t

Magc. Every reitve pursuit uvoives wrt this

ng. However, advertising and IBP, like all creative pursuts, are unque in sune

doffice and try to solve a problem,

repect
Ad peopie cote
Ofte always under time pressuure. gnen to them by u u e busuesperoa
L e problem is poorly defined, or there are connpetmg agendas. t hey work tur people whu eem oe t be
creat
V E at all, and who seem to be doing their best not to let them be creatve. Ihey are housed m the"re tve

oso thart which makes it seem as if it's some sort of warehouse where the enccutes keep ll the te L Oy
that they an find it when they need it, and so that it wont get away. Ihx mmphes th.at one an pick
can
getting extra batteries
at Target.
25. Luke Sulliva,
d n g at Your Partner's Shoes," in Hey Whipple, Squeeze l hus. Ciutle to CliAg Cci. 1i Neu e,
 330

Friday

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Mora nese Se RcorganiE tolidegIne
DKnnal

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oURCATfo is REA

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iursdv Friday ibid

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Fon ova *EW CATALOG Ox CD CALL ST2.4S4.5S11. Ox AX U AT J12.454.s 58a.

cater to the creative: The ibid catalog offers images to jumpstart te

ExABT 9.9 Companies like ibid (www.ibidphoto.com)
imagination.

Oil and Water: Conflicts and Tensions in the Creative/Management Interface.

Herè are some thoughts on management and creativity by two advertising greats:
The majority of businessmen are incapable of original thinking, because they are unable to escape from the tyramry
blocked.
of reason. Their imaginations are -Wiliam Bernbach
in the ass, then you in mush in this business.
you're not a bad boy if you're not a big pain are some
-George los

As you can see, this topic rarely yields tepid, diplomatic comuments. Advertising is produced through àS
process. As a social process, however, it's marked by the struggles
for control and power that o c u r within aepu
ments, between departnients, and between the agency and its clients on a daily basis.*
Most research concerning the contentious environment in advertising agencies places the creative depur
t the
in a central pos1tion within these conflicts. One explanation hinges on reactions to the uncertan nature
are avng
sometimes appears that they
product of the creative departnment. What do they do? From the outside it

26. Willhai Bernbach, quoted in Thoufas Frank, The Cnguest of Cool: Business (Cultue, Comsumer Cultue, and the Rise of Hip ComsonmE
University of Chicago Press. 1997)
27. George Lois, quoted in Rundall Rothenbeng, Where the Sukers Mvun (New York: Kuop. I904), 135 172
28. Christy Ashley and Jason Oliver, "Creative I eaders"Junal of Adetising. Spring 2010, 115 130.
 and 1BP 331
Managing Creativity in Advertising

fun around while cveryone clse has to wear a suit to the office and try sell n o r e
lot of and just SCrewi8
c f for the client. I his creates tension betwecn the creative departnent and the account services department
to
In1 addition. these twO departments do not always share the samc ultimate goals for advertisements. Indiviaais
the creative dcpartnicnt sce an ad as a vehicle to communicatec a personal creative ideology that will turtc
carcers (SCe Exnibit 9,10).Theaccount manager or account executivc, scrving as liaison between cient d
lC
y. sees the goal of the communication as achicving some predetermined objective in the marketplace,
rONIDg 1market share for the client's brand.
grow

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WARMTM snLTER

PROTEOTIUN sacURIT
A

FooD

FIG FIa.4 A
MAsLOWsHIRAROH OF
MASIows H1ERARCHY CRES-VE

Congatuatos to al the wnaen a u vmdi s pkae jas h gem b

TEAM ONE AIWERTL9NG

EXHIBIT 9.10 Team One Advertising has an interesting spin on what motivates agency creatives; here, it parodies

Maslow's hierarchy to make its point.

due to differing background knowledge of

Another s o u r c e of conflict is attributed to differing perspectives with broad
services teams. Account managers u s t be generalists
members of creative groups versus account
in a single area.
who must possess great expertise
knowledge, whereas creatives are special1sts the creative department is recognized as a n essential part of
in contlict,
Regardless of its role as a participant Creativity has
for potential clients when they select advertis1ng agencies.
any agency's success. It is a key issue
client/advertiser relationship.
Deen tound to be crucial to a positive
their role in killing the very sane breakthrough
ideas that they claim
However, many clients don't recognize who has worked in the creative department of an advertisingg
to be
looking for2° (see also Exhibit 9.11).Anyone chient stories-like the one about the client vho wanted to
a full quver of
gency for any length of time has T he creative team went to work and brought
for his ice cream novelty cornpany.
produce a single 30-second spot further possuble spots in the same
delivered the strategy pertectly, set up
a Single spot that everyone agreed was just damn funny. It was the kimd of comnnercial that you a c t u -

ampaign, and, in the words of the copywriter, the client laughed in all the right
television. During the storyboard presentation,
ay look forward to seeing o n He thhen decided to o v e
his oney to a national coupon drop.
places, and admitted the spot was on strategy. the anxieties and trustrations of the creatives; especially
blane clhents for all oft
Its
easy and sometimes fun to clients all you want and, since they aren't in the
You can criticize the
"ou've worked in a creative department. obViOUs stake that creative departments have in generating
But, despite the
you, they can't hear you.
C e next to

5-19.
o Ahetisng Winter 2008,
29. Sh Sser and Scot Koslow "Desperately Seeking Advertising Creaüvity."Jounal
 e shat leiter

Prame grod i tre ie gno- poapt Thry

( fyn af and

A r k vottoou A4vert.tint Apinisir hieh p'dgóer dhfs

* eeei6g i4t6 t aAjumfis *lets o4teys
1 4verrnt1y Dodr re*" thi*
yss fs intd their
jive

iAalr tr *9te imotinretlý snd trrdably s«

h s prndntt becon*s
hige
1 of thet biret

fya d fike s jesrn mare hu41 P.elity 2*1ed K6rertisiaf, 'w ts Sra**

Coly. pretideni,
617.19) 195. kiat yw'd gyrev he
resat
gAtAd+*rtisíng

ExHIBIT 9.11 What clients like and what clients

approve are often wo
i
very diterent things.
superior advertising, it should be
mentioned that no creative
behind a campaign. ever put $10 million of h1s or her own mote
Indeed. you cant always blame the
client. Sometimes the conflicts and problems that
creative work occur within
the walls of the
creative advertising agency
preclude wondertu
itself. To say there can be contlict
department and other departments within an
Jerry Spr inger walks into a TV studio. In agency is a bit like say1ng there will be between the
advertising, the conflict often centers on the contict when
account services. So
why doesn't everybody pull together and love each other creative
department versus
When a client is within an agency
unhappy, it fires the agency.
conflict occurs. When someone Billings
and revenue drop.
is looking out for his or herBudgets
no wonder that are cut. And
pink sips dw ies
struggles over control of the creative job, it's tough
product. Account executives (AEs) are the liaison between get
not to involved a
the client. For AEs to rise in the
their career, they must excel in the care and agency ani
tion, gentde
prodding, and feeding of clients. It's a job of
It must provoke. At times, ambassadorship.
For creatives to rise, their work must negoui
it must shock. It must do all the challenge. It must arrest attenzen.
things a wonderful
makes for nervous clients. And that is piece
indicated earl1er, this is all the stuff of art must do. Yet, is *e
As suggested in Exhibit 9.12, it is little
that an account executive's
wonder that it can be so hard to find AEs nighumare.
This nightmare situation for the AEs with just the right disposion
win awards are
produces the kind of ads that win awards for the Peopie wbe
recognized: Ther work gets published in The On Show and Communicationcreatives. Ans and
the Clios. They are in demaind and they on
are wined and dined by rival agencies (see Exhibit 9.13). Theyappen become
famous and. yes, rich by advertising standards. Are they
So the trick is, how do you get creatives to want to
happier, better people? Some are. Some arent
pursue cool ads that also sell? The ideal AE finds a way t0
keep both clients and creatives happy. Not an easy thing, but in the end an
essential thing. As ad agencies have
downsized in recent years because of the economic slump, one of the tirst
positions to b cut has been the At.
Given the critical role of AE'S in bridgng the gap between chents and creatives, cutting them out secms hke
path that can only lead to more friction between agencies and cients. That's a path where nobody wins
The difficulty of assessing the etiectiveness of an advertisenment can ako ereate antagonisnm berween the
creative department and the research department." Vaughn states that the tumultuous social environnet

30. Jereny Mullnan. " Think Twice Before Axing Account Management,"Adventising 4ge, April 20, 2010, 8.
3 . A.J. Kover and S. M. Goldberg, "The Ganes Copywriers Play: Coulict, Quasi-Conurol, a New Proposal,"Journaal of Advertising Researih,
25, t
4 (1995). 52 62.
 aging reativity in
Adverti sing and 1BP 3333
me 25
FO h the years, was an advertising
chairmancrabgrass to becofme a
emertus or sorders,
agency "AE,"
tounder, president,
Perrin and
eventuaily riging
a t all thosé Norrander, incchairman, and
years, pondefed
attising
o othersagencies cOfISIstenty
the eternal ustion:
turri otut a Why do some
merely perpetuate suporior creative
wat Writers and art mediocrity? Is the answef sirnplyproduct
wOuld suggest that irectors? Nell, certainty that
there is another has a lot to do
to hire

for creative success. vital wit it

component in the ecuafion
Outstanding creative work in an ad
commitment
rcon, The trom
agency requires a ferocious
astaners, Dut especially frorm the account
job title is ser vice
acCOunt supervisor-butirrelevant-account executive, account manager,
comes to client approvals.the job function is critical,
Yes, am particutarty wherr it
suit" who so frequentiy is the bane ofspeaking of the oft-maligned AE, the
the Creative
Department
So how in the Wide world
does one identity this
himan being who is sensitive rare species, this unusual
to the creative process and defends
agency
expect, itrecommendations
the
with conviction
is not easy But there are some
and vigor? As you
might
tests that can be used as diagnostic signals, some sernihypothetical
tools:
To begin with, look for unflappability, a splendid trait to
heat of battle In Australia last year,heard a chap teli possess the
about arriving
in

home to "find a bit of a problem under his bed. An eight-foot python had
slithered in and coiled around the mans small dog. Hearing its cries. he
yanked the snake out from under the mattress. pried it loose from the
mutt, tossed it out the door, and "dispatched it with a garden hoe." Was
he particularly frightened of distressed? Not at al. "t've seen bigger
snakes, " ne said, helping himselif to another Foster's Lager. Now, that's
the kind of disp0sition thhat wears wel in account service land.
Source: Wes Perrin, "How to ldentify a Good AE" Communication Arts Advertising Annuai 1988
(Palo Alto, CA: Coyne and Blanchard, Inc., 1988), 210.
ExHIBIT 9.12 How to identify a
good AE.

WED LIKE TOTELL

ALLOFTONIGHTS
AWARDHUNGRY SMARTASS,
HOLIERTHAN-THOU
ADDY WNNERS EXACTLY
WHERETHEYCANGO
CiwBIT 9.13 Foote, that résumés were wanted
to signal
e, Cone bit of sassy, tongue-in-cheekiness
& Belding
ing used a
334
conflict between arr
the "historical and
DrtWren
larstes have
deartments
tatne ad testers represents

been atgued philosophic ally as

and
the conflct betwecn
ldealism

research departments
and Materialie
are put
SCIenc.
R
SCIeCe. thes
af people in ne nemAte
une.
mptn1sm" In the world of advettisng. C r e a t i v e s dont like this
sition of judgmg the creatives. So, agam. "science judges

t
D t or not s1enee at
art.

hers arc sometimes

all Of coutse, rescarc
themselves
TCative
particulartihyey when
m the creative department.
h o y beng an additional consttaint on those that 1s iicrent im he very people-in
thete any nay anund all the tcnsion and conflict As detailed in Exhibit 9,14, the

g advettising and integrated brand promotion? do it creativity

the
insights ot
goal. Profesrhn
not to
weeney-a true expert on advertisnng creativity-1make it clear what

ne of the advantages of being practitioner-turned-educator 1s he opportunty to initeract wi

a
1s Viewed as a neutral in cr
ge umber of agencies Much like Switzerlard, an acadermic rtert
anars and not subject to the suspicions of a potential competitor
he result of my neutral status has been the opportunity to watch Gitergrt agernCIes produce hrs
real and poor work, And, as a former associate creative directof, G Ke to share the trende thar
i
seen in the development of bad creative. The revelation: Bad work is more a matter of structire
talent.Here are 12 pieces of advice if you want to institutionalize bad creative worK in your agency

1. Treat your target audience like a statistic.

Substituting numbers for getting a feel tor living, breathing people is a great way to make bad
work inevitable. It aliows you to use your gut instinct about women 55 to 64 rather than the ingtirct
thatevolves from realy understanding a group of folks The beauty with staying on the statstica
evel is that you get to claim you did your homework when the creative turns out dreadiui After
there were 47 pages of stats on the target
2. Make your
strategy a hodgepodge.
Good ads have one dominant message,
iots more than one
just one Most strategies that result in lousy work have
They are political junkyards that defy a creative Wunderkind to produce anything
but mediocrnty. So make
to make it all wotk. Youll
everybody happy with the strategy and then tel your creatives to td a way
bad get work, for sure
3. Have no philosophy.
Wiliam Bernbach believed in a certain kind of
produced consistent kind of advertsing that
a work His people emulated his phiosophy and
but a great
the exact same
thing about Rosser Reeves. Both menagency. knew
NOw, to be controversiai, ¥ say
prospered. what they wanted. got it. and
The agerncy leaders who do hard sell
one day
More importart, the work does not then new wave the next. create oniy
tlow from a
consistent Conusion
behavior to achieve that
advertising. vision of advertising and a coae
Curenty taddish bromide making the instead, there is the wid embrace of the latest tashHOn of ie
philosophy and rounds
really are true to it. They are
at conventions. So
beware of those who have a
4. Analyze your creative as
historically at odds with lousy work.
you do a research report.
Thhe cold,
anailytical mind
Demand that every delail bedoes a wonderful job destroyirng
present in every piece of uncomiortable, unexpected ws
thoroughness
make rio one
he Ceative work that survives your ice creative and say it is a mate
proud storm will be timid and compromised ana
5. Make the creative process
Cieative types colect a professional
after all, a paycheck every two
weeks. They'd better
businessne Coporate pertormance
developirng drab produce and do it noW t
print ou iv. Ireating the
an oftshoot of the loCalana
approach is a highly
tecommended way
unashamedly artistic process of making
ter assembly plant
will become every bil as promises to destroy risk taking ads as
are fine quallies in aigancive
busiiess
as a giay suit. More and morale. 0U
business, aren'timportant,
ad we ar it will be on
a
we? schedule. A

Continued
ExHIBIT 9.14 Assuring poor creative.
32. R.L. Vaugh."Point ofView. Creauves
Researchers Must
versus IesearcherS
Must They
They Be Adversaries
Adversaries?" Jounal of Advert
dventising Research, vol. 22, no.6 (1983).
 Managing Creotivity in Advertising ond 18P 335

and do other.
thing
one
Say ency says all the fight thgs attut risk takinig i n g great creatiye arnd adrrring
ery b a d e DeOple It is madatory to taik a grrodi (garne arid ther s al th thirgs hat destro
This will kee
will help keep spirits ow and turrhover hig in the areafiyas wio ara actjaly
strong
1
work. ithen
s youl feel better when they eave after a few rter ths ber.ause y y raally Be
areat then yout
talented
And f they jIst weren t so darnrh detensive
s t o n gc r e a t i v e

your
candy store.
client
clie a
Give
. o prove how hard you work. insist on showitg numerous haifthought-caut deas to he ' r *
lots o1 protblems nobody thotigit atsi anci that will make
roVed campaign wiH have
T h ea p p r o v e d

work a iness
tare birds, anid they rieed a great dgai of thirking t
make sire
ians with strong ideas are
numerous campaigns arnd guarante6 yoursef a seres of sparrPW rA
h t . So
re right.
So insist on
hey
a pair of eagles
than
match your campaigns. t o
and mix thern Take a ittie bit of one and stick
3. Mix and then up
eina three campaignst to your cient,
ed
All are fire c o i r s i
l S IKe Mixing biue, red, and green
t h e r Even better, dO nernaly. be a i c k d d y chum
a little? h e resuit of the mix wii
coolness of
we
biue. ant add
k s the Gommercials currently on the air
like so many
Just
ancther
that is being mxEd up wi r c o m c e t e r t
production.
9. Fix
it in
procedure has created a hall-baked campaign can fire he
Now that your production values hen you
creative to make Il WorK Dy exCellent
tali the with 11 sales ponts
is duil.
hack wthen the jingle
creative.
creative for bad but use he comparty
10. Blame the should do ("Make it totally unexpected, anymcre
what they find good taient
After al, you toBd them fact that you just can't
he tault ies in thelow turnover and pay smaller saiaries than y o : do

the old jingle

president and departments have
creative
Never-mind that Some
something ike
that
imitate. s o let's do
people
11. Let your
for the Aple 1954 commercial, imitation a p o e a r s acking
and saies WonderS because your You can even a v c c the
"ChiatDay won awards approach workS
account his
work.
store expected piece of Your i m t a t i o n
stereo
came from a totally the industry said the ad
for our was raten.
surprise that r a t e n a i e tar
the orngnal
surrounded Chiat/bay
when haif even Wiil have no strategIc
Controversy that mitations and, better,
can blend right
in with all the other
your bizarre execution
score. gets a
when you get a good
cOMmerciai

sensitive.
difterent
12. Believe posttesting your client when your when you got art a x c e i e n t

be slaughtered by said about posttesting

wCk
to de gocd
inat way you c a n nice things you back. lf you want
below n o r m . The c a n n o t be
taken ge ahead
do b a d creaIve.
SCoTe 20 points "singing mop commerCial a s a tool.
If you want to
w t i your research
Sore made to u s e and cien
s o r n e h o w be work. competence.
CHents must rewards excellent egomania, lazness.
uSLally comes
trom
that posttesting from bacd work
and belleve a lot of bad c r e a t i v e results believe.
have found that humnan dectcaton,
an
most hard work seheo
iuraly, d e m a n d n i g
lot less than inetfective and
that average
topped by your
a
Clabity-but
people c a n be
that make talented work that
eureS i n v e s t m e n t to
produce
financial
endous at the

senior Belding.
Chicago,
teaches
advertising

Cone &
director at Foot,
creative
associate
a former
Univereney, Latter ot
University of North Carolina-Chapl work Is uore
that bad them to
l e notes allows
we
should do.
:

sK
structure
that
make
abour what
to
have to provule
a way
tind
>weeney also gives us the hint we need
talented people,
we
and ac
rescarcheTs
have to

ructure than talent. SO

So
give pool given a
of managers,

produ ce
l. inarketing
AEs,
their best types,
wo Here's how
eautiful music Ogether. they
ative
can.
 336

TooETHER:
CoORDINATION,
BORATIC
COUABORATIO AND
3 MAKING BEAUTIFUL Music
CREATIVITY. allenge of, executin
the challe

ophistcate
appreciate
to
ietaphor ike the pertormance
Metaphors help us ndcrstand, so let's USe a

lBP canmpaign
is very
uch
contributione
of asympon
advertismg thheir itique
an
and IBP canmpaigns. Fxccitng imake
individuals must MaL.
o phodce glorous music, many
brings it all together
at the critical moment.
it a perfka
mance, but it sounds right only if the cach inaiviaua music1an warming
macstro

there early that you can hear in to master th his o

S y p h o n y and get
so
that this individua' put
mstrument. Retlect
on the many years
dedicated practice
of
individual put in
to learn
or her specific his pecific apart tor Strumen
Retlect
on the
many hours practice that
of
this
notice how
the random collection of SOnH tonnght
perfon As you sit there listening to the
warm-up,
his or her
own
the sound is a
thing, collecti Deo
asingy paintul to the With each usician doing tosO
Mercifully, the maestro finally steps
1ncre ears.
approaches. Podn
on their sheet music for rease
and clangs that grows louder as the performance
musicians focus
The
to quell the Cacophony. All is quiet for a
Finally, the macstro calls the ar
moment.

though by now hey could play their individual parts in their sleep. chestra
a group. as a collective, as a team,
with each person exccuting speciic
a assignment as
b the defined
dcton.As make beautiful music together.
direction of the maestro, they
omposer, ünder the and executing breakthrough
IBP campaigns is
pe
o t goes in the world of advertising. Preparing and this means many e
kinds of expertise will be needed to pull it off, ditferenn
ntensive bus1ness. Many different roles. But some order must be imposed on the collection of ot player
must be enlisted to play a variety of
people the various players a
common theme or direction for ther.tWork
requently, a maestro will need to step in to give baton as gitt. About the role of
Lee CloW of TBWA Worldwide quite naturally received
a conductors a maest)
orchestra, butI think l'm a much better cond
he has said: "I was a pretty good soloist when I joined
the nductor
that makes me happy.. And different peonie end
than I was a soloist. If we can make beautiful music together,
Lee Clow gets it. NoW you do too.
the solos and get the standing ovations.""
getting to do and
up Coordination collaboration will be required for executing any kind of advertising, which means Simplr
can be aided and elevated
essence of the campaign
that advertising is a team sport. Moreover, the creative
skillful use of teams. Teams can generate a synergy that
allows them to rise above the talents of their individ
members on many kinds of tasks. (Yes, the whole can be greater than the sum of the individual parts.) So e
Graham in our midst, a group of diverse and motvani
without Igor Stravinsky, Pablo Picasso, or Martha
an
into action
people be expected to not only generate big ideas but also put them
can
Great advertising and great teamwork go hand in hand, which of course means that we dont just want
teamwork can't be left to chance. It must be planmei
hope for a good team, we need to make happen. Great
it
we will ntroduce' several, concepts and insighs
abour
for and fac1litated if it is to occur with regularity. So next be m
can
teams to make you better at teamwork.
In addition, you will come to appreciate how mportant teams
producing that one elusive thing that everyone wants: creativity.

What We Know about leams.

used to it.
No doubt you have taken a class where part of your grade was determined by teamwork. Get know
and more instructors in all sorts of classes are incorporating teamwork as part of their courses because tnE
that interpersonal skils are highly valued in the real world of work. In fact, an impressive body of re Wisdm

cates that teams have become essential tothe effecriveness of modern organizations. In their book Ntance ot
ofTeams, consultants Jon Katzenbach and Douglas Smith review many valuable insights about the mnpo
teams. Here we summar1ze several of their key conclusions.4

UNarymeu
Teams Rule! There can be little doubt that in a variety of organizations, teams have become the prilu resut

for getting things done. The growing number of performance challenges faced by most businesses

33. Alice Cuneo, "The Dude Who Thought Dillerent." Advertising Age, July 31, 2006, 25. /Prax

34. Jon R. Katuenbach and Dougls K. Suuth, The Wisdom ofTems: Cretng the igh-Performance Orgnization (Boston. MA: Harvard Business
Busies
Schoo r
MA: Harvard
 337
Managing Creativity in Advertising and 18P

factors s c h as niore deinanding customers, tcchnologICal changcs, governmcnt regulation, and intensirying
petition-dennand Spced and quahty it work products that are simply beyond the scope of what an diviaiat

of the Rotman School of Management at University of Toronto, aerts tnat

tic
an
can offer.
Roger Martm, Dcan
COmplexity ot today s busincss problems can only be solved through collaboration In most instances, team*
" are

he only val1d option for gctting things done. This is certainly the casc for advertising

' s All about Pertormance. Rescarch shows that teams arc cffective in organizations where the leadershiP
makes it pertectly clear that teams will be held accountable for performance. Teams are expected to produce

results that satisty the client and

yield financial gains for the organization.

Synergy hrough Teams. Modern organizations require many kinds of expertise to get the work done.
only relhable way to mix people with diflerent expertise to generate solutions where the whole s greater than
the sum of the parts is through team discipline. Research shows that blending expertise from diverse discipline
"
innovative solutions The must
oftenproduces the
be done through teams.
most to many different types of business problems, "blending
The Demise of Individvalism? Rugged individualism is the American way Always lock out for number one
Are we suggesting that a growing reliance on teams in the workplace must mean a devaluation of the individua
of course, an always
and a greater emphasis o n conforming to what the group thinks? Not at all. Left unchecked,
with individual excel-
look out tor number one" mentality can destroy teams. But teams are not incompatible
contributions t o the t o r e t r o n t
lence. Effective teams tind ways to let each individual bring his o r her unique
When an individual does not have his or her own contribution to make, then one can question that persons
value to the team. As the old saying goes, "If you and I think alike, then one of us is unnecessary

Teams Promote Personal Growth. An added benefit of teamwork is that it promotes learning for each ndvidua
others. This
team member. In a team, learn about their o w n work
people styles and observe the work styles of
take hold i n an
learning makes them m o r e effective team players in their next assignnment. Once team principles
organization, momentum builds.

in leams. A critical element in the equation for successful leadership. Leaders do m a n y things
teams is
Leadership m u s t reach a goal to justify their standing.
and here Is where
for their teams to help them succeed."Teams ultimately
the team build c o n s e n s u s about the goals they hope to achieve
the leader's job starts. The leader's first job is to help doomed. Once
Without a clear sense of purpose, the t e a m is
and the approach they will take to reach those goals. of the consistent
then the leader plays a role in ensuring that
the work t e a m s

goals and purpose are agreed upon, role in the c o n t e x t of creating IBP cnpaigns.
with the strategy o r plan. This is a particularly important
work of the team. Here the team leader must be caretul t o contrib-
the real
Finally, team leaders must help do that team leaders should n e v e r do: They
ute ideas without dominating
the team. There are also two key things
individuals to fail, and they should never
exUse away shorfalls in teum pertormance.*
should. not blame allow
or speific
must be emphasized over ind1vidual pertormance.
Mutual accountability
wth the
Think of an agency's account t e a m as a bicycle wheel,
Direct Applications to the Account leam.
wheel. Spokes of the wheel the
reach o u t to the diverse disciplhnary expertise
team leader as the hub of a team members trom direct marketing
and IBP:The spokes will represent
needed in today's world of advertising interactiVe, creative, accounting, and
so o n . The hub c o n n e c t s
broadcast media, graphic design,
public relations, to make the wheel roll sunoothly. To
illustrate the mul-
the spokes and e n s u r e s that all
of them work in tandem
to lBP each
a c c o u n t team member can also
be thought of as a hub i n his
tlayered n a t u r e of the team approach i n e i b e r o n the a c c o u m team is team leader for her

For exanple, the direct marketing

o r her
very o w n wheel.

Harvard Business School Press, 2009)

35. Mind (1Boston, MA: Hutund Bus1ness Revieu, July August 1997, 111-121.
Oger Martin, The Opposable "Putting Your Company s
Whole Srain
to Work,
Dorothy Leonard and Susaan Sraus,
Kazenbach and Smith, The
Wisdom of Teams, Ch.
7.
144.
o.Katzenbach and Smith, The Wisdom of Teams,
338
type this of ms
direct marketing materials, hrough
T
OWn set ofspecialists charged with preparing tor ettective TsP campaigns vel
côordination and collaboration
essential Can
be achieed
and-spokes desig1n, the
The creative document with
brief is little
a
wi
Fostering Collaboration through the Creative Brief. It sets
up the goal for any adverti: huge
the crcative process.
in promoting good teanwork and fostering never force o r mandate a partie cfo
s a m e direction
bit slhould
a way that gets everyone moving in the creative. Preparation of the Soi
creatives to be
Itprovides bas1c gundelines with plenty
of room for the done right, a whve
the creative briet is
1S a jomt activity involving the cient lead
and tlhe AE. When
brief is featured in Exhibit 9 1 nch
An efficient tenmplate for the creatiVe .15
potential contlicts are prevented.
assembled on the acco
With the right combination of expertise Count
leams liberote Decision Making. team working
well as a unit, what appears ton
leader that has the
caretuly crafted creative brief, and a turn out to be breakthrough
decision making. This ic Ca

or spur-of-the-moment decision making can

trom anywhere. Teame the
teamwork. As they say at CP+B,
a good idea can c o m e Compa
huge benetits of good no one is worried about hat
creative because
liberated to be more
ot embers that trust one another are
tor the boss. It's the team that counts The
best ideas stolen. No o n e is worricd
about trying to look good
to contribute and lets
the whole be greater than the sum um ofPg
of the
sate team e n v i r o n m e n t allows everyone parts

Teams.
When Sparks Fly: lgniting Creativity through
teams, creative teams, or involving persons from horh.
hybrid teams
oth the
Whether account teams, sub-special1st
critical roles in preparing and executing integrated advertising cammi
mpair
client and agency side, all will play teams come up with better
evidence shows that when managed in a proactive way, Idea
that is, ideasimpressive
Moreover,
that are both creative and usefiul in the process of building brands.One can get pretty serious ah
teamwork may be serious stuff Br
the subject of managing creativity, and as reflected in Exhibit 9.16, good
doesn't have to be complicated and it certainly will get rowdy at times. The key elements are building teams
the right expertise and diversity of thought, pushing individuals in those teams to challenge and build on ead
others' ideas, and creating just the right amount of tension to get the sparks flying.

Cognitive Styles. Acconding to the stereorype, business types favor left-brain thinking and advertising ups
(especially the crcatives) favor right-brain thinking. Business types like to talk about testing and data and retum
on nvestiment. whereas advertising types like to talk about movies and the Cannes Film Festival. " Although su|
stereotypes misrepresent individual differences, the old left brain/right brain mctaphor serves to remind ust
people approach problem solving with different styles. That is, people prefer to think about things in ther oWL
style.
The unique preferences of each person for thinking about and solving a problem is a retlection ot. cog
tive style. For instance, some people prefer logical and analytical thinking; others prefer intuitive and noninta
thinking. Numerous categorization scaemes have been developed for classifying people based on their cogus
styles. Psycholog1st Carl Jung was an early pioneer among cognitive stylists. HHe proposed essential diter
among individuals along three dimensions of cognitive style: Sensing versus Intuiing; Thinking versus rctaeling
and
Extraverted versus Introverted. The important point for teams and creativity is that the more homogne
Ogeneos

Sumpy
s
team is in terms
astated, of cognitive
styles, the more limited will be the range of their solutions to a problem
diversity of thought nourishes creativity.
, when

Creative Abrasion. Teamwork is not a picnic in the

teams brng together
park. That's why it's called teamwork.
people with diverse cognitive styles, and they truly get engaged im the ta hich is there

friction. Friction can be both

clash of ideas, and from which
good and bad. On the one hand, we can have creative abras the
new ideas and
breakthrough solutions can evolve. That s OD iously
39. Jacob Goldenberg, Amnon
r i d g e U n i v e r s i t yP r e s ,

Levav, David Mazursky, and Sorin

40. Dale Buss, Solomon, Chackine the Ad Code (Canmbridge. UK: Cambru
"Bridging
the Great Divide in
Marketing Thinking" Advetising Age, March 26, 2007, 18,
41. Dorothy Leonard
and Walter Swap. When Spanks Fy: lgniting (Creativity in Groups I19
(Boston, MA: Harvard Business >e
 i8P 339
AAvarísing ond
Merieigi ng rantivity
in

CLIENT:
OATE: O9 NO.
Prepared by:

wHAT 1S THE PRODUCT OR SERVICE?

Simple description o name of product or service

WHOWHAT IS THE COMPETITION?

Provide a snapshot of the brand situation, including turterit positiori in the cate Gory. n
challenges, cornetitive threats, and future goals.

WHO ARE WE TALKING TO0? Be s

Clear definition of who the target is both demographically and psychograpticay ard tranc
connect target
specific as possible in defining the target so that the creative can
the most compelling way

ADDRESS?
WHAT CONSUMER NEED OR PROBLEM DO WE this produCt
or service fills or how
Describe the unmet consumer need that this product
addresses a need in a way that's unique.

CURRENTLY THINK ABOUT US?

WHAT DOES THE CONSUMER related to broader context as weil as
to at attitudes and behaviors
Uncover target insights getDetermine exist or whether new
whether insights currentiy
and brand.
specific category
be conducted.
research needs to

BELIEVE?
WE WANT THEM TO
WHAT ONE THING DO benefit (functional, emotionai,
or s e l f - e x p r e s s i v e
Write in
Be a s single-minded as possible. in the category can or
is currenty sayengt

ianguage Should differentiate

us. no other brand

THIS?
THEM BELIEVE
THEM THAT WIL MAKE the "one thing we
WHAT CAN WE TELL but the few things
that clearly support
of available support
Not a laundry list
believe."
want them to

ADVERTISING?

TONALITY OF
THE atvertising
personality ot the
WHAT IS THE the tonality and
that captures
or phrase
A few adjectives

Of particular note: not business-speak

consumer's language;
Write it in the
concse
and
count, be simple
Make every word brief shouid make
first "ad." The
brief as the
Think of the it!
as possible. e x c i t e m e n t to
start executing
Make as evocative in their
down
eaives up and
jump

brief.
ExHIBIT 9.15 Template for a
creative
 340

ExHIBIT 9.16 Teamwork really is both those things.

thing. On the other hand, we can have

interpersonal abrasion, which is the clash of people, from which
communication shuts down and new ideas get slaughtered. That's obviously the bad
earlier, teams must have leadership that creates a safe environment
thing. So as we pointed our
allowing
creative abras11on to flourish, whie
always looking to defuse interpersonal abrasion. It's a fine line, but getting it right means the ditference between
creativity and chaos

Using Brainstorming and Alien Visitors. Many of us have sat in a conference room and shot the breeze
for an hour and when it all decided
was over we just wasted another hour. Groups can waste a lot of time f
not proactively manage d, and one of the key means tor getting groups or teams to generate novel soluaons s
through the use of a process called brainstorm1ng. Brainstorming 1s an orga1zed approach to idea
generatcn
in
groups. As suggested by Exhibit 9.17, there 1s a right way and a wrong way to brainstorm. Follow the rules
laid out in Exhibit 9.17, and you can call it
brainstorming. Otherwise, you re just shooting the breeze, and mos
likely wasting time.
Add1ng more diversity to the group is always a way to foster creative abrasion; nmoreover, well-established teams
can get stale and stuck in a rut. To ramp up the creative abrasion may require a visit from an alien.
If you can get
one from Pluto or Mars that's fine, but more likely this alien will just be a person or persons from outside the nor-
mal network. They can be from elsewhere in
your organization, or from outside the organization entirely, Perhaps
the team will need to take a field trip together to visit sone aliens. Teams that insulate themselves from outsle
influences run the risk over tme of loosng their spark."" Tranquil1ty and sanmeness can be eneies ot creativit

Final Thoughts on Teams and Creativity.

Creativity in the preparation of an IBP campaign can be fostered by the trust and open comnmunication that are
hallmarks of effective teams. But it is also true that the creativity required for breakthrough campigns will evone
as
persomal inwork products generated by individuals haboring on
the preparation of lBP campaigns. The
their own. Both personal and team cretvins
are
critical task daunting of facilitating both otien tills in the lap ofm
agency's creative director.

42 Dorothy 1eonard andWalter Swap. Hhen Spauks Hly lenitimg (eatiity in Coups (oston, MA: Ilarvard Busines Sehool Press, 1090)
 in Advertising and
1BP 341
Managing Creativity

Eight Rules for Brillie Brainstorminng

#1-Build offideas,
enerate each other. One
build on proven path to Creativity entails building on existing ideas: dont
each thers'.
Fear drives out creativity. If people betieve they will be teased, lemoted, or ottherwise
#2-

miliated in the group, no need to even consider brainstorming. It wont work

#3-Prime individuals before and after. Encourage individuals to learn about the problern
before and alter tne group Session, teams always benefit when individuats apply threir urigue
expertise.
#4-Make it happen. Great organizations develop a brainstorming culture where everyone
knows the rules and honors them; to achieve such a culture, it is essertial that ideas develOpea
in brainstorm sessions lead to actions. We can't just talk big ideas, we must aiso put triern
work.
#5-t's a skil. Leading a productive brainstorming session is not a job for amateurs, tacHlitat
ing a brainstorming session is a skilthattakes months or years to master. Dont pretend to
brainstorm without a skilled facilitator.
Contain
#6-Embrace creative abrasion. if your team has been formed appropriately, it wilf into the
people with conflicting cognitive styles. Celetbrate that diversity, weicome everybody
the sparks fly!
group, and then let
Good brainstorming sessions foster learning among people wfio
nave
#7Listen and learn.
fades.
diverse expertise and divergent cognitive styles. Trust builds and suspicion
#8 Follow the rules, or you're not brainstorming (and pretending just wastes
everybody's time).

about Brainstorming" Inside Business Week, September

25, 2006, 17-21.
Source: Based on Robert I. Sutton, "The Truth
ExHiBIT 9.17 Don't waste time; do it right!

because, much like the m a e s t r o of

the sym-
director in any ad agency is very special
The position of creative excellence, but at the samme time demand t e a m
creative director must encourage personal about the challenge of channeling
phony orchestra, the creative directors to get m o r e ins1ghts
accountability. We interviewed v e t e r a n
has an intensely personal element,
otten moti-
the creative energies of their teams. All
acknowledge that creativity element, t e a m unity
self. But despite this interpersonal
o w n ego o r sense of
vated by the desire to satisfy one's s o m e good principles
t o tollow:
creative teams, these are
nas to be a priority. In orchestrating
Be sernsitive to their existing
workloads
individuals to a t e a m in the tirst place.
l a k e great c a r e in assigning for the client.
required job to do the
and the proper mix of expertise creativity c a n be a n intensely
individual. Listen carefuly. Because
know the cogmitive style of each when o n e needs to supnort
leave people alone,
G e t to versus
when it is best to
to know
personal matter, one has
inevitable rejection
them in working through the and teams are empowered when they have sole respon-

client. Individuals
Make teams responsible to the
for performance outcomes. and between teans. They can
$ibility between
mdividuals

competitive relationships
e w a r e of adversarial and c a m a r a d e r i e and synergy.
mistrust that destroys t e a m s Over tue, rotate teain assign-
Ckiy lead to
will work o1 mmiltiple
In Situations set of individuals
where the s a m e some
aliens!
or bring in
s t foster fresh thiking, trust, co1plementary er-
exper-

etfective t e a m s - c O m i u n i c a t i o n , Advertisino
Here we fundamentals ot s simply n o alternative. g is a
See once again that the outcome. I here

ISe, and leadership-produe

C a d e r s h i p - p r o d u c e the
desired pertormance
team sport.
342

4HAVE You DeciDED To BEcOME MoRE CREATIVET

g t a t way to summatize the factors that foster creativity is via the 3P's creativity framework t
the firstP and as we emphasized at the begiinng of this chapter, the ficld ot aclvertising has alwav tople
ne concept of great cteative mnds, as in a Ice Clow, Alex Bogusky, or Bill Bernbach. But we aso bae
the P'rocCss t
55 Iscd in developng creative wok, and the Place or environment wherein the work is is don work done, areh
Dg Tactos in generating creative outcomes. As one agency leader put itWe scll 1deas, and if your al
you are not going to get a lot of good ideas."" All that makes sense, biut now, as
are
unhappy, promised
to cinde back to YOU. tme
Most of us are not going to model our lives after creative geniuses like Pablo Pcasso or Martha Crahs
though t's great to have role modes to inspire us, we don't think it's real1stic to aspire to be the ner e
next
Or Enstein. But we all can take stock of our own special skills and abilities and should candidly assess Our
strengths and weaknesses. Thi1s means YOU.
For example, referring to some of the terminology used carlier in this chapter, we all can complete
that reveal our own cognitive styles and then compare ourselves to others.And if you want to calibrate
mplete ase ssment
of creativity, just scarch the Internet for "creativity tests" or "creativity assessments and a host of onr
present themselves. It is a good thing to get to know your own self and start thinking about your uni
and abilities. In addition, if you have any interest in a career in advertising, it would be a good thingt
Tight now that you are going to make yourself more creative. Although we all may start in different pacer e
worthy goal to aspire to become more creative. Yale psychologist Robert Sternberg, who hasdevoted hir
S1onal career to the study of intelligence and creativity, advises his students as follows. Tote.
To make yourself more creative, deade now
to
Redefine problems to see them diferently from other people;
Be the first to analyze and critique your own ideas, since we all have good ones and bad ones;
Be prepared for opposition whenever
you have a really creative idea;
Recognixe that it is impossible to be creative without adequate knowledge;
Recognize that too much knowledge can stifle creativity;
Find the standard, safe solution and then decide when
you want to take a risk by defying it;
Keep growing and experiencing, and challenging your own comfort zone;
Believe in yourself, especially when surrounded
Lean to dherish
by doubters;
ambiguity, because from it comes the new ideas;
Remember that research has shown that
people are most likely to be creative when doing something they iove.
It's good advice.

Summary
1. Describe the core characteristics
A look at the shared seusibihties of
of great creative minds.
great creative minds provides a constructive starting point tor assessing
creativity in the
production of great
advertising. What Picasso had in common with CGandhi, tn
oe

and
Einstei-including strikingly exuberant self-coutidence, (childike)
Tahun
a Freud, Eliot, Stravinsky
comnitment to the work
both charms and alarms us. Selt-coutidence, atalertness, unconventionulity, and a
an
unconstrained childlike ability to see the some point, becomes crass promoton

world as forever new

devolves, somewhere along the lne, ino seu chiltsh s

43. Sheila
Sasser and Scotu
44. Brooke
Capps,
Koslow,"Desperately Seeking Adverüsing Creativity," Jounmal of
45. "Playtine, Events, Perks Go long Way in leam Building" Advetising, Winter 2008, 5 -19.
RobertJ. Sternberg. Advetising Age. January 15,
Giftedness," Roeper Rerieu,"Creativity Decision" Ameriun 2007, 30.
as a

Psychologist,
Creatie

vol. 23, no. 2

(2000), 60-65. May 2002, 376;, and Robert
I.Sternberg. "ldenutying a