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Unit 7: Advertising Strategy: Fundamentals

Notes

Notes Great Advertising Elements

The Creative Council of David Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide found that examples of great
advertising have certain elements in common:
1. Potent strategy: The strategy is the heart of advertising. It is impossible to do great
advertising if the strategy is weak or does not exist at all.
2. A strong selling idea: Great advertising promises a benefit to the consumer. The idea
must be simple and it must be clear. The brand must be integrated into the selling
idea.

3. Stands out: A great ad is memorable, even when competing for attention with news
and entertainment.

4. Always relevant: Prospects can always relate the advertising to their experience and
to the role of the product in their lives.
5. Can be built into campaign: No matter how clever an idea may be, if you cannot make
it into a campaign, it is not a great idea.

Source: Luis Basser, “Creative Paths to Great Advertising.” Viewpoints, September/October 1991,
pp. 23-24
In the ad biz, "The Big Idea" is the Holy Grail, the creative solution that in a few words or images
sums up the compelling reason to plop down your hard-earned cash for something you may not
have known you even needed. Big Ideas have something called "legs"; they can be called upon
again and again in different ways. Some Big Ideas include: "The Pepsi Generation," "Just do it"
and the Energizer Bunny.
In the academy, theorists are also on the lookout for the Big Idea. There, the Big Idea is called a
"paradigm shift." Among other things, it seeks something known as "parsimony," a simple
concept or equation that explains a lot. Rational choice, that we naturally seek pleasure and
avoid pain, is the Big Idea of classical economics. Who owns the means of production and the
social relations that result is the Big Idea of Marxism. The relationship of matter to the speed of
light is the Big Idea of Einstein's Theory of Relativity. The biggest of the Big Ideas of recent times
is deconstruction, which underlies much of what we call theories of post-modernism.

The Big Idea is the creative concept that becomes the foundation for all advertising platforms.
It's the engagement vehicle that takes an offer, a concept, a product, and allows for the mobilization
to the masses. And since this idea is all about connecting, it has become commonplace for people
in the industry to associate idea creation with creative types and the agencies where they reside.
If we go back to the quote from Ogilvy, he contends that it takes a big idea to attract the attention
of consumers. Even the customers can own the big idea. For the past two years, Doritos has used
the Super Bowl, the world's largest football and advertising event, as a stage to put The Big Idea
in the hands of consumers. This year during the Oscars, Dove allowed the audience to vote and
determine which commercial the company should run. While these are two very small examples,
it is becoming more obvious that those who once owned The Big Idea are now turning it into a
job for someone else to do for them.

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