The relationship between creativity and advertising is long, rich, and textured. Creativity is considered to be an important determinant of advertising effectiveness. Major industry awards are given to ‘creative’ advertisements. Salaries to ‘creative’ personnel represent a considerable portion of ad agencies’ expenses. There is a strong focus on creativity in advertising trade papers like Advertising Age, Ad Week, and even Creativity.
Despite the importance attributed to creativity, there has been very little research on this issue in marketing and advertising. Unfortunately, this lack of systematic theory development in advertising creativity has created a vacuum in the literature. Specifically, major reviews of the conceptual space of creativity lack any significant reference to advertising.
Definition
Advertising is a major field of application for creativity. It is a prime example where the ‘creativity’ of a proposed ad campaign must be assessed in relation to the objectives specified in the creative strategy. However, this has been a difficult task for advertisers who have relied on measures of ad divergence. In advertising, there is a consistent theme that creative strategy and the level of creativity in ads can be critical to success.
Three different types of ad creativity. There are three different types of creativity that are related to advertising:
- Creative team. They are the ones who develop and implement the creative strategy and actually produce the ad. This is the ‘ad creativity’.
- Target market. The level of creativity that the ad is perceived to possess by the target market. This is the ‘consumer creativity’.
- Audience members. The level of creativity in the audience members who are exposed to the ad.
Ad creativity production
Advertising creativity is usually a product of group collaboration and therefore it is critical to assess how creative ideas are generated in a team setting. Creativity is sometimes considered the ‘artistic’ side of marketing/advertising that is difficult to measure and assess. Some marketing executives wisely sub- contract the creative function to specialists outside the firm (ad agencies, creative boutiques, etc.) but ultimately they must somehow determine if creative goals are being achieved.
Ad creativity selection
Many brand managers are cautious and risk averse and thus prefer ads that are more familiar and comfortable—an ‘anti-divergence’ attitude. ‘If a deeper understanding of the divergence factors could help these people better appreciate the important role of creativity in advertising—that would be a big plus’. Bob Boelter.
Effects on society
Advertising has significant effects on society and some of the important ones are directly related to creativity. They include: effects on popular culture; advertising as commercial art; cross-cultural differences in processing creative ads; appeals to ‘out-group’ consumer movements (e.g. anti-consumption); teaching advertising; and using creative ads to educate consumers on important societal issues.
