Week one document.

Semester 1/2006
Unit KCP404 Creative Advertising: Introduction
Unit co-ordinator: Sandra Contreras
Phone: 3864 8186 Mobile: 0434 602806
Fax: 3864 8195
s.contreras@qut.edu.au

Unit Outline
Rationale
This unit provides an introduction to the creative side of advertising, involving the development of
creative strategies, creative concepts, and the crafting of persuasive ideas. The unit is the foundation for
further work in creative advertising, and provides you with an introduction to creative advertising history,
industry practices, strategies and concept development.
Aim
This unit aims to provide you with an understanding of creative advertising campaigns and strategy, the
capacity to develop conceptual ideas for advertising campaigns, and an understanding of the
communications process, and the significance of various media for persuasive and successful
advertising campaigns.
Objectives
On completion of this unit you should be able to:
1. Research and analyze communication problems & opportunities, and developing creative
strategies;
2. Develop conceptual ideas for advertising campaigns;
3. Develop the capabilities of various media as technologies of persuasion in creative
advertising campaigns;
4. Demonstrate presentation skills (written, verbal and visual);
5. Understand how to apply creativity in the advertising industry.
Content
• An introduction to the advertising industry, and the role played by creative personnel;
• Advertising history;
• Introduction to different advertising media (print, TV, radio, interactive, direct, outdoor) as
technologies of persuasion;
• Concept briefs, and their relationship to creative strategy;
• Introduction to research methodologies, as relevant to strategy, positioning, brand building,
targeting, segmentation, and the communication problem or opportunity;
• The creative process and creative thinking;
• Creative teamwork;
• Creative tools, techniques and methods;
• Presentation and selling of creative concepts;
• Introduction to critiquing creative work.
Teaching and Learning Approaches
The unit will combine lectures and other activities that provide an introduction to key concepts in
creative advertising, and practical activities involving the development of advertising concepts, writing,
design and presentation. These activities will help you to develop conceptual abilities, and your written,
visual and verbal communication skills. Lectures and workshops will be accompanied by research and
strategy development activities that will link critical analysis with the practical addressing of
communications problems.
Academic integrity
Students are expected to display complete integrity in all their academic work. In particular, activities
such as plagiarism and cheating or any activity designed to defeat the purposes of assessment are
breaches of academic integrity. There are other actions or practices which undermine fairness in
assessment, such as recycling an item of assessment from one unit or course and using it in another,
fabricating or falsifying data, experimental results or sources of information, collaborating with another
student about assessable work and representing that as individual work when this has not been
contemplated by unit outlines or assessment requirements. QUT's policy on academic dishonesty is at
Student Rule 29 (http://www.qut.edu.au/admin/mopp/Appendix/append01cst.html). Details of University
definitions of cheating and plagiarism and range of penalties will be provided in the documentation
students receive in week 1.
 Content and assessment schedule

W Readings Lecture topic Seminar topic Submissions

1 Defining Creative Brainstorming of
Advertising. ideas for a
Academic campaign.
Perspective (Promotional)
2 How campaigns Brainstorming of
CH 5, 9 and work. ideas (metaphors)
- Osborn, Alex. (1993). Detailed Procedures of Group Communication for a campaign.
Brainstorming, in Osborn, Alex Applied imagination : concept, types and Group work.
principles and procedures of creative problem solving, processes (Corporate)
Buffalo, N.Y.: Creative Education Foundation, pp. 166-196.
- Jewler A. Jerome and Drewniany, Bonnie L. (2001).
Creating Unexpected But Relevant Selling Messages, in Concept board
Jewler, A Jerome and Drewniany, Bonnie L Creative
strategy in advertising, Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, pp. 1-23.
- Roy, Michael L.. (1982). Sales Promotion, Publicity-Public
Relations..., in Roy, Michael L Advertising and
communication management, New Jersey: Prentice Hall,
pp. 14-23.

3 - Joan Leach Analytical systems Analyzing and

- Barbara B. Stern and Rhetoric redesigning an ad.
(Institutional).
Group and
Individual
4 Creative thinking Individual
-Ward, Thomas B. (2002). The Creative Cognition and creative tools brainstorming.
Approach, in Ward, Thomas B Creativity and the mind : Developing three Submission assignment 1
discovering the genius within, Cambridge MA: Perseus ads for three briefs
Publishing, pp. 8-24.
5 Advertising Individual
CH 4 and strategies, creative brainstorming.
- Donald Parente (2000). Developing a Creative Strategy strategies. Guest. Fitting images and
That Moves People in Donald Parente Advertising words to your
Campaign Strategy. A guide to Marketing Communications creative strategy
Plans, South-Western/Thompson Learning, pp. 139-173.
- William F. Arenas (2002). Formulating Advertising
Strategy: The Key to Great Creative in William F. Arenas
Advertising Campaign Strategy. Contemporary Advertising,
McGraw Hill, pp. 374-378.
- George Felton (1994). The Creative Strategy Statements,
Kinds of Strategies in George Felton Advertising Concept
and Copy, Prentice Hall Inc. New Jersey, pp. 47-74.
- Ronald E. Taylor, Mariea Grubbs Hoy and Eric Haley
(1996). How French Advertising Professionals Develop
Creative Strategy Journal of Advertising, 25 (1), 1-16.
6 Creative strategies. Journal feedback
CH 1 Case study. session

7 Music in Advert. Developing stories.

CH 2 Introduction to TVC
8 Presentation Creating follow up
techniques. Guest. adverts
9 Patrick De Pelsmacker; Maggie Gueens; Pascal Anckaert Media and Developing three
2002 message. ads for three
Production different media for
processes an advertising
supervision campaign
10 Personalities, Brief for an award
CH 3 and 10 and traditions, winning ad
- Ray, Michael L. (1982). Experience and Creative philosophies and
Philosophy, in Ray, Michael L Advertising and awards.
communication management, New Jersey: Prentice Hall,
pp. 284-290
- Ogilvy, David. (1983). Lasker, Resor, Rubicam, Burnett,
Hopkins and Bernbach: Six giants who invented modern
advertising., in Ogilvy, David Ogilvy on advertising, London:
Prion Books Ltd, pp. 189-205.

11 CH 7 and 8 Guest team Journal

12
3 hour session Feedback session for final assignment

13
All day presentations of final assignment

*On weeks 1 and 9, tutorials will merge to be delivered on Thursday session. On those weeks there will be no tutorial
on Monday.
Assignments and assessment referenced criteria

Assignment 1
Advertising evaluation exercise
Weight 20%
Due Date: Week 4. Thursday Aug 10th by 4pm.
To submit electronically to the OLT site

You will critically evaluate recent advertising campaigns on the basis to which they effectively
deploy creative strategies across a range of media to address communication
problems/opportunities for the relevant client, drawing upon the unit materials.

Analyze an advertising campaign in a 2000 words essay.

Analytical system
Choose one or more than one analytical system (eg... Textual analysis, Semiotics, Rhetoric) and
deconstruct your chosen campaign in terms of its creative strategy and creative content. To succeed in
this assignment, you will need to investigate the theory behind your analytical system, and you will have
to read examples of similar types of analysis. This will give you the literacy needed to express yourself
adequately.

Topic. Problems and opportunities

Once you understand your analytical system well, and once you have collected samples and done
research of information available related to your campaign, think of your topic. What is that interesting
thing that made you choose your campaign? What do you have to say? What are the communication
problems of your campaign and what are the opportunities? Make of that idea the title of your
assignment, or at least, make of it your preliminary title not to loose track.

Inform yourself about your topic. If your topic is for example: the politics behind the campaign, or the
photographic imagery, or the humorous nature of your slogan, you will have to have reasonable
understanding of, politics, photography or humor in writing. It is recommended that you choose a topic
you have approached vastly in your undergraduate degree.

Other recommendations
You are free to give any structure to your writing. Traditionally speaking an academic piece of writing
may contain: an introduction, methodology, analysis, discussion and conclusion. You are welcome to
use this structure or to formulate one to suit your topic. If you feel confident enough, write it as a one
single piece, without subtitles but with an underlying linking thread throughout the essay.

Give a background to your campaign, product and brand. Work within the bound of a pre-established
analytical system and topic. Display your analysis in a critical, engaging, and rational way. You opinion
may be expressed, but not in an unjustified manner. Discuss your arguments fairly.

In the light of your discussion, make recommendations as to what communication opportunities may be
taken in consideration. Make sure they are appropriate.

15 min Presentation
Prepare in a Powerpoint presentation a short presentation where you include, visual samples of your
chosen campaign, and highlights of your analysis. At the end you will have a few minutes for open
discussion.

Note: please make sure your grammar and spelling is impeccable. QUT offers support in this area. Please refer to
the QUT site for more information on this.
 Assignment 2
Development of creative strategy.
Weight 50%
Due Date: Week 13.
To be submitted at oral presentation.

Written component (To be submitted to OLT site by Thursday Oct 19th)

Your written component will be broken into two parts: your full creative strategy and your rationale.
(Note: It should all be written in plain advertising language and not as an academic paper).

1. The creative strategy should contain and introductory overview to your approach, which will be
informed by your research, and a justified definition of the type of advertising strategy you wish to apply.
You should then define every item of your advertising strategy (eg... target audience, tone, etc.). Write
one or two substantial paragraphs to define each of those. Conclude by writing a ‘creative strategy
statement’ (no longer than 100 words. This will be your redefinition of the product you will be working
with, and at the same time, it will be the link between your creative resolution and your creative strategy.
This task will be best performed if you give yourself time for creative thinking and discussion with your
peers. Finding a communication opportunity based on your research will ensure you succeed in the
creative component of this assignment.

2. The rationale is a justification of your creative resolution. You should write your rationale after you
finish your ideas for the campaign, and after you have mounted your ads. Start by writing and
introductory overview of your overall concept. Justify it against your creative strategy. Write an
introductory paragraph justifying your media choice against the creative strategy. Then write one or two
substantial paragraphs for each one of your seven ads. Explaining your underlying concept, headline
and image. Avoid describing your ad, and concentrate in giving strategic/persuasive reasons for your
creative decisions.

Creative component
Create 7 ads to a mock-up stage (you may digitally produce your ads, but you are not allowed to use
stock images, and digital production will not add to your marks).
TV and print are compulsory to develop (unless approved otherwise by unit co-ordinator). Set up a
media mix at the beginning of your assignment, but change it if your ideas generate a more innovative
approach to media use, making sure it is congruent to your creative strategy.

You have to create a slogan, 7 headlines different headlines and 7 different images to match those
headlines. Make sure there is a strong overall concept and tone linking your ads. Discuss your ideas for
creative strategy and creative content with peers and your tutor. Allow yourself enough time for creative
thinking so that you can enjoy the process. This is the key to succeeding in this assignment.

Oral Presentation (15min)

Prepare in a powerpoint presentation one slide with your creative strategy statement. Present hard
copies of your ads. You are encouraged to prepare additional material for achieving impact in your
presentation.
 Assignment 3
Workbook/Reflective journal
Weight 30%
Due Date: Week 11
To be submitted at tutorial time

What goes there?

The journal is a collection of ALL the creative ideas you have developed as part of your tutorials. You
will be given briefs, and will be exercising creative thinking throughout your semestre.

You will have to show in this journal at least 15 ideas for each task. Failure to reach this standard will
diminish your opportunities to achieving the highest score.

This series of idea-generation exercises will train your creative thinking. It is expected that your ideas
improve over the semestre. So shown improvement will be the second most important item of
assessment, the first one being quantity.

Note: exercises will not be provided on OLT site but only during tutorials.

How do you present it?

Use a thin colourless marker, or similar (do not use pencil during tutorial time). Your ideas should be
drawn on white paper, not on a math-notebook or one with lines on it. The format is one you feel
comfortable with. Larger than A4 is recommended, so that you can freely draw and write your ideas.

It is not necessary to have drawing skills. However, you will need to make sure your ideas are
understood. For example, if your ad has in it a person in a car, rectangular shapes simulating your car,
two circular shapes simulating wheels, and a round shape in the window (with a smiley face on it) will do
for a BMW, as long as you draw the BMW logo on the car. This process will train you not only in creative
thinking, but in your capabilities to communicate your ideas. Many times in the industry you will be at
meetings trying to express verbally an idea that may be best explained by drawing a dodgy shape.

If you haven’t worked all the way through in one single drawing book but you have been scribbling on
loose pages, make sure all those loose pages are well attached to your book for submission. Keep all
your drafts, even those you drew at the beach! It is important that the journal is complete.

Make sure your final editing is in chronological order. If there are ideas you think are difficult to
understand, make a note next to it explaining what it is. Overall, make it fresh and bold. Show you are
proud of your ideas.