BA(JMC) 204- Basics of Advertising

Creativity in Advertising: Concept and Importance

Yashasvika Yadav

CREATIVITY IN ADVERTISING: CONCEPT AND IMPORTANCE

There is no concrete definition of creativity, some people even find creativity mythical, a god
gift and others feel that it is a skill that can be acquired. In this chapter we will discuss what
is creativity, how to be creative, the role of creativity in advertising and some of the iconic
advertisements in India.

What is Creativity.

"Curiosity about life in all of its aspects, I think, is still the secret of great creative people"

- Leo Burnet

Creativity is implementation of new and imaginative ideas into reality, the idea should help in
solving the problems. A creative person perceives things in a different outlook compared to
others and suggest more than one idea which is unique, useful and original.

How to be Creative

“There is no innovation and creativity without failure”

- Brene Brown

Creativity is a skill that can be acquired by everyone, it requires time, training and discipline.
creativity can be cultivated by following these steps:

❖ Everything is allowed and possible: Before staring with the task at hand don’t set
limitations in your mind and never settle with the first idea that you have
❖ Ignore the connection between commercial and creativity: Never equate creativity
with commercial aspects, that will limit your scope of creativity. A creative person
should not be motivated by monetary gains, it should be an incentive not motivation
❖ Think like a child: Don’t hold any bias or prejudice, it limits your thinking. Let your
imagination run wild
❖ Don’t be afraid to criticize yourself: You are your best critic, as pointed out earlier,
never settle with the first idea.
 ❖ Don’t be afraid to fail:
Failure is a steppingstone, don’t be
afraid to fail and shun ego. Ego is
counterproductive.
❖ Let go of your comfort
zone: Take new challenges every
day, do things that make you
uncomfortable
❖ Don’t be influenced by
trends: Its important to be aware
what is happening, but don’t let that
Print Ad created by Worldwide Fund highlights the impact of
guide your work
desertification on animals. Photo Credits- Pinterest
❖ Read and Travel: Reading
and travelling opens your mind, you are exposed to new perspectives.
❖ Talk less, listen more: Great ideas are born with observational skills.

Importance of Creativity in Advertising

Creativity is the soul of advertising and branding, it creates a liveliness around a product or a
brand which might be boring or significant like- Fevicol, a brand of adhesives, is a top-of the
mind brand due to its brilliant advertising. The creative team an advertising agency consists
of Copywriters, Art Directors, Designers and Account Planners, we will discuss the structure
in the upcoming chapters.

Creativity in Advertising means presenting ideas that are novel and useful. The purpose of an
advertisement is to generate interest in a potential customer. A creative ad creates positive
association with the brand and has a long-lasting impact on consumers. These variables
constitute to creative advertising:

❖ Original: it is very difficult to strive for originality in a product parity market where
all products are similar however the way you communicate makes the brand stand out
for example- FOGG, in the deodorant segment has a very effective communication
strategy. First, it communicated about offering only deodorant in the bottle with the
no gas only deodorant tagline. Its recent tagline is used colloquially- kya chal raha,
fogg chal raha
❖ Associations: The right creative treatment builds positive associations that cannot be
forgotten. For example- Cadbury Dairy Milk Celebrations is synonymous with
Festivity in Indian families. The brand has very effectively leveraged its
communication messaging on important Indian festivals- Rakhi and Diwali
❖ Relevant to the Target Audience: Great advertisements are those that grabs
attention and stays with you for long, they offer something that is useful for the target
audience. For example- Big Bazar- Sabse Sasta Wednesday, doesn’t use any
emotional trope in their advertisement they understand their target audience well.
 ❖ Offers something unique: As we discussed,
in a product parity market where all products
are offering the same utility, what unique you
offer the client makes immense difference.
For example- OPPO, a mobile
communications company, communicates
about its selfie camera. All mobile phones
have front camera however, OPPO markets it
as the ultimate mobile phones for selfies.
❖ Interesting: Making complicated seem
simple, a lot of products and brands are
offering functional services and can have a
basic advertising however with creativity the
brands get a fresh lease of life. For example-
Usually life insurance policies
advertisements revolve around its utility
however Policy bazaar has emphasized its
importance in a hilarious manner by roping in Print ad by Fortis urging people to adopt
healthy lifestyle to take care of their health.
talented actor Pankaj Tripathi who highlights Photo Credits- Pinterest
the utilitarian benefits of the policy.

The creative team should keep in mind that while creating an advertising that along with
being creative it should be useful. The consumer must like the advertisement and the product.
A fine balance of creativity and utility should be presented in the advertisement.

ICONIC INDIAN ADS

The journey of Indian advertising has been interesting, earlier big budget advertising
campaigns were limited to Television now it has extended to digital media and OOH (Out-of-
Home). Indian advertisements have over the past years thwarted various social stigmas,
promoted national integration and sold products in an innovative manner. Let us walk down
the memory lane and discover evergreen brands:

❖ AMUL BUTTER: The print ads of the product are satirical, topical and relevant. The
ads feature the girl created by Sylveter De Cunha and Eustace Frenandes. The ads
tend to be controversial at times, however it has always sailed the tide. It is a feat that
a brand so old remains contemporary, it is no small feat.

❖ NIRMA: The detergent market is cluttered and competitive. Nirma is striving to

survive, it doesn’t enjoy the brand loyalty it used earlier. The Nirma washing powder
is known for its catchy jingle- Sabki pasand Nirma and the twirling girl

❖ National Egg Coordination Committee: It was a task to convince vegetarians

Indians to consume Eggs, however the message was reinforced by the catchy tagline-
 Sunday ho ya Monday roj khao andey. It was also marketed as the tastiest
multivitamin in the world.

❖ MAGGI: The brands owns the concept of

two-minute wonder. Although, it suffered a
major crisis in the year 2015, however due
to years of market leadership and immense
loyalty towards the brand it bounced back
in no time. Maggi is no longer just a brand
its an emotion. Maggi over the years have

created various memorable taglines- meri Photo Credits: Google Images

Maggi, 2 minute main Maggi, etc.

❖ ONIDA: Although Onida could not survive the cluttered market of Television
producers, however, the ad that it created has one of the most iconic tagline-
Neighbour’s envy, owners pride.

❖ PUBLIC SERVICE AD- Mile Sur Mera Tumhara: The song evoked patriotic
feelings in one and all. It was conceptualized by Suresh Malick and written by Piyush
Pandey. The objective of the advertisement was national integration. The ad featured
artists from various arts and cultural fields.

❖ UNICEF- Do boondh zindagi ke: Utilizing Amitabh Bachchan’s angry young man
image to admonish people not taking their children to Polio booths is one of India’s
iconic advertisement. India was Polio free by 2014.

CASE STUDY: ZOOZOO- VODAFONE

ANALYSIS

The Indian Premier League has witnessed various

spectacular campaign but none as impactful or
innovative as the Vodafone Zoozoo campaign. The
Zoozoo campaign was created by the advertising
Screen grab of Vodafone Zoozoo agency O&M. The campaign highlighted various
advertisement. Photo Credits- Google
Value-added Services (VAS) provided by the Vodafone
Images
Cellular Services. There were 25 advertisements under
the campaign. The rationale behind releasing so many advertisements simultaneously was
to surprise and keep the viewers entertained over the course of IPL (Indian Premier
League). The campaign was successful and the ZooZoos are much loved characters who
have garnered a lot of fan following.
 ❖ COCA-COLA: The aerated beverage invests heavily in advertising. It has created
various memorable ads with taglines like- open happiness, one of the most iconic
advertisement was Thanda matlab Coca Cola

❖ SURF- EXCEL The detergent highlighted that stains are good (Daag ache hai). It
propagated to let children have fun without the worrying them of stains. The brand
has adopted this concept and has created brilliant ads around this theme.

❖ IDEA- The mobile networking brand used social awareness route to differentiate
from its competitor. Various issues like corruption and illiteracy were dealt with in an
nuanced manner. What an idea Sir ji became hugely popular and was used in
colloquial language.

❖ AIRTEL –The campaign was youth oriented wanted youngsters to adopt its product,
as the brand was perceived offering expensive services. Airtel wanted to appeal to the
younger demographics, hence came up with the Har ek friend zaroori hota hai
tagline.

Creativity in advertising simplifies the ad, it gives a product fresh perspective. It is the
creative communication strategy that differentiates between two similar products in a product
parity market. Creativity is essential to create memorable brands.

PIYUSH PANDEY- THE CREATIVE

GENIUS

“Everyone and Everything around is a

teacher”

- Piyush Pandey
Piyush Pandey, is currently the Global Chief
Creative Officer, Ogilvy Group, he will oversee
operations of 130 offices in 80 plus countries. He started his advertising career in 1982 by
joining Ogilvy and Mather, he was a Cricketer before venturing in advertisement. He has won
400 advertising awards and is the only Indian to have won a double Gold at Cannes.
Moreover, in 2016 he was honoured with the Padam Shri award- the highest civilian honour.
He has created iconic ads in his career I will mention some of his most memorable
advertisement, although its difficult to pick and choose from his portfolio- Mile Sur Mera
Tumhara (1988), the national integration song, the iconic girl dancing in the stadium
advertisement for Cadbury Dairy Milk on Doordarshan- Kuch khass hai hum sabhi mein, the
Asian Paints Har Ghar Kuch Kehta hai (2007) commercia and he was the brainchild beind
2014 Bhartiya Janta Party(BJP) election campaign- ‘Abki baar Modi Sarkar’
He attributes his genius to being always inquisitive and being observant of his surroundings
and admits that team-work is an essential component for a successful ad campaign.

References:

➢ Pandeymonium: Piyush Pandey on Advertising, Penguin Book India

➢ Ogilvy on Advertising, Prion
➢ https://www.thedrum.com/news/2018/12/05/piyush-pandey-lessons-life-and-
advertising-ogilvys-new-global-creative-chief