Advertising Promotion and Other Aspects of

Integrated Marketing Communications 9th Edition

Shimp Andrews 1111580219 9781111580216
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EFFECTIVE AND CREATIVE AD MESSAGES

Chapter 10

Chapter Objectives
1. Appreciate the factors that promote effective, creative, and “sticky” advertising.
2. Describe the features of a creative brief.
3. Explain alternative creative styles of advertising messages.
4. Understand the concept of means-ends chains and their role in advertising strategy.
5. Appreciate the MECCAS model and its role in guiding message formulation.
6. Recognize the role of corporate image and issue advertising.

Chapter Overview
This chapter examines creative advertising and presented a number of illustrations of creative
advertising campaigns. Effective advertising must (1) extend from sound marketing strategy, (2)
take the consumer’s view, (3) break through the competitive clutter, (4) never promise more than
can be delivered, and (5) prevent the creative idea from overwhelming the strategy. The
successive levels of ad impressions (brand name, “generics,” feelings, commercial specifics, and
specific sales message) are presented. Next, the steps in advertising strategy and creative brief
elements are discussed. The chapter explains the concept of means-end chains and the MECCAS
framework (means-end conceptualization of components for advertising strategy) that can be
used in developing advertising and campaigns. Means-end chains and MECCAS models provide

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accessible website, in whole or in part.
 Chapter 10

bridges between product attributes and the consequences to the consumer of realizing product
attributes (the means) and the ability of these consequences to satisfy consumption-related values
(the end). MECCAS models provide an organizing framework for developing creative ads that
simultaneously consider attributes, consequences, and values. Six specific creative styles—
generic, preemptive, unique selling proposition, brand image, resonance, and emotional—are
described and examples given. Finally, the forms of corporate advertising, image and issue
(advocacy) advertising, are described.

Chapter Outline
I. Introduction
Advertising operates in a context fraught with clutter. This means it is even more
important for advertising to be creative in order to gain attention and accomplish its
goals.

II. Suggestions for Creating Effective Advertising

Effective advertising is easy to define from an outside or outcome perspective—does it
accomplish the advertiser’s objectives? At a minimum, good (or effective) advertising
satisfies the following considerations:
 It must extend from sound marketing strategy.
 Effective advertising must take the consumer’s view.
 It finds a unique way to break through the clutter.
 Effective advertising never promises more than it can deliver.
 It prevents the creative idea from overwhelming the strategy.
Effective advertising is creative with a purpose. It must connect with the target audience,
cut through the clutter, and position the brand optimally relative to competitive brands.

III. Qualities of Successful Advertising

Ingredients of successful advertising include the information, rational stimulus or reasons
why, and emphasis

IV. What Exactly Does Being “Creative” and “Effective” Mean?

Effective advertising is being creative with a purpose.

A. Creativity: The CAN Elements

Creative ads share three features:
1. Connectedness
Addresses whether an advertisement reflects an understanding of target audience
members’ motivations.
2. Appropriateness
The an advertisement must offer a useful solution to a marketing problem or
provide information that is pertinent.
3. Novelty
An advertisement should be unique, fresh, and unexpected.

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 Effective and Creative Ad Messages

B. Getting Messages to “Stick”

Sticky ads are those for which the audience comprehends the intended message; they
are remembered; and they change opinions and/or behavior. These ads have a lasting
impact. The six common features of sticky messages are:
1. Simplicity
2. Unexpectedness
3. Concreteness
4. Credibility
5. Emotionality
6. Storytelling
or SUCCESs.

C. Illustrations of Creative and Sticky Advertising Executions

1. Miss Clairol: “Does She . . . or Doesn’t She?”
Advertising line; “Hair color so natural only her hairdresser knows for sure!”
tagline. In terms of the six stickiness elements, this campaign performs extremely
well with respect to at least five of these features: simplicity, concreteness,
credibility, emotionality, and storytelling.
2. Absolut Vodka
A new brand in the U.S. in 1980. It had a great name and a unique bottle. TBWA
built brand awareness—simply strategy: The first word would always be the
brand name, Absolut, used as an adjective to modify a second word that described
the brand (e.g., Absolut Perfection); characterized its consumer (e.g., Absolut
Sophisticate); or associated the brand with positive places, people, or events (e.g.,
Absolut Barcelona). In terms of the six stickiness elements, this campaign
performs extremely well with respect to the simplicity feature.
3. The Aflac Duck
Created when the Aflac brand needed to find a way to generate awareness. The
idea came when a team member said the name again and again and realized it
sounded like a duck. The idea became the creative strategy of a spokesduck. This
campaign performs extremely well with respect to creativity, and in terms of the
six stickiness elements with at least two of the elements: simplicity and
concreteness. Figure 10.1 illustrates the Aflac campaign.
4. Nike Shoes
Developed a campaign based on professional athletes. Professional athletes were
shown in various executions playing hockey, volleyball, baseball, bowling,
boxing, and so on. These ads juxtapose famous athletes with sports other than
those for which they are known. In terms of the six stickiness elements, this
campaign performs extremely well with respect to simplicity, unexpectedness,
concreteness, and emotionality.

V. Making an Impression
In making an impression with advertising, five things stand out. These include the brand
name, major generic selling claims, the generation of an attitudinal response, elements of
the specific commercial execution, and the specific sales message.

VI. Advertising Plans and Strategy

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 Chapter 10

Advertising plans provide the framework for the systematic execution of advertising
strategies. A plan evaluates the brand’s history, proposes where the next period of
advertising should head, and justifies the proposed strategy for maintaining or improving
the brand’s competitive situation. It should be tied closely to the brand’s marketing plan.
The advertising strategy is what the advertiser says about the brand being advertise. It is
the development of an advertising message. There is a five step program for developing
an advertising strategy.

A. A Five Step Program

These steps are exemplified in the chapter using the E*Trade campaign. The steps are
as follows:
1. Specify the Key Fact
2. State the Primary Problem
3. State the Communications Objective
4. Implement the Creative Message Strategy
a. Define the Target Market
b. Identify the Primary Competition
c. Offer Reasons Why
5. Mandatory Requirements

VII. Constructing a Creative Brief

The creative brief is a framework designed to help inspire copywriters and other creatives
to achieve the advertising objectives. Most briefs include key information explained
below.

A. Advertising Objectives

B. Target Audience

C. Motivations, Thoughts, and Feelings

D. Brand Positioning and Personality

E. Primary Outcomes or “Take Away”

F. Other Details and Mandatories

VIII. Means-End Chaining and Laddering

A means-end chain represents the linkages among brand attributes, the consequences
obtained from using the brand, and the personal values that the consequences reinforce.
These linkages represent a means-end chain because the consumer sees the brand and its
attributes as a means for achieving a desired end, namely, the acquisition of desirable
consequences (or avoidance of undesirable consequences) and the valued end state
resulting from these consequences. Attributes are features or aspects of advertised brands.
Consequences are what consumers hope to receive (benefits) or avoid (detriments) when
consuming brands. Values represent those enduring beliefs people hold regarding what is

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 Effective and Creative Ad Messages

important in life. From the consumer’s perspective, the ends (values) drive the means
(attributes and their consequences).

A. The Nature of Values

Table 10.1 lists 10 basic values that are important to people in diverse cultures.
 Self-Direction—includes the desire for freedom, independence, choosing one’s
own goals, and creativity.
 Stimulation—need for variety and achieving an exciting life.
 Hedonism—enjoying life.
 Achievement—enjoying success, being regarded as capable, ambitious,
intelligent, and influential.
 Power—attainment of social status and prestige along with dominance over
people and resources.
 Security—safety, harmony, and the stability of society.
 Conformity—self discipline, obedience, politeness, and, in general, the restraint
from harming others and violating social norms.
 Tradition—respect, commitment, and acceptance of the customs that one’s culture
and religion impose.
 Benevolence—preservation and enhancement of family and friends, and includes
being honest, loyal, helpful, a true friend, and loving.
 Universalism—understanding, appreciating, tolerating, and protecting the welfare
of all people and nature and includes notions of world peace, social justice,
equality, unity with nature, environmental protection, and wisdom.

B. Which Values Are Most Relevant to Advertising?

The first six values apply to many advertising and consumption situations, whereas
the last four are less typical.

C. Advertising Applications of Means-Ends Chains: The MECCAS Model

MECCAS is an acronym for Means-Ends Conceptualization of Components for
Advertising Strategy. Table 10.2 presents and defines the various levels of the
MECCAS model. The components include a value orientation, brand consequences,
brand attributes, creative strategy and leverage point. The chapter applies the
MECCAS framework to analyze several ads.
1. Self-Direction and Rolex Watches
See Figure 10.2.
2. Hedonism and Steak
See Figure 10.3.
3. Achievement and Home Depot
See Figure 10.4.
4. Power and the Hummer Alpha
See Figure 10.5.
5. Security and Neosporin

D. Identifying Means-End Chains: The Method of Laddering

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 Chapter 10

Laddering involves in-depth, one-on-one interviews that typically last 30 minutes to

more than one hour. The interviewer refers the interviewee to a specific attribute and
then through directed probes attempts to detect how the interviewee links that
attribute with more abstract consequences and how the consequences are linked with
even more abstract values. Probing is accomplished using questions such as “Why is
that particular attribute important to you?” “How does that help you out?” “What do
you get from that?” “Why do you want that?” and “What happens as a result of that?”

E. Practical Issues in Identifying Means-Ends Chains

MECCAS is an approach that provides a systematic procedure for linking the
advertiser perspective to the consumer’s perspective. It does have criticism though
including that the laddering method forces interviewees to consider values that may
not have occurred naturally and that it cannot represent all consumers in a segment.

IX. Alternative Styles of Creative Advertising

Table 10.3 summarizes creative strategy into six styles under three categories: product
category dominance, functionally oriented, and symbolically or experientially oriented.
Functionally oriented advertising appeals to consumers’ needs for tangible, physical, and
concrete benefits. Symbolically/experientially oriented advertising strategies are directed
at psychosocial needs. Category-dominance strategies do not necessarily use any
particular type of appeal to consumers but are designed to achieve an advantage over
competitors in the same product category.

A. Generic Creative Style

A generic strategy makes a claim that could be made by any company that markets a
brand in that product category. Advertiser makes no attempt to differentiate its brand
from competitive offerings or to claim superiority. This strategy is most appropriate
for a brand that dominates a product category—the brand using this strategy will
enjoy a large share of any primary demand stimulated by advertising.

B. Preemptive Creative Style

A preemptive style is employed when an advertiser makes a generic-type claim but
does so with an assertion of superiority. This approach is most often used in product
or service categories where there are few, if any, functional differences among
competitive brands. This clever strategy effectively precludes competitors from
saying the same thing.

C. Unique Selling-Proposition Creative Style

A unique selling-proposition (USP) approach is used by an advertiser to make a claim
of superiority based on a unique product attribute that represents a meaningful,
distinctive consumer benefit. The translation of a unique product feature into a
relevant consumer benefit provides the unique selling proposition. It is best suited for
a company with a brand that possesses a relatively lasting competitive advantage.

D. Brand Image Creative Style

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 Effective and Creative Ad Messages

The brand image style involves psychological rather than physical differentiation.
Advertising attempts to develop an image for a brand by associating the product with
symbols. Advertisers draw meaning from the culturally constituted world and transfer
that meaning to the brand. Brand image advertising is transformational.
Transformational advertising associates the experience of using an advertised brand
with a unique set of psychological characteristics that typically would not be
associated with the brand experience to the same degree without exposure to the
advertisement.

E. Resonance Creative Style

When used in an advertising context, the term resonance is analogous to the physical
notion of noise resounding off an object. An advertisement resonates (patterns) the
audience’s life experiences. Figure 10.6 shows an example.

F. Emotional Creative Style

Much contemporary advertising aims to reach the consumer at a visceral level
through the use of emotional strategy. Emotional advertising works especially well
for products that naturally are associated with emotions (e.g., foods, jewelry,
cosmetics, fashion apparel, etc.). Figure 10.7 shows an example.

G. Section Summary
The approaches are not pure and mutually exclusive. The common theme is that
effective advertising must convey a clear meaning of the brand and how the brand
compares to competitive offerings (positioning). The choice of creative strategy is
determined by three key considerations.
 What are the target audience’s needs and motivations related to the product
category?
 What are the brand’s strengths and weaknesses relative to competitive brands in
the category?
 How are competitors advertising their brands?

X. Corporate Image and Corporate Issue Advertising

Corporate advertising focuses not on a specific brand but on a corporation’s overall
image or on economic or social issues relevant to the corporation’s interests.

A. Corporate Image Advertising

Corporate image advertising attempts to increase a firm’s name recognition, establish
goodwill, or identify itself with some meaningful and socially acceptable activity.
Figure 10.8 provides an example.

B. Corporate Issue (Advocacy) Advertising

In issue advertising, a company takes a position on a controversial social issue of
public importance with the intention of swaying public opinion.

Chapter Features

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accessible website, in whole or in part.
 Chapter 10

Perhaps the Greatest TV Commercial of All Time

Though most people agree that TV commercials are generally of average quality, there are a
small number of exceptionally good commercials. In 1984 when Apple Computers first launched
the Macintosh, the ad agency, Chiat/Day, were instructed to create an explosive television
commercial that would portray the Macintosh as a truly revolutionary. IBM was the only
recognized computer company. The ad portrayed IBM as the much-despised and feared
institution reminiscent of the Big Brother theme in George Orwell’s book 1984.The one-minute
commercial created in this context, dubbed “1984,” was run only once, during the Super Bowl
XVIII on January 22, 1984. The ad generated incredibly word-of-mouth-producing impact and
negated the need for repeat showings. This remarkable advertising is considered by some to be
the greatest TV commercial ever made. It grabbed attention; it broke through the clutter of the
many commercials aired during the Super Bowl; it was memorable; it was discussed by millions
of people; and, ultimately, it played an instrumental role in selling truckloads of Macintosh
computers.

Why Dump an Extraordinarily Successful Ad Campaign?

Absolut’s bottle-oriented print advertising campaign included some 1,500 print executions and
extended over 25 years. The campaign was extremely effective but by the 1990’s dozens of
premium vodka brands competed with Absolut. Absolut was no longer the superpremium brand.
Research conducted in nine countries indicated that consumers had become less involved with
the bottle campaign and were no longer inspired by it. In 2007, the new campaign “In an Absolut
World” was introduced, presenting images of what it would be like to live in an ideal, Absolut
world. Whereas the original bottle campaign was restricted to print advertising, this new
campaign is appropriate for various media, including television and the Internet.

How Well Do You Know Advertising Slogans?

Slogans, or taglines have always played an important role in advertising, and effective ones
encapsulate a brand’s key positioning and value proposition and provide consumers with a
memory tag. While some slogans have been used with success for decades, some have not been
so successful. This IMC Focus provides a matching quiz on ten of the most successful slogans
and lists several others that were examined in a survey of consumers.

Answers to Discussion Questions

1. The Marcom Insight described the famous Macintosh Computer advertisement and
characterized it as perhaps the single greatest commercial in advertising history. Without
using any of the examples presented in this chapter, identify a couple of commercials that

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accessible website, in whole or in part.
 Effective and Creative Ad Messages

you regard as truly “great” advertising. Be sure to explain why you consider these
commercials great.

Answer:
Students’ answers will vary, and don’t be surprised if you, the instructor, do not come up
with the same set of commercials. Moreover, because some campaigns are so well targeted,
you might not even be aware of the commercials they talk about, and they might not be
aware of the ones you mention. Students should appreciate that at a minimum, good (or
effective) advertising satisfies the following considerations: (1) extend from sound
marketing strategy; (2) must take the consumer’s view; (3) must find a unique way to break
through the clutter, (4) should never promise more than it can deliver, and (5) prevents the
creative idea from overwhelming the strategy.

2. Early in the chapter when discussing the point that effective advertising must take the
consumer’s view, the following quotation was presented: “Consumers don’t want to be
bombarded with ads—they want to be inspired by ideas that will change their lives. Ads
create transactions. Ideas create transformations. Ads reflect our culture, ideas imagine our
future.” What, in your opinion, does this quote means?

Answer:
Consumers buy product benefits, not attributes. Therefore, advertising must be stated in a
way that relates to the consumer’s, rather than the marketer’s, needs, wants, and values.

3. When discussing the concept of advertising novelty, the chapter stated that novelty is a
necessary but insufficient condition for advertising creativity. Explain what this means.

Answer:
We have all shared the experience when we have seen a novel advertising that everyone is
talking about the next day, but no one can remember the brand it was advertising. Even
worse, not remembering the product category. In addition to novelty, ads must resonate
positively with the target audience and present information consistent with the brand’s
positioning statement.

4. In context of the section on “sticky” advertisements, provide three examples of advertisers’

efforts to concretize their advertisements. Television commercials would be a good source of
ideas. Explain the specific elements in your chosen commercials that illustrate concreteness.

Answer:
Answers will vary but students should explain how the ads they chose include concrete
images, straightforward, perceptible, vivid images, substantive words and/or demonstrations.

5. Analyze three magazine advertisements in terms of which of the SUCCESs elements each ad
satisfies.

Answer:

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 Chapter 10

Answers will vary, but students should look and explain the elements of Simplicity,
Unexpectedness, Concreteness, Credibility, Emotionality, and Storytelling, as they are
represented in the ads.

6. In your view, which of the SUCCESs elements are most important? Offer an explanation and
then rank the six elements from most to least important in terms of their ability to achieve
message stickiness.

Answer:
Students should compare and contrast the elements of Simplicity, Unexpectedness,
Concreteness, Credibility, Emotionality, and Storytelling as they apply to achieving
stickiness.

7. When discussing the creative advertising style known as unique selling proposition, or USP,
it was claimed that in many respects the USP style is the optimum creative technique.
Explain whether you agree or disagree with this assertion.

Answer:
With the unique selling proposition (USP) approach, an advertiser makes a superiority claim
based on a unique product attribute that represents a meaningful, distinctive consumer
benefit. In many respects the USP style is the optimum creative technique, because it gives
the consumer a clearly differentiated reason for selecting the advertiser’s brand over
competitive offerings.

8. Several examples of brand image advertisements were offered in the chapter. Identify two
additional examples of advertisements that appear to be using the brand image, or
transformational, creative style.

Answer:
The brand image style involves psychosocial, rather than physical differentiation and
attempts to develop an image or identity for a brand by associating the brand with symbols.
In imbuing a brand with an image, advertisers draw meaning form the culturally constituted
world and transfer that meaning to their brands. Students’ examples will vary, and again,
don’t be surprised if they differ from your examples.

9. One requirement for effective advertising is the ability to break through competitive clutter.
Explain what this means, and provide several examples of advertising methods that
successfully accomplish this.

Answer:
In an advertising context, clutter is the other advertisements that compete for the consumer’s
attention and interest. Advertisers attempt to avoid clutter by using novel, intense, and
interesting advertisements that offer greater attention-getting and attention-retaining value
than do competing ads.

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 Effective and Creative Ad Messages

10. Select a magazine or newspaper advertisement and apply the MECCAS model to interpret
the ad. Describe what you consider to be the ad’s value orientation, its leverage point, and so
on.

Answer:
The MECCAS model is an acronym standing for Means-End Conceptualization of
Components for Advertising Strategy. The model captures the effective execution of
advertising that links product attributes with consumer values and the consequences of
consuming the advertised product. The key notion is that effective advertising emphasizes
product attributes and usage consequences that are compatible with consumer values, which
represent the driving force or end level to be focused on in an advertisement. A leverage
point is the manner by which an advertisement activates the key value. The ads discussed in
the text provide models for students to apply the MECCAS model to an advertising campaign
of their choice.

11. Explain the differences between USP and brand image creative styles, and indicate the
specific conditions under which each is more likely to be used. Provide one illustration of
each creative style, using examples other than those used in the text.

Answer:
The USP style is based on (1) identifying a unique product feature that differentiates the
advertised brand from competitive brands, and (2) focusing advertising around this feature.
The USP style is appropriate if a brand possesses a meaningfully unique feature. When no
such feature exists, an alternative is a brand image style that creates a psychological meaning
for a brand, or image, which differentiates the brand symbolically from competitive
offerings. Generally speaking, the USP style is preferable provided that a brand possesses a
real product advantage. In the absence of such an advantage, brand imaging is a potentially
effective alternative.

12. Select two advertising campaigns that have been on television for some time. Describe in
detail what you think their creative message styles are.

Answer:
Students should be sure to use the styles presented in the chapter: (1) USP, (2) brand image,
(3) resonance, (4) emotional, (5) generic, and (6) preemptive. They may be interested to
know that the types of appeals actually used in ads may not be entirely intentional (e.g., ad
agencies do not usually go into creative design saying “let’s use a resonance style on this
one”) as creative sessions are usually loose brainstorming sessions where ideas are presented
as they occur to agency personnel.

13. Using the laddering procedure that was described in the chapter, select a product category of
your choice, interview one individual, and construct that person’s hierarchical map, or ladder,
for two product attributes that are important to that person. Use the types of probing
questions listed in the chapter to see how this individual mentally connects the product
attributes with consequences, and how, in turn, these consequences extend into valued end
states. Be persistent!

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accessible website, in whole or in part.
 Chapter 10

Answer:
Probing questions to ask include: (1) “Why is that attribute important to you?,” (2) “How
does that help you out?,” (3) “What do you get from that?,” (4) “Why do you want that?,”
and (5) “What happens to you as a result of that?”

14. Some critics contend that advocacy, or issue, advertising should not be treated as a legitimate
tax-deduction expenditure. Present and justify your opinion on this matter.

Answer:
Conventional product advertising represents a legitimate tax deduction because it is a
necessary business expense to generate sales and increase profits. However, the purpose of
issue advertising is not to promote products or even, for that matter, to create goodwill for a
company. The purpose is instead to propagate ideas on controversial social issues of public
importance. Whether such advertising deserves tax-deduction status has to be evaluated case
by case. For example, when a tobacco company speaks out on controversial issues
surrounding smoking, such advertising is at least indirectly related to sales of cigarettes and
would thus seem to constitute a legitimate tax deduction. On the other hand, when an oil
company presents its views on foreign policy, one may legitimately challenge whether this
deserves to be treated as a taxable expense since the oil company is not attempting to sell oil
but rather is presenting its views (or its CEO’s views) on governmental policy, just as any
individual citizen might.

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