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Chapter 08 - Creating Ads: Strategy and Process
CHAPTER 08
CREATING ADS: STRATEGY AND PROCESS
OBJECTIVES
The objective of this chapter is to show how advertising strategies are translated into creative briefs
and message strategies that guide the creative process. The chapter examines the characteristics of
great campaigns, the nature of creativity, and the role of the agency creative team. We discuss how
research serves as the foundation for creative development and planning, and we review common
problems and pitfalls faced by members of the creative team. (p. 197)
After studying this chapter, your students will be able to:
1. Identify the members of the creative team and their primary responsibilities.
2. Describe the characteristics of great advertising.
3. Explain the role of the creative strategy and its principal elements.
4. Show how creativity enhances advertising.
5. Define the four roles people play at different stages of the creative process.
Walmart has become a retail monster in the “big box” marketplace. But one company that has
competed and found a sizeable niche is Target. Its “Expect More, Pay Less” positioning statement
allows the retailer to deliver good value in pricing, but also tout a higher scale shopping experience.
Target uses product positioning and floor space to create a unique store environment, while “owning”
the color red throughout. Target promotes a softer side that has resonated with customers. Although
the recession of 2009 hit Target and other retailers hard, Target weathered the storm by sticking to its
core advertising message. As the economy recovered, Target experienced increased revenues. Target
has prospered by offering consumers an alternative to Walmart and by communicating that difference
in advertising.
This chapter introduces students to the creative process. Students are amazed when I explain to them
that a 30-second commercial may take days to shoot.
The first and most important step I take when a client is ready to create local advertising is to contact
the creative team. The creative team meets with the client and together they try to create
advertisements that meet the philosophy of the business. On paper, that is.
A problem at this stage is getting the creative team to create the message the client is trying to deliver.
Many times I had to intervene in a polite way when the creative ideas were veering off course.
8-1
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McGraw-Hill Education.
Chapter 08 - Creating Ads: Strategy and Process
Creative people get awards for great advertising, yet that does not mean the advertising was effective.
I was always striving for effective ads that would bring the client more sales or awareness. Our
creative department was interested in developing beautiful ads that had the latest flair. Do you see the
problem? I am not advocating that creative ads do not sell; they do. My problem with local advertising
was that sometimes our producers and clients would get so involved in the process of creating the ad
that they would lose sight of the message.
Roger von Oech’s book, “A whack in the side of the head,” is filled with ways for students to flex
their creative muscles. Pick up the inexpensive paperback and use some of the exercises in class. Here
is one of my favorites:
Solution:
The key to solving the problem is to see that the three lines cannot be created using lines that stop
outside an imaginary boundary formed by the dots. Since this boundary is not part of the rules, it
illustrates how self-imposed limits often inhibit creative solutions.
Walmart http://www.walmart.com/
Target http://www.target.com/
8-2
Copyright © 2015 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of
McGraw-Hill Education.
Chapter 08 - Creating Ads: Strategy and Process
LECTURE OUTLINE
I. Vignette (p. 197–198)—Target stores and its “expect more” retail positioning
✓ Check Yourself 8-1 What does a copywriter do? What does an art director do? Who is
responsible for the creative product? (p. 199)
Copywriters develop the verbal message, the copy (words) in print. The art directors develop the
non-verbal element of the ad, the design that creates the visual look and feel. The creative director
is responsible for the final creative product, usually in the form of final ad takes.
We often see ads we like, and “ad liking” is important to an ad’s success, but when is an ad
great? If we were to examine many great ads, we would find two dimensions of ad greatness:
audience resonance and strategic relevance.
A. The Resonance Dimension (p. 200)
To resonate means to echo, reverberate, or vibrate.
Target ad (p. 200)
Target ID on staircase (p. 200)
1. Resonance within an audience is created with a boom factor (like a cannon’s boom)
that gets attention and captures the imagination.
2. Informational and transformational ads can create resonance. As discussed in
Chapter 5, negatively originated motives (i.e., problem avoidance or removal) are
often handled with informational ads. Positively originated motives (i.e., sensory
gratification, intellectual stimulation, or social approval) are resolved with
transformational advertising using positive reinforcement.
3. Most ads fail to resonate with audiences because of poor execution.
8-3
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McGraw-Hill Education.
Chapter 08 - Creating Ads: Strategy and Process
✓ Check Yourself 8-2 Define how an ad “resonates.” What other dimension is also
important for a great ad? (p. 201)
An ad that resonates has a “wow” or “aha” moment; it gets the consumer’s attention and
catches the imagination. Once an ad attracts attention, it must deliver a “big idea” to fully
execute the message.
IV. Formulating Creative Strategy: The Key to Great Advertising (p. 201)
Advertising strategy describes a means to achieve an advertising objective with respect to
consumer awareness, attitude, and preference. The creative strategy serves as the creative
team’s guide for writing and producing the advertising. Agencies may refer to the creative
strategy document as a creative brief, a work plan, a copy strategy, or a copy platform.
Target outdoor ad (p. 201)
A. Writing the Creative Strategy (p. 201)
1. Regardless of the name, the creative strategy is a simple written statement of the most
important issues to consider in the development of an ad or campaign. It typically
includes many of the following elements:
• The basic problem the advertising must solve
• The advertising objective
• A definition of the target audience
• The benefit statement
• The support statement
• Brand personality
• Any special requirements
8-4
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McGraw-Hill Education.
Chapter 08 - Creating Ads: Strategy and Process
✓ Check Yourself 8-3 What are the important parts of the creative strategy? Define
message strategy and name its important parts. (p. 204)
8-5
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McGraw-Hill Education.
Chapter 08 - Creating Ads: Strategy and Process
Check Yourself 8-4 What is creativity? How does advertising inform, persuade, remind?
How do different styles of thinking influence the creative process?(p. 207)
8-6
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Chapter 08 - Creating Ads: Strategy and Process
VIII. The Artist Role: Developing and Implementing the Big Idea (p. 208)
For creative people, the Artist is both the toughest and the most rewarding role to play.
A. Task 1: Develop the Big Idea
It is the long, tedious, difficult task of reviewing all the pertinent information gathered by
the Explorer, analyzing the problem and searching for a key verbal or visual concept to
communicate what needs to be said. It means creating a mental picture of the ad
(visualization or conceptualization) before any copy is written or artwork begun. The
resulting concept is often called the big idea. The big idea is a bold, creative initiative that
builds on the strategy, joins the product benefit with consumer desire in a fresh and
involving way, brings the subject to life, and makes audience stop, look, and listen. The
strategy describes the direction of a message, and the big idea gives it life.
Globetrotter ad (p. 209)
Exhibit 8–1 Advertising big ideas (p. 209)
8-7
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McGraw-Hill Education.
Chapter 08 - Creating Ads: Strategy and Process
2. Blocks to Creativity (p. 211)—Everybody experiences a time when the creative juices
just will not flow.
a. There are many causes: information overload (fact-base frame of mind), mental or
physical fatigue, stress, fear, insecurity, or using the wrong style of thinking.
Creative fatigue sometimes happens when an agency has served an account for a
long time, and all the fresh ideas have been worked and reworked, especially after
a client has rejected a series of ideas. If this becomes chronic, the only solutions
may be to appoint an entirely new creative team or to resign the account.
3. Incubating a Concept: Do Nothing to It (p. 211)—When the brain is overloaded with
information about a problem, creatives sometimes find it’s best to just walk away
from it for a while, do something else, and let the unconscious mind mull it over.
Upon returning to the task, the creatives discover a completely new set of
assumptions.
Target 3-D movie signage on building (p. 212)
B. Task 2: Implement the Big Idea (p. 211)
Once the creatives latch onto the big idea, they have to focus on how to implement it.
1. The real art of advertising is to translate the idea into a tangible ad.
2. Write the exact words.
3. Design the precise layout, the “art” of advertising. Art direction is the act or process
of managing the visual presentation of the ad. The term art actually refers to the
whole presentation—visual, verbal, and aural—of the commercial or advertisement.
C. The Creative Pyramid: A Guide to Formulating Copy and Art (p. 212)
The creative pyramid is a model that can guide the creative team as it converts the
advertising strategy and the big idea into the actual physical ad or commercial. The
cognitive theory of how people learn new information uses a simple five-step structure.
Exhibit 8–2 The advertising vs. creative pyramid (p. 212)
1. Attention—For an ad to be effective it must break through consumers’ psychological
screens to create attention that leads to perception. Attention is the first objective, a
fundamental building block in the creative pyramid, and triggers the ad’s boom factor.
a. In print, headlines in bold type can focus attention.
b. Electronic media use special sound effects, music, animation, or unusual visual
techniques for attention.
c. The attention-getting device should create drama, power, impact, and intensity; it
must express the big idea; and it must be appropriate for the product, the tone of
the ad, and the needs or interests of the intended audience.
Casino signage on luggage carousel (p. 213)
8-8
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Chapter 08 - Creating Ads: Strategy and Process
2. Interest (p. 213) is the extremely important element that carries the prospective
customer, who is now paying attention, into the body and text of the ad.
a. To maintain audience interest, this step must answer the headline or add
interesting facts.
b. The tone and language should be compatible with the target market’s attitude.
c. The interest step must break through the consumers’ psychological screens and
create “resonance.” One way is to talk about consumers’ problems or needs. There
are many effective ways to stimulate interest, for example, dramatic situations,
stories, cartoons, or charts.
d. In radio, copywriters use sound effects or catchy dialogue. Television frequently
uses quick cuts to maintain interest.
3. Credibility (p. 213)—Audience skepticism about the product or service must be
countered.
a. Claims must be backed up by facts.
b. Well-known presenters lend credibility.
c. Advertisers often show independent test results to substantiate product claims. To
work, such “proofs” must be valid, not just statistical manipulation.
4. Desire—The writer invites prospects to visualize themselves enjoying the benefits of
the product or service by using phrases like “picture yourself ” or “imagine.”
a. The desire step hints at possibilities and lets the consumer’s mind take over.
b. The desire step is one of the most difficult to write—and that may be why some
copywriters omit it.
c. In broadcast media, TV characters may hold up the product and say “yeah!" In
radio, the announcer says, “You’ll look your best!”
Ethical Issue Does Sex Appeal? (p. 214)
5. Action (p. 215)—The purpose here is to motivate people to do something: send in a
coupon, call the number on the screen, visit the store, or at least agree with the
advertiser.
a. This block of the pyramid reaches the smallest audience, but the one with the
most to gain from the product.
b. Generally, the call to action is explicit.
c. It is important to facilitate people’s response (by providing a Web site address,
toll-free telephone number, etc.).
8-9
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Chapter 08 - Creating Ads: Strategy and Process
B. The Judge’s role is vital because risk is involved. If an ad fails, it can hurt sales and lead
to ridicule. In addition, if the Artist-as-Judge does a good job, the next role in the creative
process—the Warrior—is easier to perform.
✓ Check Yourself 8-5 What is the role of Explorer? The Artist? What blocks creativity?
What are the steps of the creative pyramid? What does the Warrior battle with? (p. 216)
The artist attracts and congregates several creative concepts. The Explorer reaches out and
examines alternatives that can help to adapt the ad message and improve it. Creativity can
be blocked through information overload, mental and physical fatigue, or insecurities. The
creative pyramid builds through an initial creative effort to attract attention. Once the
consumer stops to notice the ad, he or she can deduce whether they have interest in the
message. The ad must then present credibility, to validate the claims. If a consumer comes
this far, a want may become a need, as desire is created. The final step is action, which can
be defined as visiting a car dealership or checking a web link for more information. A
Warrior must be self-critical and test his or her own ideas, then be prepared to defend
them and fight for their outcome.
8-10
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Chapter 08 - Creating Ads: Strategy and Process
1. How would you explain the “redeeming value” of sexual appeals in advertising?
Answer guidelines:
a. Basic issue: “choice enhancement” versus consumer protection.
b. Personal choices: For some people, sexual appeals have no “redeeming value.” Some fear that
children will be exposed to inappropriate messages. Before approving an ad that uses a sexual
appeal, some feminists might first look to see if the woman is portrayed as being in control.
Most students, particularly those in their teens and early twenties.\, are not offended by sexual
appeals in advertising, and they may consider it the norm. Many people believe that “sex”
sells.
c. It is important to note that the Miller Light ad has helped to increase awareness of its brand.
d. Legal distinctions:
Obscene material is illegal.
Indecent material is not illegal in many jurisdictions, but in some localities, it can result in
fines.
2. If sex in ads is considered okay by audiences that are directly targeted, what responsibility does
the advertiser have for any effect on indirect targets, such as children? How can advertisers protect
themselves from this problem?
Advertisers must carefully examine all ad campaigns before launch because consumer activist
groups attack campaigns they believe will have a negative impact on society. The cost to an
agency and advertiser for an ad campaign which has to be withdrawn is extremely high and the
negative publicity may be even more damaging. As we discussed earlier, Calvin Klein, whose ads
typically feature nudity, discontinued an entire campaign because some experts called it child
pornography.
Advertisers can protect themselves from this problem by hiring consultants before launching a
campaign to ensure the ads are not offensive.
8-11
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Chapter 08 - Creating Ads: Strategy and Process
REVIEW QUESTIONS
1. What does it mean for advertising to resonate? What causes an ad to resonate? (p. 200)
For advertising to resonate, the ad “rings the chimes” of the audience or “echoes in their ears.”
The “boom factor” in advertising is what causes it to resonate. The “boom factor” is the
surprise element of the ad that gets the viewer’s attention and catches their imagination.
Headlines can cause an ad to resonate. An ad’s message, be it information or transformational,
can also cause it to resonate. Ads that lack a big idea oftentimes fail to have resonance.
2. Why is the creative strategy so important? (p. 201)
The creative strategy (also known as the creative brief, work plan, copy strategy, or copy
platform) serves as the creative team’s guide for writing and producing advertising. It guides
the creative team during the creative process, when they develop a message strategy and
search for a big idea.
3. What is creativity? Find some additional definitions on the Internet. (p. 204)
Typically, creativity involves connecting two or more previously unconnected objects or ideas
into something new. However, creativity can also be defined as the ability to create or
something characterized by originality and expressiveness.
4. What characterizes the two main styles of thinking? Which style do you usually prefer?
Why? (p. 206)
Discussion guidelines:
Max Weber (the German sociologist) determined that people think in two ways:
a. Fact-based—objective, rational, linear, and data oriented
b. Value-based—qualitative, intuitive, holistic, and emotionally oriented
5. What are some techniques you personally might use to develop an “insight outlook” and
to discover new ideas? (p. 208)
An “insight outlook” is the positive belief that good information is available and you have the
skills to find it and use it. One might visit an art museum, hike in the woods, or sit in an
airport in order to observe, and hopefully be inspired, in order to come up with new, fresh
ideas.
6. In your own words, describe the difference between the creative strategy and a big idea.
(p. 201, 209)
A creative strategy is a statement of direction consisting of four elements: the target audience,
the product concept, the communication media, and the advertising message. This is usually
presented as a multiple page brief.
The big idea is a bold, creative initiative (often expressed by a catchy phrase) that builds on
the strategy, joins the product benefit with consumer desire in a fresh involving way, brings
the subject to life, and makes the reader or the audience stop, look, and listen
Examples: “Do The Dew” (Mountain Dew), “The power to be your best” (Apple), and “Intel
inside” (Intel). These are big ideas (not just slogans) because the focus of huge, integrated
marketing campaigns—including the development of all text, images, and mechanicals—is on
these phrases.
8-12
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McGraw-Hill Education.
Chapter 08 - Creating Ads: Strategy and Process
7. Creative ideas come from manipulating or transforming things. Describe Von Oech’s
suggested techniques for manipulating ideas. (p. 210–211)
a. Adapt: Change contexts and think what else the product might be besides the obvious.
b. Imagine: Ask what if? Let your imagination fly and be zany.
c. Reverse: Look at it backwards.
d. Connect: Join two unrelated ideas together.
e. Compare: Take one idea and use it to describe another.
f. Eliminate: Subtract something or break the rules.
g. Parody: Fool around, have fun, and tell some jokes.
8. What does it mean to “start thinking like the client”? Why might this be a problem for
an agency? (p. 211)
When an agency stops being creative and original and begins to adopt the client’s way of
thinking, this is called “thinking like the client.” Starting to “think like the client” can be a
huge creative block for an agency, especially if the client is a fact-based thinker. It can be
hazardous to the agency’s creative reputation, and is the reason why agencies sometimes
resign accounts over “creative differences.”
9. Describe the five steps through which advertising must take customers according to the
creative pyramid. (p. 212)
Advertising first must get the prospect’s attention. The second step is to stimulate their
interest, followed by generating credibility for their claims. Then the ad can focus on
generating desire and finally on stimulating action.
10. What five questions does David Ogilvy recommend that clients ask themselves when
evaluating creative concepts? Do you think his standards are too high? (p. 216)
a. Did it make me gasp when I first saw it?
b. Do I wish I would have thought of it myself?
c. Is it unique?
d. Does it fit the strategy to perfection?
e. Could it be used for 30 years?
EXPLORING ADVERTISING
1. Find an ad that you believe has a big idea and describe the idea. Is there a boom factor?
Compose what you believe the creative strategy might have been.
Students’ answers will vary.
Sample answer: Dove – Campaign for real beauty.
8-13
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McGraw-Hill Education.
Chapter 08 - Creating Ads: Strategy and Process
Dove’s campaign for real beauty has a great big idea, and more specifically the commercial,
titled “Onslaught” is a great example (see it here:
http://www.campaignforrealbeauty.com/home.asp ). This advertisement’s big idea is that
advertising will have an enormous impact on the self-worth of young girls unless women talk
to their daughters about “real beauty.” The boom factor comes from the contrast of the natural
beauty of the young girl with the unhealthy and even disturbing messages about beauty that
come from advertising. Dove empathizes with women who want to resist these unhealthy
messages and offers a product for women and girls interested in natural, authentic beauty. For
women tired of trying to live up to unrealistic standards, Dove offers a line of products that are
gentle and natural. Dove also sponsors activities designed to help girls achieve self-
acceptance.
2. Select five creative ads from a magazine. What techniques of the Artist can you recognize in
those ads? In those same ads, can you identify each step of the creative pyramid?
Students’ answers will vary.
Sample answer: In the Chevy HHR print ad, the artist used the connect concept by comparing
in the headline, “The HHR can be useful and useful can be cool.” It also states the headline,
“A fashion statement you won’t regret in ten years.” This is adapting because the Artist is
changing contexts. In the design of the ad, the car is rotated on its side for a new prospective.
Also, the car is close up to emphasis specific parts of the car. The whole car is not featured,
only the emphasized parts.
3. Select an ad that you particularly like or admire. Imagine you are one of the creatives,
presenting this ad concept to the client. Outline how you would make the presentation and the
points you would be sure to make. Pay attention to Bruce Bendinger’s five key components of
a campaign presentation.
Students’ answers will vary.
Sample answer: HP Picture Book ad.
Strategic precision- The strategy for this ad could be to include various types of people and
demographics in this ad. Also, show the easy use of the camera and HP printer.
Savvy psychology- Explain to the company that the ad will be catchy and visually attractive in
order to grasp the audience’s attention.
Slick presentation. The presentation will include a storyboard of the steps of the commercial
and include examples and ideas of the music, personalities and camera techniques.
Structural persuasion. The presentation will begin very personable and welcoming. The
agency will first listen to anything the company may have to say or request. We will prove to
be trustworthy, reliable and capable of fulfilling the company’s needs.
Solve the problem. Here we solve their problem and present the overall commercial idea.
4. Incorporating the seven typical elements, write a creative strategy to promote an issue of
importance to you. Examples could be why college tuition shouldn’t be increased, why there
should be a national health plan, or why your parents should help you purchase a new car.
Remember to keep the strategy focused and succinct.
Students’ answers will vary. Examples listed in question.
5. In a brainstorming session with two or more people, generate ideas for ways you could
communicate the creative strategy developed in #4 above. List as many ideas as possible,
resisting the temptation to evaluate any of them.
Students’ answers will vary. Make sure students follow the rules of brainstorming. These
include: all ideas are above criticism, and ideas should be recorded for later review. Keep in
mind the goal of brainstorming is to record any inspiration that comes to mind.
8-14
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Chapter 08 - Creating Ads: Strategy and Process
IMPORTANT TERMS
8-15
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whom I have forgotten. The house has undergone great alterations;
the upper floor is entirely new furnished. To enliven the scene the
high road is brought close to the windows. Upon the whole it is a
most princely domain, and the Duke is a noble Chieftain. The only
objection to the mode of life is the extraordinary lateness of the
hours, and the consequent inability of doing anything; some wags
have called it the Castle of Indolence. As late as half past seven in
the morning, I have heard the billiards at work by T. Sheridan and Mr.
Chester.[307]
After a tour along Loch Tay to Blair Atholl, they turned south to
Perth, visited Brechin Castle and Dundee, and reached Edinburgh on
October 6.
During our stay there we saw much of Messrs. Playfair, Jeffrey,
Brougham, Murray, Dr. Cameron the Catholic Bishop (late Principal
of the Scotch College at Valladolid), a very able man, Thompsons,
&c., &c. Lauderdale came over to see us; the Bedfords for a short
time.
Slept three nights at Dunbar House, and went from thence to
Howick, staying several days. Through York to Castle Howard;
stayed three nights. Marsh remained there; and by the way of
Newark to Nottingham, where Ld. H. received the Freedom of ye
City, and we went by Leicester to meet, at Hinckley, Henry E.,[308]
whom Miss Fox brought us from St. Anne’s. We there consulted with
Chesher, a famous mechanician for instruments; he measured the
limb, and gave us hopes that he could contrive an instrument to
assist his walking. From Hinckley we went through Litchfield to
Trentham Hall, where we stayed a few days; returned through
Hinckley to Woburn Abbey. We there spent upwards of a week most
agreeably. Returned home, Nov. 24th, 1807.
Dec. 12th.—Mr. Allen accompanied Henry E. to
Hinckley, where he was to reside with Ld. Robt. HENRY
Fitzgerald, and under his protection. EDWARD FOX
On 31st Dec. went without Mr. Allen, who was employed busily at
home, for a few days to Brocket. We there heard of the measles
having appeared in Ld. Robt.’s family, and set off to Hinckley to
remove Henry E., if possible, in time. We slept at Woburn one night
on our way in going, two at Ampthill, and one more at Woburn on our
return. Henry E. did not escape the measles, but is now recovering.
January 1808, H. House.—Sr. Arthur Paget returned last month
from his unsuccessful Embassy. For seven months he only slept one
night on land. He never approached nearer the Porte than the small
Island of Imbros. B. Frere returned with him. He sent Mr. Morier to
Egypt.
The choice of G. Ponsonby for a Leader to the Opposition has
been more approved, or, rather, to speak more correctly, less
objected to than might have been expected.[309] The public laugh at
the having sent to Ireland for a leader; Fox’s friends are indifferent
since his death. Petty is reasonable as usual, and Whitbread,
goaded by a scribbling gazetteer of the name of Belsham,[310]
submits with a thousand reservations each more hostile than the
other. Tom Grenville absolutely declined, on the score of health
alone; he is in fact far from a robust subject, and quite unfit to
undergo the fatigues of a long debate. Sheridan’s talents would
entitle him to the first rank, but his profligacy of character, both as to
veracity and honesty, besides his habitual debauchery, place him
entirely hors de combat.
Ld. Granville Leveson is just returned from Petersburg; another
fruitless Mission! He describes the Emperor as being totally
subjugated by Bonaparte, and even trembling before his
representative, General Savary, who assumes the air of a master in
Russia.[311] From the little I have heard, he seems to me to be
entirely belonging to the present Governt.
On Monday, the 17th, we took Charles to Eton. He is now
launched into the sea of human affairs; the world of a public school
he will find very different from that of the world seen from under the
paternal roof.
On ye 16th, the chief persons of ye Opposition
dined at Ld. Grenville’s; Whitbread was not WAR BY
originally invited, but was so, at the particular COMPULSION
request of Ld. Grey. Stahremberg[312] sent the whole of the
correspondence between him and the Governt. which ended in the
present rupture between them and his Court. Mr. Canning seems to
have rejected the mediation of Austria in very unbecoming terms,
and in his usual flippant manner; the whole will be made public. S.’s
instructions are peremptory as to his quitting England before the
meeting of Parlt. Bonaparte offered passports for two plenipos.,
hoped they would select men of ‘formes simples’ and of a ‘caractère
impassible’; a glance against either Lds. Lauderdale or Malmesbury.
S., in his private letters to Metternich, complained of Mr. Canning’s
impetuosity, and misapprehension of several expressions.
Whitbread, with malignity and in the most unprovoked manner,
attacked Ld. Grey at dinner; all were disgusted at his rancorous
spirit. It was unfortunate that such a wrangle should occur before Ld.
Grenville upon the subject of peace, as he had only just been
persuaded against seceding himself from the H. of Lords upon the
precise subject of the question of peace, and the want of discipline
and unanimity amongst the difft. parts of the Opposition.
18th.—Ld. H. dined at Ld. Stafford’s. We went to the Birthday.
19th.—The same party dined here as did at Ld. Grenville’s, with
the addition of a few, and Ld. Erskine, nommément to prevent a
recurrence of the unpleasant conversation between Whitbread and
Grey.
I hear nothing but of Coleridge, which makes me regret not being
acquainted with him. After having accepted, by way of recompense
for three scurrilous letters against Mr. Fox which appeared in the
Morning Post upon his residence at Paris, a Commissaryship at
Malta, he is returned to England, where he is supposed to employ
himself in writing articles in the Courier.[313] His nature is radically
bad; he hates and envies all that are good and celebrated, and to
gratify that spleen he has given in to Methodism, not from conviction,
but solely to enable him to give vent to his malignity in a garb which
is a passe partout. He is fond of maintaining paradoxes; at a dinner
lately he began by attacking Sir Isaac Newton’s philosophy,
Bonaparte’s military talents, and Virgil as a poet. He is often obscure,
a mystical species of platonic philosophy, which he dresses up
according to his own metaphysical taste, and calls the mind. A new
theory he descants upon at length, and in his exposition of it absorbs
the whole conversation. I have heard of him from various persons;
Campbell, the poet, furnished me with the latter particulars.
The debate on the Address went off very
triumphantly for the Opposition in the Lords, and, OPENING OF
as far as the negative success of the failure of PARLIAMENT
Ministers in making an impression, did so in the
Commons. Ld. Grenville made a masterly speech in which he
pressed strongly the atrocity of the Copenhagen business, the
impolicy of their conduct with regard to the U. States, rather
depreciated the prospect of the advantages of the emigration of the
Portuguese to Brésil, and touched lightly upon peace. The novelty of
the night was Ld. Kenyon,[314] who did not acquit himself formidably.
Some considered Mr. G. Ponsonby’s speech as a complete failure,
but more temperate judges say it was not so, and the accident of not
moving the Amendment arose from a misapprehension of more
protests than his alone. Mr. Canning appears to have assumed the
lead, and by an endeavour to appear dignified he was heavy and
obscure, instead of being, as formerly, pretty flippant. Perceval
excelled him much, but the fair ones allow there was not a good
speech made in the whole debate. Mr. C. professed that Governt.
had laid down a rule, which was to act directly contrary to what they
found had been the conduct of their predecessors, and hitherto they
had not erred.
On Monday, the 1st of Feb., we moved to Pall Mall. I had been
confined many days with a smart inflammation in my eyes.
On Wednesday, 3rd Feb., a long debate in the Commons on Mr.
Ponsonby’s motion for further papers on the Danish Expedition.[315]
Altho’ he had spoken before, yet this was considered as a debut; his
friends were rather anxious, as his forte lies more in reply than in the
opening of a business. However, he acquitted himself well, and
people seem to be generally satisfied with him. He was answered by
Mr. Canning in a speech remarkable chiefly from its length, and the
abundance of gross untruths; he read extracts out of those very
despatches he refused to give to the House, and in one instance (a
dispatch of Ld. Howick’s to Mr. Garlike) read a sentence which, if he
had read the context, would have given a different colour to the
whole matter. He was very flippant and offensive, and showed
neither more nor less ability than usual. Mr. Mills[316] [sic], his élève,
was quite extinguished; it was the first occasion on which he had
attempted to speak without previously writing his speech, so he is
completely given up by all and laughed at by his own party. Ld.
Palmerston’s maiden speech was not attended either with the bad or
good qualities of a young beginner; he had practised in debating
societies, and formed an unimpressive, bad manner. Some of
Opposition who are for the expedition yet voted upon this question,
but would not if it had been a vote against the Ministry for that
measure. Upon the whole the effect of the debate was rather against
Opposition.
Sick of, and indifferent to the measures of a hopeless Opposition,
I have omitted noticing any occurrence.