The worst thing that ever happened to the radio advertising industry occurred sometime in the last century when some well-meaning person foolishly labelled the department in charge of crafting radio commercials as “Creative.”
Today, being “creative” is the goal of most people who produce radio advertising.
They even give awards for the “most creative” commercials.
This is the first thing you must understand:
Radio advertising is not a creative exercise. It’s mass salesmanship.
The goal of a commercial is not to “be creative;” it is to sell.
“Creativity” should never be your goal.
Creativity is a means to an end.
People who make their livings by harnessing their creativity never wake up in the morning thinking, “I really want to be creative today!”
Instead, they wake up with a problem they need to solve:
The novelist wants to make the middle chapters move more quickly.
The playwright is having trouble making the third act work.
The architect is puzzling over how to achieve the client’s goals with the limited amount of available space.
The goal of a radio commercial should be to move the targeted consumer to action….not to prove to the world how creative you are.
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The K.I.S.S. rule of action applies here to so many things, the easier the consumer/listener finds the product that you are selling the more of that product you will sell. Apple is a good model to gear this towards, their ads are simple, refined and targeted. If you’re selling shoes, sell the shoes. They will buy them, if they just know who, what, where, why and how in 30 seconds or (in some cases less).
The creative process to making the ad work in a 6 minute stopset is the challenge that production people face, but again KISS will make it stand out enough to get noticed. That’s just my 02 cents
Thanks for the wake up call
Put a bunch of “not very creative” people in the roles of production manager, and let’s see what happens. Getting consumers to respond in an increasingly fragmented marketplace requires creativity, Dan. Don’t agree with you on this one.
@Don: I wouldn’t suggest staffing those jobs with “not very creative” people. If you’ll look again, though, I think you’ll see that I said the goal of a radio commercial should not be “to be creative.”
Solving problems for both listeners and advetisers requres creativity, but not creativity for its own sake, at least in the way we usually think of “creative.”
Don, I agree in principle with what you are getting at… but I think the most important part of Dan’s article is “Creativity is a means to an end.”
Does the creativity flow naturally out of the selling of the product? Or is it just something goofy that is (quoting Dick Orkin) “artificially bolted on?” Creativity can be your best friend in getting attention and response in an “increasingly fragmented marketplace.” It can also be your worst enemy in a fragmented marketplace that doesn’t have time for disconnected foolishness. The goal must be to sell a product, in a new and creative way.
The two *can* coexist (and I would argue along with you that they *should* coexist), but it’s a delicate flower.
Perhaps it’s the definition of “creative” that’s in question..
Fair enough. I see your point, now
Case in point: The story is that the famous Alka Seltzer “That’s a spicy meatball” campaign, though widely liked, got the agency fired. Why? Didn’t move any Alka Seltzer off the shelves. The creativity got in the way of the real purpose of the spot, which is to make the cash register ring.
When you are programming and targeting for the most people to hear your message, you can only be creative to a degree. Makes me wonder if the laundry list spots really work vs being “creative ” There is very little that really is creative in mainstream media.
Dan – My response to the dilemma you describe is to interpret the use of “creative” not as something that’s describing the ad, but the activity of the person or group. As a Creative Director, I am involved with creating radio ads. Radio ads need to be created. This is the use that’s most appropriate, accurate, and helpful.
The other use of creative, the one you describe, is mere entertainment. It’s confusion. Because in reality, to the extent that ads are “creative” it is in the service of something more specific – selling, eliciting a response. In fact I would clarify that further and say they are “creative” to the extent that they serve very effectively as a cause for the outcome desired – in our case that’s a response, an order.
Sorry Dan – didn’t mean for that to be Anonymous. Entering the little letters tripped me up.
I’m with David Ogilvy when he said “don’t tell me you like my ad, tell me you bought the product”.
It takes a masterfully talented pianist to make the performance look easy.
It takes a (very) creative individual, to make the end result not appear purely “creative” for it’s own sense.
It’s a very zen-thing we have by the tail here.