Rule No. 1. Forget the rules. Yeah … forget them. But before you do, you’ve got to read them and under stand them.While rules and formality can foster a rigid environ ment, they also can be highly effective tools to drive thinking and justify innovation. Rule No. 2. Advertising is a contact sport. Get ready to roll up your sleeves, get dirty, and get an intellectual bruise or two.That’s the passion of advertis ing. Don’t mistake intensity for hostility! Rule No. 3. Don’t take baby steps — jump! Incrementalism is a death sentence to innovation. So, if you really want to shake things up, jump off the ledge and build wings on the way down! Rule No. 4. Creativity is the fruit of strategic thinking. Singleminded positioning is the springboard for powerful communications that get our audi ences to make the critical comment: “Tell me more!” It all starts with a key insight and a great position. Rule No. 5. Good artists borrow, great artists steal. I admit it. I’m a thief! Never underestimate where a good idea can come from.Wherever I find inspira tion — from a great work of art to a matchbook cover — I use it. But I’m in good company … so did Picasso. Rule No. 6. Stay away from the center. Consensus is good, but it, like incrementalism, can stifle the creative process. An innovation is often part of fringe think ing that may not have been discovered by taking an “intel lectual average.” Rule No. 7. Don’t be afraid to fail. If you’re walking around looking over your shoulder, afraid to test new grounds, you’ll end in a place we all know — mediocrity. When this burden is lifted, a new sense of freedom can emerge. And from that freedom comes cre ativity. Remember, playing it safe is very risky, because you run the risk of not having your adver tising or your career noticed. Rule No. 8. The real competition is you! Let’s face it, you set the benchmark and only you can move beyond it. Grazing with the herd is fine, if you want to be a cow led to slaughter. Rule No. 9. When you get to the top, keep climbing. Just when you think an idea is brilliantly polished and ready for applause, bend it, twist it, look at it from another angle. Keep moving it forward. Rule No. 10.Nothing in advertising is immutable. Anyone who tells you different is a fool. THE CREATIVE PROCESS COMMONHEALTH,Parsippany,N.J., is the world’s leading healthcarecommunications resource and aWPP Group company. Noesis Healthcare Interactions, Morristown, N.J., is a CommonHealth fullservice professional healthcare communications company. For more information, visit commonhealth.com or call 9738842200. CommonHealth John J. Nosta Executive VP, Chief Creative Officer, Noesis Healthcare Interactions, a CommonHealth company It seems that the more things change, the more things stay the same.And the past 20 years have taught me a few lessons about this business we call advertising. Stay away from the center. Consensus is good, but it, like incrementalism, can stifle the creative process. 10 Immutable Laws of Great Advertising
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10 Immutable Laws of Great Advertising
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