The Brains Behind Great Ad Campaigns

Creative Collaboration between Copywriters and Art Directors

By (author) Margo Berman, Robyn Blakeman

Publication date:

16 July 2009

Length of book:

224 pages

Publisher

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

ISBN-13: 9780742555501

Catch an inside look at the advertising creative process. Discover how teams collaborate at major agencies to create unforgettable campaigns like the Budweiser "Clydesdale and Dalmatian" spots, the "PEDIGREE® Adoption Drive" program, or the breakthrough UPS "Whiteboard" campaign.

See how creative briefs drive on-strategy solutions in all media from traditional to ambient. Understand which campaigns went off-course and why. Enjoy one-on-one interviews with behind-the-scenes candor and explore more than 50 exciting, visual examples. Hear first-hand from advertising masterminds as the authors delve into the brains behind great ad campaigns.

Each chapter offers step-by-step instruction, revealing various aspects of the creative process, from brainstorming techniques and agency pitches to strategic visual and verbal messaging.

Chapter 1 The Brains behind the Campaign: The Strategy and the Brief
2 Brainstorming: The Marriage of Visual and Verbal to the Strategy
3 Brainstorming: Techniques to Get to the Big Idea
4 How Campaigns Tell the Brand's Story
5 How Copywriters Approach Strategy Verbally
6 How Designers Approach Strategy Visually
7 Where Campaigns and Brands Go off Course
8 On-Strategy Campaigns That Spin Out
9 New Strategies for Old and New Media
10 Nuts and Bolts of Great Presentations

In this didactic look at advertising, including plenty of fun examples from the American ad landscape, academics Berman and Blakeman compile a textbook-ready step-by-step guide to the advertising process. Taking readers through the nuts and bolts of ad creation, the authors are unafraid to start with the basics. . . . As an explication of advertising mechanics, from brainstorming to copywriting to strategizing and media usage, Berman and Blakeman have put together a thorough . . . primer that will familiarize would-be ad professionals with the discipline's processes and principles.