Innovation by SIT

Sources of creative inspiration can take different forms. One such form can be the communication objectives, included in the creative brief to the advertising agency. Now, this may sound odd! I mean, ask any art director/copy writer and you’ll hear that these objectives are the least inspiring element in the entire process!

So, how can we make our objectives more inspiring?

Take this Cannes Lions winning ad for Softlan Ultra by Y&R Malaysia for example:

Advertising Agency: Y&R, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Creative Directors: Rahul Mathew, Rowan Chanen
Art Directors: Richard Chong, Scott McClelland
Copywriter: Rahul Mathew
Retouching: Magic Cube

One possible way to describe the objective of this campaign is: “Sell more Softlan” or “The softest fabric conditioner”. As a matter of fact, this is one of the most popular ways that clients phrase objectives in their briefs to the agency. But, just think of the poor copywriter who gets yet another brief asking him to “sell more”. These guys get dozens of such requests each week and are expected to come up with a completely new creative idea each and every time.

Now, imagine the same objective written in an inspiring manner, such as: “Make people realize how soft Softlan is by experiencing its benefits when they least expect it”, or “Softlan is so soft that it turns the unpleasant into pleasant”.
These examples, as well as any other practically phrased objective, enable the creative teams a clearer understanding of the objective of the brief and provide them with some creative meat to chew on.

Why not even think about it as a simple formula? Get….by….. (e.g. get the consumers to realize how soft “Softlan” is by demonstrating the extreme benefits of using Softlan, when they least expect it”)?

This can even easily turn into an overall communication strategy!