But it is difficult if not impossible to make a direct relationship between the dollars spent on advertising and how consumers value a brand. While Lexus spent one-fifth of the advertising dollars of Ford in 1993, it was Lexus that ranked higher in customer satisfaction according to the J. D. Power Survey of Potential Car Buyers.⁸ Many goods or services advertise very little, if at all, and yet are still highly appreciated and valued by their users. Hospitals typically only spend a few thousand dollars on advertising, yet they are highly valued. In contrast, cable television companies spend a good deal of money on advertising and promotion, but they have low satisfaction ratings.

Advertising Provides a Sense of Belongings

When Hallmark reminds you to send a Valentine’s Day card, “When you care enough to send the very best,” your participation in this annual ritual links you to millions of others who are doing the same. Advertising depicts familiar activities or scenes to help consumers feel that they belong to a larger social organization. For example, commercials for Shout stain remover help mothers of young children feel they are not alone in trying to cope with grass or ketchup stains; and Subaru has begun targeting lesbians with creative advertisements designed specifically for that part of the gay market.

A sense of belonging is one reason why minority groups argue for specific creative executions for their customers. Major advertisers such as McDonald’s and Seagram’s have ethnic advertising agencies develop separate ad campaigns to reach African American ora Hispanic consumers. These ads show people from those ethnic groups using the product, and they may also reflect different cultural preferences or customs that these minorities will be more likely to recognize and appreciate. Dominick’s Finer Foods, a midwestern chain of grocery stores, not only creates ads in Spanish to reach its Hispanic customers, it even shows different cuts of meat in these ads to reflect the pieces that this ethnic group prefers to buy.

Advertising Reflects the Value of Society

Advertising’s supporters maintain that the messages it conveys merely reflect the values of society as a whole. In the 1980s, when the United States was enjoying an economic boom and materialistic values became more important, there were numerous ads that focused on having more and buying more. Society’s compassionate value is expressed in public service ads that try to raise awareness for some of today’s social problems, such as child abuse or AIDS discrimination.

This model of the marketplace assumes concentrations of power within the market; as a result, it tends to be somewhat static. That is, if a few firms dominate and the price of entry for new competitors remains high, then it becomes difficult for changes to occur or for new products to be offered to consumers. In reality, however, people’s tastes and preferences change, product improvements and innovations take place, and technology changes, all of which can lead to new entrants in the market and shifts in market shares.

The media contend that without such subsidies, the cost to consumers would be considerably higher. Indeed in Germany, where until recently there was almost no commercial time on television, viewers pay an annual fee of about $360 to watch television. And in this country, magazines that do not accept advertising, such as Ms or Consumer Reports, are priced two to three times higher than those that do.

Moreover, the audience may well enjoy seeing the advertising, or indeed choose a media type in part because of the ads within it. If you are planning to buy a new computer, you are likely to pick up a copy of PC Week or Macworld not only to read about the different machines available but also to scour the ads in those issues for further information.

Although advertisers’ influence on the media is usually indirect, they can still have a serious impact. One might wonder whether the so-called “trash TV” talk shows could exist without advertiser support. As the situation in “Consumer Insight: When Talk Leads to Murder” shows, the media’s desperate efforts to keep audience sizes large enough to be attractive to advertisers can sometimes have fatal consequences.

In looking at the institution of advertising, you realize that critics focus more on its social role, while defenders present economic arguments. The debate continues because advertising is so pervasive that it is impossible to be immune from its impact, either harmful or beneficial. Increasingly, we are exposed to advertising messages wherever we turn, from television to train stations, magazines to malls, and billboards to book covers. Not only is our exposure more widespread, it is also more frequent. We are likely to see the same advertising message over and over again in an effort to help us remember the brand name.

1. Fast Food, Food for Thought, Finger Food, Food Bytes/Bites.
2. Bite the Hand that Feeds You, Mega-Bites, Big Bite, Little Bite, Bite your Tongue, Overbite, Underbite, Bite Down.
3. Party Animal, Party Faithful, Life of the Party, Democratic Party, Republican Party, Independent Party, Party till you Drop.
4. Club Sandwich, Ham Sandwich, Chutney Sandwich, Hot Sandwich, Hero Sandwich, _Sandwich it in, Sandwich, Massachusetts.
5. Fresh Fruit, Fruitful Endeavor, Fruit Cocktail, Juicy Fruit.
6. Just Desserts, We’ll Dessert (Desert) You, Dessert (Desert) Storm.
7. Happy Meal, Meal-to-Go, Meal Deal.
8. On the Outs, Out to Lunch, Go Out of your Way, All Outdoors.
9. Eat Your Heart Out, Eat Hearty, Eat Somebody’s Lunch.
10. Chew on This, Chew Your Cud, Bite off More than You Can Chew, Chew-Chew (Choo-Choo), Here’s Something to Chew On.
11. Gobble Down, Gobble Up.
12. Sip a Straw, First Sip, Last Sip.
13. Easy to Swallow, Hard to Swallow.

A total of 57 phrases in all.

You ask the participants which phrases they think may be acceptable as headlines for the flyer. They select:

HAPPY MEAL MEGA-BITES CHEW ON THIS CHEW-CHEW

EAT OUR LUNCH

The first decision is to decide on one. You are looking for a headline with an alternate meaning, to intrigue readership. EAT OUR LUNCH fits the bill. Its more common colloquial meaning is to beat someone badly in a contest. But alternately, it contains a clear invitation.

The Creative Advertising #4 exercise also provides vocabulary for the flyer, and the message goes together easily from the facts list and the participants’ phrases.

Eat Our Lunch!

The annual picnic will be held
the third Saturday of June,
from 1200 (noon) to 1600 (4 pm)
rain or shine (we’ll have a tent).

Please bring your family or a friend,
and a dessert to share.

The company will supply
sandwiches, salads and beverages.

The message ends abruptly. You realize, too, that the company needs a head count on how many people will attend. So you make additions to the flyer, ending it with one of the phrases from the brainstorming session:

Let the director’s office know
by the 10th of June
how many people will attend.
This ought to be a very

Happy Meal!

Brainstorming has stimulated your thinking outside the box. Instead of sending the invitation as a flyer, you envision printing it on a folded paper napkin, with EAT YOUR LUNCH on the outside, and the message inside. You’ll use corporate colors to give it a company feel.

The above scenario suggests a way to maximize internal communications. First, it includes employees in the planning process, giving them an opportunity to buy into the project. Next, it provides employees with participatory opportunities, strengthening company ties.

Third, it utilizes corporate training, the Creative Advertising exercises, to arrive at a creative solution for the communication. The group who worked on the project feels pride _that their ideas were used. Printing their names on the back of the napkin can give them ownership of the project and recognition within the company, a morale booster.

Finally, using creativity for internal communications gives the message higher impact within the company.

This approach can work well in generating names for a corporate newsletter, corporate incentive programs, employee handbooks, and other internal communications publications.

Daily Rounds

Let’s have a round table discussion about healthy breakfast choices: Navel Oranges. Sweet, juicy Navels are just what th_edoctor ordered. There’s nothing artificial about these golden sections of a 100 percent natural fruit. They’re high i_nnutritious vitamin C. But low in calories. Full of refreshment. And they’ll fill you full of energy.

Headline: Daily Rounds

Lead-In:

Let’s have a round table discussion about healthy breakfast choices:

Navel Oranges.

Transition:

Sweet, juicy Navels are just what the doctor ordered.

Story:

They’re high in nutritious vitamin C. But low in calories. Full of refreshment. And they’ll fill you full of energy. Pick up a dozen.

Transition:

(Pick up a dozen)* if you know what’s good for you.

Wrap-up:

What a “well”-rounded way to start the day!

*”Pick up a dozen” overlaps, as both a story call-to-action, and a transition.

Pick up a dozen, if you know what’s good for you. What a “well”-rounded way to start the day!

It’s taken just 73 words to craft a health-oriented advertisement for navel oranges. Are there any words you can cut to tighten the copy? You might omit sentence three: There’s nothing artificial about these golden sections of 100 percent natural fruit; although that copy functions to reinforce the natural goodness of the product. That reduces the word count to 61.

Notice how hardworking the copy is. In putting together the advertisement, no mention was made of two copy elements: the transition from lead-in to story, and the transition from story to wrap-up. That’s because theyalready exist in the story. Sweet, juicy Navel Oranges are just what the doctorordered not only sets up thehealth story; it’s also the bridge that leads from round table discussion to _nutritious vitamin C. And Pick up a dozen, if you know what’s good for you not only completes the story by asking for the order, it also connects what’s good for you with being well-rounded.

One last observation: read the copy aloud. Does it flow smoothly? Sound natural? Remember, an ad should sound like a conversation on paper. Make sure it is constructed in short or uncomplicated sentences, using unstilted language [Example, stilted: "We at (company name) ..." Unstilted: "At (company name), we ..."]. If you wouldn’t speak that way, don’t write that way.

Once the story is completed, it’s time to start at the beginning: the headline. Since you’re telling a health story, let’s return to Creative Aerobics #2 and #4 and review the layers of information already created.

In Creative Advertising, more than 30 possible “new names” for the orange were listed, including “Wheel,”

“Life Saver,” “Trick or Treat,” “Teeth,” “Light Source;’, and in Creative Advertising, over a 100 existing phrases made the list, including “Navel Intelligence,” “Make the Rounds,” “Daily Rounds,” “Round Up,” “Round of Ap. plause,” “This Round’s on Us,” “Well Rounded,” “pulp Fiction,” “Peel Out,” “Main Squeeze,” “Roll with the Punches,” “Roll Call,” “Roll Model,” “Skin Deep,” “Skin Flick,” “Key of C,” “C Farer,” “C Worthy,” “Section Rehearsal,” “Sports Section,” “Get Juiced,” “Name Dropper,” “Make a Name for Yourself.”

“Life Saver,” a Creative Advertising new name, is a possible headline. So is “Daily Rounds,” a Creative Advertising existing phrase. Are there any others? Note that with Creative Aerobic Advertising, there is less information to work with at present than with Creative Advertising. If you wanted to use “Life Saver” as the headline, you’d need to generate additional information: (a) finding the similarities between an orange and a life saver; followed by (b) assembling a list of existing phrases containing the words “life” or “saver“—Creative Advertising.

For now, see whether there’s a headline in the “Round” phrases generated in Creative Advertising. Note that there are 16 phrases, plus additional ones you may have thought of:

This Round’s on Us

Round House

Round Table Discussion

Make the Rounds

Round of applause

Round Off

Well-Rounded

Round the Bend

Go Ten Rounds With ..

Round Robin

Round-up

Daily Rounds

In the Round

Round Midnight

Ground Round

Round Third and Head for Home

The medically relevant phrase “Daily Rounds” meets the criteria for both a health story headline and for an orange ad, Its new meaning, the what-it-isn’t, is “a round piece of fruit that you consume every day.”

Let’s construct the lead-in. As you recall, the lead-in is “a restatement of the headline.” Will any of the remaining 15 “round” phrases satisfy the criterion?

There are two possibilities that suggest themselves: “Round Up” and “Round Table Discussion.” Here are some suggestions of how to structure them into lead-in(s).

Lead-In(s)

1. Round up something fresh and healthy for breakfast this morning.
2. Let’s have a round table discussion about healthy breakfast choices.

Note that both lead-in(s) establish the health aspect: an inference from the headline, as well as a preface of the story to come.

What’s left to write is the end of the ad, the wrap-up.

After the headline, it is the most complex portion of the ad to construct, since it must summarize content while giving new meaning to an existing phrase—creating another what-it-isn’t. At the same time, it must give the ad a feeling of completion.

“Make the Rounds,” “Round of Applause,” and “Well Rounded” may work. But they must both pay off the copy, and establish a conclusion for the ad. Here are some suggestions:

Wrap-Up(s)

1. What a delicious way to make the rounds.

2. How about a round of applause for Navel Oranges! 3. What a “well”-rounded way to start the day.

What’s missing? Perhaps it’s the spontaneity, enthusiasm and fun of using Creative Aerobics. Here’s a creatively radical thought: What if you didn’t start at the beginning, but in the middle?

When you think about it, the most important part of an ad is the story or “sell.” What is it about the product that will persuade a potential customer to buy it? What kind of a story should be written? What would sell the reader on Navel Oranges? In order to write the story, you will need to collect facts. A starting point is the facts list compiled in Creative Advertsing.

A fact by itself is nothing more than information; it has no powers of persuasion. The first step, then, is to examine the facts and determine what it is about each fact that could make it important to someone reading the ad.

Review your facts. Which ones would you select for your story or sell?

Suppose you decide you’d like to tell a health story. Select the facts that relate to health: a Navel Orange contains vitamin C, meaning it supplies you with nutrition; it’s a low-calorie snack, meaning you can enjoy it without worrying about gaining weight; it’s healthy, which means it’s good for you. Not on the list, but health-related: an orange is a 100 percent natural, meaning there are no additives, nothing artificial; it gives you energy, meaning it fuels your activities; and it’s a fruit, which puts it at the top of the food pyramid.

Is that enough to work with? Also include secondary facts that could be persuasive to the reader: a Navel Orange fills your mouth with sweetness, meaning it satisfies your sweet tooth; it’s juicy, meaning it provides refreshment and quenches thirst; it tastes good, meaning it’s enjoyable to eat.

Since you’ve chosen a health story, it might be helpful to make a list of phrases containing reference to good health:

Just what the doctor ordered

If you know what’s good for you

The picture of health

Drink to your health; here’s to your health

In sickness and in health

Healthy choices

Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise

Medical opinion

Clean bill of health

Combining the two creates a health story:

Sweet, juicy Navel Oranges are just what the doctor ordered. There’s nothing artificial about these golden sections of a 100 percent natural fruit. They’re high in nutritious vitamin C. But low in calories. Full of refreshment. And they’ll fill you full of energy. Pick up a dozen, if you know what’s good for you.

Let’s analyze how this story is constructed. Sentence one identifies the product—Navel Oranges. But it does more than that. It pairs the fruit with its taste—”sweet, juicy”— from the secondary facts list. The taste is underscored by a literary tool—alliteration—which repeats the “s” sound— sweet, juicy—increasing the sense of sweetness. There’s more: since this story centers on health, the sentence is completed with a health reference—”just what the doctor ordered“—from the list of health phrases, which sets up what is to follow.

Sentence two probes the health relationship: Navel Oranges are a 100 percent natural fruit. There is nothing artificial about them—no artificial coloring, no artificial flavoring, no chemical additives. Sentence two also dissects them, dividing them into “golden sections,” appealing to the reader’s sense of sight.

Sentences three and four, and sentence fragments one and two flesh out the health story (vitamins … refreshment … energy), employing additional literary tools: opposites (high …, low …); and parallel construction (high in vitamin C, low in calories).

Sentence five makes the sale. It asks for the order: “Pick up a dozen ….” And it gives a reason to believe that summarizes the health story: “if you know what’s good for you.”