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.

Here’s a hypothetical assignment: write an internal flyer to notify your company’s employees of the annual picnic.

You begin by putting Creative Advertising #1 to work, making a list of the facts:

Creative Advertising #1

• the picnic’s going to be held
• on the company’s lawn
• the third Saturday of June
• from 1200 (noon) to 1600 (4 pm)
• employees are invited to bring their families and guests
• the company will supply lunch: sandwiches, salads, beverages
• there will be games for the children
• the dress is sports informal

You invite six to eight employees from different departments who attended last year’s picnic to join you in the conference room, which you’ve reserved for an hour (the more participants, the more opinions, and the harder it will be to reach a consensus; six to 10 is a comfortable group). Y_ou distribute the list of facts to each of them, and give them a few minutes to review it.

Then you ask, “What else should we add to our facts list?”

A participant remembers, “Last year, it began to rain during the picnic, and we had to end early.” You suggest setting up a large tent.

A second participant wants to know about dessert. You suggest asking employees to bring one, and share. “And I’ll see if the company will supply fresh fruit.” Everyone likes that idea.

“Are we ready to get started?” you ask the group. “Let’s do new names for the picnic, using Creative Advertising #2.” The group begins throwing out suggestions:

1 Play Day

2 Outdoor Banquet

3 Food Fight

4 Food Bites (Bytes)

5 Mega-Bites

Someone asks, “How about Bite the Hand that Feeds You?” Everyone laughs.

You compliment them: “That’s great work, everybody.” More names follow:

6 Weekend Babysitter

7 Afternoon in the Park

8 Lawn Party

9 Company’s Coming

10 Birthday Party

You decide that the group is sufficiently warmed up. Since time is limited, you skip to Creative Advertising #4 and ask them to make a list of key words about the picnic. They select:

1food

2 bites/bytes

3 party

4 sandwich

5 fruit

6 dessert

7 meal

8 out or outdoor

You ask for some verbs that relate to consuming food and they suggest:

9 eat

10 chew

11 gobble

12 sip

13 swallow

However, the more generic your approach and the more general your audience, the more wasted circulation and the less likely it is that your message will reach its target efficiently.

You are going to want to make the connection with your audience, shaping it into manageable groups of people called the target audience. A target audience is defined as a segment of the general population that shares common demographics and psychographics. You’ve heard these two words before, but let’s agree on their definitions.

Demographics are the statistics of your target audience. Some of the most common include:

1. Age, which usually brackets a number of years: 1825, 18-34, 49-54, over 60, etc.
2. Gender, which may be male, female or both male/ female.
3. Income level, which will break down annual household income into ranges: $30,000 to $45,000; £15,000 to £22,000; Rs 250,000 to Rs 500,000.
4. Marital status: single, married, divorced, widowed.
5. Geography: inner city, urban, suburban, rural. 6. Education level: secondary schooling, some university, university graduate, postgraduate degree.

Psychographics, on the other hand, involve less measurable information—your target audience’s lifestyle and traditions, including:

• Interests—what does your target audience do recreationally? On a weekend? Where do these people go on vacation? How do they celebrate holidays? What are their hobbies?
• Beliefs—does your audience agree, “My country, right or wrong? Families belong together, especially during holidays? You’re only young once? Children should be seen and not heard?” What do they think? About everything.
• Values—Is the family the center of their lives? Do they think it is wrong to steal? Courage under fire? Honesty is the best policy? Do under others as you would have others do unto you? What are the traits that anchor your target audience’s lives?
• Feelings—do they agree that “When my children misbehave, it embarrasses me? When my husband forgets my birthday, it makes me sad? When I do something to help others, it makes me feel good? When somebody who does less work than I do gets promoted, I feel resentful?” What emotions govern your target audience’s behaviors?

Here’s a designated target audience for the orange.

Demographics:

1. Gender: women
2. Age: 18-34
3. Income level: $30,000 (£15,000, Rs 250,000)
4. Marital status: single
5. Geography: urban/suburban

Education level: Secondary school and above Psychographics:

Interested in career, health, fashion, body decoratio_n(i.e., piercing and tattoos) and social life. Into fun and independent lifestyles.

To establish a connection with the target audience, make a list of the objects you think they would typically surround themselves with:

1. Roller blades–for recreation, urban transportation.
2. Snow boards—for outdoor winter recreation.
3. Portable CD players—for listening to music anywhere, any time.
4. Tattoos and rings—for adorning the body.
5. Fast, sporty cars or scooters—for transportation that is noticed by their peers.
6. Diets and supplements—for staying healthy.

If you’re having trouble thinking of additions, select a _magazine with the demographics and psychographics that match those of your target audience, for example,
Cosmopolitan.

Browse through the magazine. What are the articles about? What products are being advertised? About 15 minutes spent with the magazine should produce a list of _additional objects (products and services), and the reasons for their purchase.

1. Take the list, and using creative advertising #3, look for similarities between the target audience’s lifestyle and your product, Navel Oranges.
2. Equipment might be one similarity. Objects on the list like roller blades, snow boards, sports cars and CD players can all be classified as equipment for a particular activity. An orange can also become equipment: it “equips” the user with energy, refreshment and vitamins.
3. Another similarity is peels. Young adults “peel out,” or accelerate on roller blades, in sports cars, on scooters. Oranges get peeled.
4. Young adults can get juiced with both: “juiced,” or energized by the physical activity involved in speed and danger; and refreshed with the juice of the orange.
5. Roller blades, snow boards, CD players and oranges are all portable.
6. Both involve nature. Rollerblading and snow boarding are outdoor activities. Oranges grow on trees.
7. They both grow on you. The more you roller blade and snow board, the better you get and the more you enjoy it. The more orange juice you drink, the better you like its sweet, fruity taste.
8. They both satisfy thirsts: the thirst for excitement; the thirst generated by exercise.

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.”

Rule 2. There is room for just one good idea in each effective ad. Often, the client will want to insert every piece of information imaginable about the product. Consequently, there’s so much to focus on that the reader doesn’t focus on anything—the copy becomes a haze of multiple points, none of which can be emphasized because there is no room to do so, either on paper or in the reader’s mind. Stavros Cosmopulos, founder of several major advertising agencies and a member of the Advertising Hall of Fame, has a demonstration he does regularly. He prepares a wooden board by pounding several dozen nails into it; then, he takes a second board and pounds in a single nail. He picks up a sheet of foam core and slams it on top of the first board. None of the nails penetrate the foam core. He picks up the foam core and slams it on top of the second board. The single nail penetrates easily. He relates the single nail to a single advertising idea that penetrates more easily when it is all by itself.

Rule 3. The headline must involve the reader and pull him/her into the ad in some way. The cleverest headline will not work if it is irrelevant to the reader.

Rule 4. Think of the copy that you’re writing for your ad as a conversation on paper. If the words you are writing are words you wouldn’t say out loud, don’t write them. For example, “We at … (insert client’s name here)” is probably not the way you would introduce the name of your client in conversation. Don’t write it on paper.

Rule 5. Use active verbs not passive ones. “You will be pleased” doesn’t please anybody.

Rule 6. Avoid “invisible words“—trite, overused adjectives that no longer carry much meaning—amazing, incredible, revolutionary, extraordinary, special, etc. If you need to communicate these ideas, find fresh ways and words to do it.

Rule 7. When you introduce the name of the product or service in the copy for the first time, use the complete product name. In subsequent mentions, shorten it to the brand, or to “we.”

Rule 8. Since an ad is a conversation on paper, use the first person to talk about your product, and the second person to talk to your reader. Try to avoid the third person. There are clients who like to speak about themselves in the third person. Third-person communication only distances them, and you, from the reader and potential purchaser.

Rule 9. Body copy is a form of sales shorthand. Edit, edit, edit. If you can use a sentence fragment (a phrase missing either the subject or verb that would complete it as a sentence) in place of a sentence, do. Try stringing fragments together, concentrating the copy points. Often, connectives, subjects, verbs, etc., can work against you, diluting your ideas. Here’s a case where more is really less.

You may be asked to create a seventh element: a slogan or positioning line. For now, just execute the six elements listed above.

1. The headline. Limit the type of headlines you write to choices from two of your Creative lists: from rule 2—new names; or rule 4—new definitions for existing phrases. For now, your headlines will contain a minimal number of words—just the essence of the idea.
2. The lead-in. This is the first sentence in the ad. Generally, it is a restatement of the headline. Try using rule 4 to construct it.
3. The transition. It bridges the distance between the lead-in and the story. It may be a word, a sentence, a paragraph. It is followed by:
4. The story or “sell.” This is the most important part of the ad. It is where you bring your product or service to life; where you persuade your reader of the benefits of purchasing the product; and where you make the sale.
5. The transition out of the story. This leads the reader to:
6. The wrap-up. This summarizes the ad and ties it all together.

Note that the elements of an ad with an asterisk—the headline, lead-in and wrap-up—give you an opportunity to apply what you learned in rule 4. Since you have already exercised this Aerobic before you ever started putting together the copy for an ad, you already have nearly one-half of your work completed.

Prior to putting an ad together, some questions may come to mind.

Question: how many words are there in an ad?

Answer: as many as it takes to sell your product. Try limiting the number to a 100 or less and make every word count. Edit relentlessly.

Question: what pronoun form should be used? First person? Second person? Third person?

Answer: “You” is probably the most important word you’ll put on paper.

Question: are there any “rules” for writing ads?

Answer: a few. Since advertising is all about breaking the rules, however, you’ll probably find reasons to break these down the road. But let’s follow a few rules for now.

Use secondary research to observe who today’s users of Ivory Soap are. You may decide that a way to expand Ivory’s customer base is to go after non-users. Now you can put your knowledge of what-it-isn‘ts to work. If you have identified Ivory users as people looking for a mild soap, identify people who might not be looking for mild: tough guys, perhaps. “Tough” could be considered an opposite of mild—a what-it-isn‘t. And tough guys might include World Federation wrestlers, motorcycle gangs, Bruce Willis Marine drill sergeants, Superman, etc. (for example, don’t limit yourself to real people. Fictional characters can be equally interesting and effective). Even tough guys can use a little mildness.

Another way to look at Ivory is that it is a bar of white soap. A what-it-isn‘t might direct you to the opposite of white. You might look for colorful people—people with colorful personalities, colorful hair or clothing, even a color in their names (i.e., Black). And that might lead you to more what-it-isn‘t(s): complex people. Superstars. Models. (Add a half-dozen of your own what-it-isn‘t[s].)

Use the product yourself. You can’t write persuasively about Ivory if you don’t know it well. As you use it, examine it as if it were under a microscope: how many times do you have to rub the cake across your wet hands to produce a lather? What does the lather look like? Is it a slight frosting of white on your hands? Are there any bubbles? Large? Small? Rub your hands together. What do your hands feel like? As if they are wearing soft gloves? Are they soft? Stiff? Do you notice any scent? Is the lack of it the scent of clean?

What do you know about soap? What’s the difference between soap and detergent? Which one leaves a film? Which one strips the oils from your skin? What are the advantages/disadvantages of each? Of all the bar soaps you saw on the shelf, which are soap-based? Which are detergent-based? If you don’t know, secondary research will help you find out.

Does knowing the difference really make a difference? Suppose, after reading up on Ivory, you decide that because of its purity and mildness, it would be well received by first-time mothers for bathing their babies.

Next step: put yourself in their place. Imagine what it’s like to be a mother for the first time. Mothers want what’s best for their babies. But first-time mothers are different: they don’t have a learning curve. They need information^— what should they use to bathe their babies? Your exploration of Ivory’s history can create one perspective: since 1878, mothers have been bathing babies with Ivory. C_onclusion: Ivory will be safe for your baby. Your exploration of formulation can create another perspective: Ivory is all soap, not detergent. How do mothers perceive detergent? What they wash clothes and dishes in? Would you wash your baby the same way you wash your clothes? Conclusion: No.

The preceding discussion about Ivory Soap identifies two skills that will help you to develop as a copywriter. The first is to be able to look at a product or service so closely that you see information others might miss. Often, particularly when advertising parity products, you’ll discover there are no product differences between brands. The quandary: how do you create an identity for a product with no difference? By observing the product in minute detail, you may discover something about it that has been overlooked. It will give you a hook to hang your creativity on.

The second skill is to be able to put yourself in your target audience’s place: to identify not only with his/her demographics, but to discern the psychographics that define this target audience.

Think about the advertising you have seen for cruise lines. What comes to mind? Hundreds of cruise guests standing at a ship’s railing as their friends and relatives see them off? A crowded dance floor peopled by couples in formal dress? Groaning tables of sumptuous food accompanied by exotic ice sculptures?

The copywriters at US agency Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, San Francisco, the then-advertising agency of record for Norwegian Cruise Lines (NCL), looked more deeply into the potential market for cruises. They saw beyond older couples at leisure, having a good time. They saw that the advertising’s target audience could also in- dude hardworking 30-something couples who were looking to be recharged; looking for the peace and quiet that comes with getting away for seven days from computers, faxes, phones and the 358 days of relentless responsibility these hard-driving professionals endure most of the year; and gave them permission to do so.

The result of their observations was a campaign that saw directly into the psyche of the prospect. Instead of hyping fun, fun, fun, it spoke softly:

There is no law that says you can’t make love at four in the afternoon on a Tuesday.

There is no law that says you shall not study a sunset or train butterflies.

There is no law that says you must pack worry along with your luggage.

There is no law that says you must contribute to the GNP every day of your life.

It’s different out here.

The copywriters working on NCL saw something that hadn’t been seen before. What triggered their observations? Was it creative inspiration? Was it research? Was it digging deeper to find out more about cruises: who, what, when, where and why people take them? Most likely it was a combination of all three.

In order to be able to see a product or service differently, you must “see” it from as many different perspectives as you can identify. Look at it from a historic perspective: how did the product come into being? If you were to examine Ivory Soap, for example, you’d discover that the product was a mistake: a 19th century workman, called to lunch by the factory whistle, left machinery running that pumped extra air into the process, creating a product that floated.

Check out early Ivory advertising, and you’ll observe that it was often a work of art: fine artists of the day, like Maud Humphrey, the mother of actor Humphrey Bogart, and Jessie Willcox Smith, a student of Eakins and classmate of Wyeth designed or painted the illustrations for early 20th century ads. Check out 19th century homes, and you’ll find Ivory was a family staple.

Look at your product from a marketing perspective: how is it doing in the marketplace? Check its sales history with some secondary research (internet sourcing, business publications like the Wall Street Journal and Fortune maga_zi_ne). Walk into your local supermarket and do a store check. Check the facings (number of product units lined _up left to right on a shelf). How many packages of Ivory Soap can you count? Is Ivory all on one shelf? Two? More? How many different sizes of package are there? How is the product priced: more/less than the competition? Who is the competition? What other brands do you see in the bar soap section? Count how many different brands there are and how many facings for each? Observe package graphics (the typography and its arrangement on the package, use of color, etc.). Which soap bar has its name in the largest- size type font? Which soap product did you see first?