Ogilvy versus Aristotle: How creative briefs fail and why brand strategists should adopt a new patron saint

Abstract

Chief executive officers, general managers, marketers and those who strive to create compelling creative content in the pursuit of business objectives lack the kind of foundational thinking that underpins other critical business functions such as law, operations and finance. The advertising industry has failed to define what matters most in a creative brief or develop industry standards for how to identify ‘what the work should say’ so that creative teams can develop creative ways to say it. This is a systemic problem that damages the credibility of creative presentations as well as the effectiveness of marketing campaigns. ‘Messaging’ is seen as the development of statements, without thought as to how those statements should be organised to optimise their persuasive impact. The paper argues for a more reasonable and more powerful approach based on perception-shifting cases.