How to Create an Idea If You Are Not Ogilvy

Try to subtract an important part. The one that used to be considered a significant and indispensable thing. Perhaps a wonderful discovery awaits you there. Much more often than it is generally thought, creativity is about reduction, subtraction, the abandonment of superfluous and unnecessary parts.

Much more often than it is generally thought, creativity is about reduction, subtraction, the abandonment of superfluous and unnecessary parts.

Take a look at the next image (see Fig. 1.9.).

Do you know what it is?

An annual meeting of single, good looking, straight, emotionally-stable, financially-secure, intelligent men looking for a long-term commitment.

Drawn by Juriy Gerasimov

Fig. 1.9. The ideal man has just one shortcoming—he doesn’t exist.

Many years ago, this picture became the trigger for me that shot out with the idea of a TV commercial for the Coca-Cola company. Here is its script. It’s early morning. The sea. Sandy beach. We hear the cries of seagulls and the sound of waves. Opened red umbrella branded with white logo of the famous drink.

We watch the picture from the height of bird flight.

The first guest comes under the umbrella and orders a glass of fizzy drink. Of course, we do not see him from the top but it is easy to guess what is happening. The second man is coming to the shed from another side. Then a couple of teenagers arrive from the third direction.

Try to subtract an important part. The one that used to be considered a significant and indispensable thing. Perhaps a wonderful discovery awaits you there.

The sun rises higher. We can realize this by noticing the rapidly diminishing shadow cast by the umbrella. The air temperature is clearly rising. The beach is becoming more and more crowded. The number of those who come under the umbrella from different directions to cool off during a hot, summer day multiplies dramatically.

It’s nothing special, is it?

Now imagine that the situation described happens, but people are not displayed. Instead, we draw the feet traces left in the sand (see Fig. 1.10.).

The idea of MasterUm, Moscow, Russia, drawn by Juriy Gerasimov

Fig. 1.10. The final shot of the author’s TV commercial for the world’s largest beverage company.

We see only the branded umbrella under which only the path of the traces of bare feet. Then there is another path. Then two more footprints appear on the sand surface. The action goes on until the moment when the whole area around the tent becomes covered by traces of human feet.

Chapter 2

Divide et impera

“An elephant consists of a trunk, ears and a hippo.”

Life observation

In 1936 one Parisian atelier—a fancy workshop—mailed templates of fashionable hats in its shop to Athens. The manager of the atelier feared (not without a reason) that their competitors would copy templates at the very period of the delivery. How to protect the patterns from copying?

Here is another situation. Just recently one of our bank clients wanted to advertise loans to individuals secured by the cost of client’s personal car (logbook loans). The main benefit of this proposal was that the client continued to use his car after the loan. The car did not need to be left at the disposal of the bank, as is usually required.

All we had in our agency was a picture of the car. It could be easily bought in any photo stock. We had no money for the complex staged shooting. How to deliver the main advantage of the bank in the format of print layout?

How to prevent competitors from copying the patterns of fashionable hats on their delivery route from Paris to Athens?

Let me tell you the third situation. After production moved to factories in Thailand and Taiwan, the world-renowned corporation Reebok faced a serious problem. Some local workers were not the best example of honest and decent people in the world. They not only stole shoes directly from the factories, but also some of them established a delivery channel directly to the US market at rock bottom prices!

Punitive measures didn’t have any effect. Mass theft in factories went on and on. The company carried significant losses. How to overcome the major inclining to the theft of Reebok company’s local staff?

Now to answers and solutions, which are the most interesting part. I’ll start with the banking problem since the process of searching for advertising ideas has passed before my eyes. We came up with 24 options. Each of them carried the right message to the consumer with more-or-less acceptable degrees of expression.

But all options demanded studio shooting and unfortunately none of them was sharp or to-the-point. Every time, something appeared to be missing. Or on the contrary the idea was too difficult to understand on the spot.

We felt the creative block. At some point it became clear that within the single image there was no solution. But if we split the layout it would produce a graceful and almost mathematically tuned solution.

It was enough to show two pictures of the same car. Before receiving the loan and after getting the loan there were absolutely no changes (see Fig. 2.1.). That was the promise that we had to deliver.

With kind permission of MasterUm, Moscow, Russia

Fig. 2.1. Advertising solutions which you cannot get with just one image.

What did they come up with at Reebok? It was the very simple and elegant way out which reduced the “value” of theft to zero. Production was divided: Taiwan began to produce shoes only for the left foot. Thailand produced shoes just for the right foot. Shoes were put together for sale only once they arrived in the United States. Thus, theft at the local factories was eradicated completely.

How did Reebok solve the problem of mass theft in its factories in Thailand and Taiwan?

Reebok as before enjoyed a high price for the dealers. The top management of the corporation could sleep peacefully and not be afraid of market dumping. Actually, the same technique, though in microscopic scale, is used in many shoe shops when they put just one shoe from each pair in the showrooms.

Should I tell you the decision the hostess of the Parisian atelier came up with? I hope that now you can easily formulate it yourself. I will not deprive you of this innocent pleasure.

In my personal collection there are dozens of real-life problems of many different areas—from medicine to nuclear physics—that can be solved in a similar manner. But no doubt you have caught the basic idea.

It is a very strong creative tool to divide into pieces what we perceive as an indivisible unit. Have a look at the next layout (see Fig. 2.2.).

With kind permission of TBWA, Bangkok, Thailand

Fig. 2.2. Stain remover erases impurities at the moment they appear.

In the stain remover advertising, the stain of spilt coffee is divided from the sofa—it is literally peeling off. In a similar way, we can show the separation of the stain, for example, of melted ice cream from the back seat of the car. Or the stain of the ink could be divided from the carpet. And so on. These separations are performed quickly and easily. That is exactly what happens if you use the advertised product.

It is a very strong creative tool to divide into pieces what we perceive as an indivisible unit.

For the promotion of the powerful racing car we can divide, for example, the reflection of the car in the lake and the car itself (see Fig. 2.3.). To increase the contrast, we can place several trees with the “correct” reflections.

The idea of Maurice De Bevere, Brussels, Belgium, redrawn by Juriy Gerasimov

Fig. 2.3. The advertising of the car which outruns his own reflection.

The same technique can be applied to the beams of the headlights of a fast sedan with a four hundred horse-power engine under the hood (see Fig. 2.4.).

With kind permission of Michelangelo Cianciosi and Francesco Fallisi (DDB Milan, Italy)

Fig. 2.4. The division of the inseparable unit is a promising thinking tool.

The essence of the tool remains the same. We split what is normally connected to each other. The transition to a flexible system of thinking can give tangible benefits. The same approach in advertising allows us to deliver our message in a new and stronger way.

But why is it only in advertising?

Aircraft collisions with birds sometimes lead to serious disasters. During years of aviation development people invented a variety of ways to scare away birds from airfields. In order to keep birds off, people tried mechanical stuffed animals, naphthalene spraying, and so on.

But the best and practically free solution to the problem turned out to be the playing of loud screams of frightened birds recorded on magnetic tape.

Would you agree that separation of the cry of birds from the birds themselves is an unusual solution? It took time to come to it.

Another charming example comes from the history of science. The German physicist Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen was famous for his genius not only as an outstanding scientist, but also in lively everyday communication.

One day he received a letter with a request to mail some X-rays! Also, the ridiculous correspondent asked to attach instructions to the parcel about how to use the rays. The author of the letter did not have time to come, even though he wanted to get rid of an age-old revolver bullet in his chest.

Röntgen wrote in response: “Unfortunately at the moment, I do not have the X-rays. Besides mailing of X-ray is a very troublesome thing. Let’s make it a bit simpler: send me your chest ...”

What principle did the outstanding researcher and the first winner of the Nobel Prize in physics use for his answer?

Here are a few more examples. In advertising moisturizer we see a tattoo with rose petals falling from a fading flower (see Fig. 2.5.).

With kind permission of Tiago Valadão and Paulo Henrique Gomes (Mood/TBWA, São Paulo, Brazil)

Fig. 2.5. The impressive demonstration of the effect of the dryness of your skin.

The slogan of the advertising campaign exclaims: “Your skin needs moisture”.

At the next layout, the advertised milk promises to make your body so smooth that no dragon will ever stick to your shoulder (see Fig. 2.6.).

The idea of Bates, Singapore, redrawn by Juriy Gerasimov

Fig. 2.6. The advertising of a moisturizing cosmetic product for your face and body.

Division technique can be applied not only to the content of advertising but also to the form of advertising. Divide mentally the layout into two parts. Could this procedure lead us to some interesting ideas? In many cases it definitely would. In the beginning of the chapter I mentioned one of them.

Here are a few more examples. A manufacturer of products for hair removal (epilation) shows a sexy smooth female leg on one page. On the other page he shows the hair you can get rid of with the help of the advertised product (see Fig. 2.7.).

With kind permission of Luc Du Sault (Lg2, Quebec, Canada)

Fig. 2.7. Instant hair removal in the pages of glamour magazine.

The woman opens the favorite magazine and performs epilation at the same time. Quickly and painlessly.

The manufacturer of folding bicycles splits the image of the product to demonstrate that even a child can fold the bike (see Fig. 2.8.).

With kind permission of Kürşat Ünsal (The Adquarters, Istanbul, Turkey)

Fig. 2.8. Just close the magazine to fold the bike.

Let’s divide the billboard into two parts and put them on opposite sides of the highway. We get an unusual advertisement of a large fish, for example (see Fig. 2.9.).

With kind permission of Anatoliev & Partners, Krasnoyarsk, Russia

Fig. 2.9. Ocean fish is so big you need two billboards to advertise it.

But for the advertising of super sharp knives you don’t have to push anything. On the contrary, the closer the posters are placed to each other, the better the result is (see Fig. 2.10.).

The idea of Leo Burnett Frankfurt, Germany, redrawn by Juriy Gerasimov

Fig. 2.10. Advertising knives that are anything but safe.

Sometimes you may need to divide the poster into more parts. For example, in the advertising of romantic movies where the most juicy, explicit scenes are not cut (see Fig. 2.11.).

The idea of Kolle Rebbe, Hamburg, Germany, redrawn by Juriy Gerasimov

Fig. 2.11. Do you want to watch movies without censorship and interruption? Then get tuned to the new erotic channel.

But who says that this creative technique works only in space? Why not divide our advertising in time? What happens then? We get a creative technology which is known as a “teaser”.

Teaser campaigns consist of two stages. Initially there is an advertisement that creates intrigue, what inevitably raises the interest of the target audience. After a while the advertised product itself and explanations are presented to customers.

Here is one of the most famous examples of the teaser in Russia. In 1995 in Moscow the following billboards appeared along the highways (see Fig. 2.12.).

Fig. 2.12. One of the first teasers in Moscow. Headline: “Carjacked?” How do you think what product is advertised?

Two weeks later the billboards were changed with the response (see Fig. 2.13.).

.

With kind permission of Begemot, Moscow, Russia

Fig. 2.13. A world-class car alarm is advertised.

It is worth mentioning that only 11 of these billboards were placed in Moscow. But because of the bright ideas and non-standard delivery, Muscovites had the impression that the advertising campaign covered the entire city. A strong idea helps to save money on placement.

The first teaser appeared over 100 years ago in the United States—the homeland of both good and bad things in advertising. The tobacco brand Camel was one of the first who successfully tested this practice in 1913. Marketers at the tobacco company agreed that the name of the brand was already pushing advertising innovation. Then three days before the beginning of sales, they published mystery ads in newspapers of 90 American cities.

A strong idea helps to save money on placement.

On the first day there were images of camels with the laconic headline: “Camels”. The next day the headline had become a little more informative: “The Camels are coming!”

Then, people found out that “tomorrow there will be more camels in the town than in Asia and Africa combined!” This peaked their curiosity.

On the day of sales beginning, everything became clear. Finally, both worried and intrigued Americans learned the whole truth. “Camel cigarettes are here!” was written in the final ad. Stunned with the unusual advertising, people in big cities gave the new Camel cigarettes a try.

Camel cigarettes grew from fourth place to first place in sales in just five years, securing about 40 percent of the entire cigarette business5.

Here is a more recent example. A month before the launch of the four-door Jeep on the US market, the automaker prepared a guerrilla sticker campaign, which imitated a rear side-door handle (see Fig. 2.14.).

Stickers were placed on two-door Jeeps while their owners were absent. Of course, these people would made up the core target audience who would be interested in this new innovation, more than other drivers.

With kind permission of John O’Hea and Ty Hutchinson (BBDO Detroit, the United States)

Fig. 2.14. The sticker imitates the back-door handle of the Jeep.

In conclusion, let me tell you one more curious story. The workers of a wood-processing plant chop blocks of wood and stand on the opposite side to each other. But either axe could fall off the axe handle and maim the fellow on the opposite side. What solution would you suggest to workers to help them avoid conflicts and injuries? What can be done in this situation?

Let us first divide the workers from their axes. And then we offer them to exchange axes. Now if the partner badly fixed their axe then he would only have himself to blame.

Have you noticed? Besides the division tool, we have just used another powerful tool. Let’s see what it is in the next chapter.

Chapter 3

Chasing after defeats

“A bit beyond perception’s reach

I sometimes believe I see that

life is two locked boxes, each

containing the other’s key.”

Piet Hein,

Danish mathematician,

inventor, designer, writer

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