White Paint On A White Canvas, By Tom Hutchison
Question: What is art? Answer: You know it when you see it.
Artists and critics, collectors and curators all argue about the intrinsic value of individual works and broad categories of artistic endeavors. No example of art generates more debate than all white paintings on a white canvas. Is it art? I don’t know, but artists like Li Yuan-chia, Robert Rauschenberg and Kazimir Malevich have all created white-on-white works that hang in prestigious galleries. Bridge by Robert Ryman sold for more $20 million, so some people think it’s art. The advertising industry wrestles with a similar question. What is Creativity?
Creativity is an expansive concept, but from the perspective of advertising strategy, it is the thinking and practices that contribute to the development of messages and visual experiences. It’s the intellectual exercises that identify relevant information and the constructive processes that turn ideas into text and images and videos. Creativity is core to virtually all marketing and advertising strategies, so how do you know what is creative when you see it?
Recognizing creativity doesn’t have to be subjective. Acceptable boundaries for messaging content make up part of a brand’s identity and (hopefully) remain within the confines of regulatory restrictions. Visual expressions of a brand aren’t constrained by outside influences, but there are limits based on how a brand wants to be seen. Beyond those structures, creativity defines, refines, and transforms the expression of the brand and it can be seen in several ways.
Creative ads are distinct. Creativity challenges industry norms and market conventions. Ads that differ from what people’s expectations capture their attention. Take The Most Interesting Man in the World ads by Dos Equis. While most beer companies highlight the taste of their products or the quality of the ingredients, Dos Equis chose to focus on someone who would prefer to drink their beer. Coupled with humor, the unconventional approach was so compelling that the ads remain meme-worthy staples of popular culture almost a decade later.
Creative ads surprise people. Creativity can change personal perceptions in a way the creates a sense of surprise. Humor is the most common way of eliciting a surprise response, but any unanticipated part of an ad can grab a person’s attention. For example, the famous eye patch ads for Hathaway Shirts. Putting the model in an eye patch didn’t change the central message of the ad, but the pictorial was different from typical ads. That surprising visual choice created one of the most iconic ad campaigns in history.
Creative ads tell a story. Humans are natural storytellers and we respond to stories because they convey evocative meaning. Creativity suggests methods for delivering information in a sequence that builds from point to point to a natural conclusion. The story may juxtapose competing brands or products to communicate differences. The narrative has to hold together and deliver the message for the brand. Apple’s 1984 ad that introduced the Macintosh line of computers is among the most famous ads that deliver a memorable narrative.
When you look more closely at famous white on white paintings, you’ll see that there’s more going than what might be apparent at an initial, passing glance. Some have subtle textures or shapes in a complementary or similarly muted color. The paintings may be a specific shade of off white rather than a pure white. Those characteristics represent the artists’ decisions that make their output truly unique. Decisions about advertising strategy have the same effect. They are the real-world work of creativity. On the surface, they just seem like ads, but the insights and inspiration that bring them to live are filled with texture and tempo and tone. Those details are where connections are made, connections that usite people with the brands they love.
Tom Hutchison
Tom has been helping brands create and execute data-driven marketing strategies for more than twenty years. He has supported many leading brands while working for Acxiom and Ogilvy. At the WPP, he was a member of the Data Alliance where he learned about the creative processes of dozens of different agencies. He's always thinking about how the art of creativity and the science of data come together to create engaging strategies.
