In an advertising agency, the strategists final output is a creative brief. The brief won’t tell the creatives what to do, but it will act as a compass for their creativity. Strategists provide insights and creatives will find ways to communicate it to audience.
Here are the creative briefs behind three of my favourites ads.
Like a Girl - Always
Persuade
Women and men, general public who unconsciously have adopted a stereotype of a girl’s ability
To
See how their stereotype impact the next generation of girls
By convincing them that
Like a Girl is a good thing instead of an insult
Because
Girls are amazing, women are as accomplished as men but viewed as lesser, there’s a research about how girls’ physicality declines as they enter puberty which is when the stereotypes affect them greatly which
So it feels
Inspirational, genuine, and candid
Donate Your Hair - National Cancer Institute Thailand
Persuade
Women (or men) with long hair who doesn't know there’s a need for hair donation
To
Make them aware that they can donate their hair
By convincing them that
Hair is part of a person’s identity
Because
Losing hair feels like losing yourself, losing life, is a physical proof that you are unwell. When people lose their hair it becomes obvious that they’re sick
So it feels
Intimate and touching, familiar yet emotional
The Black Market - Carrefour
Persuade
Household shoppers who aren’t aware of current regulations and options available to them
To
Create change by trying out the illegal produces
By convincing them that
Carrefour is all about people over profit
Because
When Carrefour knows that there are more options available to customers, that is also good for the environment, they are willing to break the law and risk hefty fines.
So it feels
Rebellious, robinhood like vibe, defiant, dramatic.
A creative brief is the foundation for creating ads. In these examples, I reverse engineered the ads and came up with the possible creative brief given to the team.
The biggest lesson from doing this fun challenge is that strategists are writers. I didn't expect that my experience of writing multiple blog posts and newsletters would help me so much!