Being direct... AdVantage Jun 2004
Imagination Lab not only has 'Legs' - but also takes a great Leap Forward !!
A new design environment to teach Imagination skills opens in Kwa Mashu…not only fashionable, but with plans to make their local mark!
During 1981 I had the privilege of meeting one of the very first inductees to the American copy-writers Hall of Fame - the late George Gribben. I remember his visit for a couple of very good reasons. George have me his personal copy of James Michener's just published treatise on South Africa's history - 'The Covenant'. Secondly, and very sadly, he did not make it back home - he passed away peacefully, we were told, sitting reading in the garden of his son's home in Portugal - while in transit back to the States, My most striking memory of George however, was of his passion and skill for developing great advertising campaigns. I guess that it is only all these years later that I finally grasp what he tried to share with us during his visit. George had a strong belief that the most successful advertising concepts were those where the creators could carefully separate the core idea/concept/promise - from any execution thereof.
He believed that a good campaign should be based on a timeless communication promise, AND the execution thereof should always be capable of being made 'fresh' over time. When reviewing creative work he would ask the same question - even of seemingly brilliant ideas: Does this idea have 'legs'?
Now, while on the subject of being creative, the April 2003 'Being Direct' column featured the launch by Vega/Café (the Communications and Advertising Forum for Empowerment) of the first Imagination Lab down in Durban. One of the concerns expressed then was the need for the students to be able to contextualise their personal creative skills training.
Well, some weeks ago now this particular empowerment initiative finally took another huge leap into 'context' - with the launch of the very first Imagination Lab located within a so-called black area: in Kwa Mashu. I understand too that another is to be opened soon (maybe even by the time that you get to read this) in Alex - Sandton.
Chatting to Vega head Gordon Cook before the very colourful and spontaneously loud entertainment which heralded the arrival of this wonderful new facility, I was struck by how positive everyone involved in the process had become. There was a degree of apprehension a year ago, which has quite simply and I suppose understandably - vanished. The other great thing about the Kwa Mashu Lab is that it will feature many of those who were actually part of the class of 2003 empowerment success story, as mentors.
It was while in this undoubtedly long-overdue creative environment that I was reminded of George's credo for effective advertising design. Imagination may well be a vital part of being creative and coming up with unique ideas, but it is in the area of design (which requires a degree of form if it is to communicate and facilitate continuity) that advertising quite often gets a little 'lost'. A lot of advertising finds itself in a dichotomous no-mans land between being different (or creative) to achieve awareness - and delivering repetition (not to mention continuity) - in order to reaffirm the brand promise on an ongoing basis.
There are campaigns which are kept fresh without losing their essential message: The Castrol Boet, Swaer & Magoe series of ads come to mind, as do the Vodacom characters and Spar 'Good For You' campaigns. Anton Rupert was a past master of long-term brand identity with many of his liquor and cigarette brands. But then again, there are those brands that wonder around in a sort of creative wilderness, becoming an advertising identity-oasis for a short while - before vanishing again, only to reappear somewhere else under a completely different guise, often making totally different brand promises.
Now, before anyone feels compelled to point out that marketplaces change and so do marketing and communication strategies - I understand this. But like artists use a style or technique to encourage recognition of their work, so too should the work that creatives do for brands, encourage recognition by the targets for such brands. When an idea has 'legs' it acknowledges that humans use heuristics (sense triggers) to recognise and process brand-related information, over time.
A few months ago I wrote about how our brains process information about brands, and how new scientific evidence strongly suggests that cognitive memory is greatly assisted by recognisable repetition. As low-interest processing, advertising information should be consistent as to purpose; yet 'fresh' in order to attract interest. In other words, substance wrapped in design….
While one has nothing but admiration for the people behind the Imagination Lab initiatives, they will hopefully take care, lest students get the impression that creativity alone is enough for effective communication. It is important that the students should not only be aware of the glitz and glamour that goes hand in hand with all forms of artistry, but should also acknowledge that the people whom they potentially wish to influence - through their commercial skills and undeniable talent - also need to be woo-ed and won!