Creativity and Advertising

1 Introducing the sensational world of creativity and advertising

The notion of creativity is at the very centre of contemporary advertising. Indeed, the inside cover of Andrew Cracknell’s book The Real Mad Men (2011) reveals: ‘Of all the places where people make money, advertising is one of the most exotic. People are paid to be crazy and applauded for being heretic. It’s where commerce meets showbiz and where hard money meets artistic whimsy.’ Creative output is an advertising agency’s calling card and, given that agencies do not formally advertise their services, their creative capacity is judged by the advertising they produce. The centrality of creativity is not only the opinion of many within the advertising industry, but also clients who ...