Creativity and Advertising

6 Vivid living, excess and the marketplace

We tend to think of creativity in relation to what is good, fruitful and positive. Historically this makes sense given that it is only since the Enlightenment that creativity has become associated with human endeavour rather than divine action. Critical perspectives will see advertising as populated by some of the best creative talent of society, but tend not to admit that advertising itself might be considered creative as this would indicate a positive evaluation rather than a neutral observation (see for example Jhally, 2006). Instead advertising is seen – sometimes at best – as that which is distasteful but original. This brief but important chapter strips away this imposition of moral value and investigates ...