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Belch: Advertising and
Promotion, Sixth Edition
V. Developing the
Integrated Marketing
Communications Program
9. Creative Strategy:
Implementation and
Evaluation
While the creative specialists have much responsibility
for determining the advertising appeal and execution
style to be used in a campaign, the client must
evaluate and approve the creative approach before
any ads are produced. A number of people on the
client side may be involved in evaluating the creative work of the agency, including the
advertising or communications manager, product or brand managers, marketing director
or vice president, representatives from the legal department, and sometimes even the
president or chief executive officer (CEO) of the company or the board of directors.
The amount of input each of these individuals has in the creative evaluation and
approval process varies depending on the company’s policies, the importance of the
product to the company, the role of advertising in the marketing program, and the
advertising approach being recommended. For example, the Chiat/Day agency had to
convince Apple’s board of directors to air the famous “1984” commercial used to
introduce the Macintosh personal computer. Apple’s board thought the commercial,
which was based on the concept of Big Brother from George Orwell’s classic novel
1984, was too controversial and might be detrimental to its image, particularly in the
business market. The spot used stark images of Orwell’s dystopia, and a dramatic
scene of a young woman throwing a mallet through a movie screen to destroy a controlling
force, purportedly symbolizing its major competitor IBM (Exhibit 9-26). The
agency convinced Apple’s board to run the commercial during the 1984 Super Bowl,
which is the only time it ever appeared as a commercial on TV, and the impact was
tremendous. The spot was the focus of attention in the media and was the talk of the
marketing and advertising industries. A few years ago, TV Guide named the “1984”
spot the greatest television commercial of all time.
Earlier in this chapter, we noted that Procter & Gamble has been moving away from
testimonials and slice-of-life advertising executions to somewhat riskier and more
lively forms of advertising. But the company remains conservative and has been slow
to adopt the avant-garde ads used by many of its competitors. Agencies that do the
advertising for various P&G brands recognize that quirky executions that challenge
the company’s subdued corporate culture are not likely to be approved. 37 As discussed
in the previous chapter, Wrigley was always very conservative in its advertising for its
various brands of gum. However, since Bill Wrigley, Jr. took over the company in
1999 following the death of his more traditional father, the company has allowed its ad
agency to take more creative risks and use more edgy advertising. 38
In many cases, top management is involved in selecting an ad agency and must
approve the theme and creative strategy for the campaign. Evaluation and approval of
the individual ads proposed by the agency often rest with the advertising and product
managers who are primarily responsible for the brand. The account executive and a
member of the creative team present the creative concept to the client’s advertising
and product and/or marketing managers for their approval before beginning production.
A careful evaluation should be made before the ad actually enters production,
since this stage requires considerable time and money as suppliers are hired to perform
the various functions required to produce the actual ad.
The client’s evaluation of the print layout or commercial storyboard can be difficult,
since the advertising or brand manager is generally not a creative expert and must
© The McGraw−Hill
Companies, 2003
Client Evaluation and Approval
of Creative Work
Exhibit 9-26 Apple’s
famous “1984” commercial
almost never made it to
television
291
Chapter Nine Creative Strategy: Implementation and Evaluation