In 1972, David Ogilvy, the Father of Advertising, wrote “How to create advertising that sells”, which he put out in a newspaper. In the ad, he gave away the secrets he had learned in advertising. The first and key among his tell-all ad was that the results of your campaign depend more on how you position your product/service than on how you write it. He called it the most important decision. The Big Idea, that everyone regards as the Holy Grail of creativity, was number four on the list.

Creative Strategy has always been the backbone of great creative work. Strategists working with data and who have a good working knowledge of trends and current affairs are able to uncover insights for the most memorable campaigns. For example, British Airways “Manhattan Landing”, which is viewed as one of their best commercials, used the fact that the volume of passengers it flew across the Atlantic each year was more than the population of Manhattan. It strategically used data to make that quantum leap from information to an advertising triumph. The cinematically dramatic film of the whole of Manhattan flying across suburban London wowed audiences. This was one of the first commercials to aptly use the tagline “The World’s Favorite Airline”.

Great strategies beget great ideas.

If you have a great strategy campaign that deserves recognition, we invite you to enter into the LIA 2024 Creative Strategy competition, chaired by the inaugural Jury President Suzanne Powers. It’s time we shine the spotlight on the foundation where great ad campaigns are built upon.

David Ogilvy also had what he called his “secret weapon”. A story is told of a man who came to David Ogilvy with $500 and wanted to advertise the opening of his new hotel. David Ogilvy bought $500 worth of postcards and sent them to everyone he found in the local phone book. The hotel opened to a full house.

That’s the power of Direct Advertising. This form of advertising is certainly not new. It can be traced as far back as ancient Egypt (evidence of this is in the British Museum). But it was in 1872 that direct mail really erupted through the efforts of Aaron Montgomery Ward, who really developed the mail order process and direct marketing.

Today, there are so many more creative Direct marketing tools. There is greater understanding of the market, thanks to great strategic thinkers. The true measure of success for Direct is patently obvious. It either lands and sells, or falls by the wayside. Susan Credle, Chair of FCB and Creative Advisor to IPG, has the honor of being the first LIA Direct Jury President. She, together with her elite jury, will determine the best Direct work for LIA 2024. The goal for Direct, as with all other forms of advertising, is and will always be “sell or else”.