The digital age brings many simplifications. But they don’t always mean a shift for the better. Orlando Wood, CEO of System 1 and author of the award-winning books Lemon and Look Out, points out that advertising effectiveness has been declining since 2006. This is mainly due to the way creatives have been gripped by the media, which since the start of the millennium has increasingly moved away from narrative storytelling towards a generic concepts without faces and emotions.
However, audiences are turning away from such advertising, which reflects how the left hemisphere of the brain works – it is directed ‘inwards’, which makes it increasingly difficult for the ad to be seen and to capture the viewers attention. Thats why almost 75 % of online ads do not deliver the results they are expected to. And it’s precisely by connecting the dots on the creative – emotion – attention – effectiveness line.
“We need to create a spectacle to open the eyes and warm the hearts of those we want to persuade,” says Wood. It’s the large TV screen versus the phone screen that gives such advertising the space to shine.
Creativity plays one of the most important roles in delivering the results of advertising campaigns. So how should you design advertising in light of these findings to become more engaging and to help build brands?
And creativity plays one of the crucial roles in delivering the results of advertising campaigns. So how do we design advertising in light of these findings to engage and help build brands? Follow the creativity tag, under which we bring you the latest trends on this issue.
Karen Howe recently spoke about this too in a webinar for Canada’s ThinkTV. Check out the article from her talk.
ScreenVoice magazine uploaded an article dedicated to creativity in advertising too. See also a selection of inspiring articles in the “Read on the topic” section.
PREVIOUS THEMES OF THE MONTH
MORE ARTICLES ABOUT THIS TOPIC
ART DIRECTORS CLUB ANNOUNCES THE THIRD CREATIVE EXPRESS
5. 11. 2025ADC is launching the next edition of the Creative Express Czech Slovakia competition for young talents aged 21 to 28. The Art Directors Club Czech Republic (ADC) is launching registration for the third edition of the Creative Express Czech Republic competition, aimed at young talents aged 21 to 28. The project connects the Czech and… Continue reading THEME OF THE MONTH: CREATIVITY
VML, MCCANN AND ZARAGUZA TAKE HOME THE PRIZE FROM THE GOLDEN DRUM
24. 10. 2025The International Golden Drum Festival has announced the winners of its competition. Gold went to VML, silver to McCann and bronze to Zaraguza. The Golden Drum Creative Festival has announced the winners of its competition. Czech agencies also scored points. In addition to the Young Drummers category, which was won by the talents Joanna Santarius… Continue reading THEME OF THE MONTH: CREATIVITY
HORROR ENTERTAINING CONSUMERS: TV ADS INSPIRED BY DRACULA
18. 10. 2025Halloween, the beloved season full of ghosts and ghouls, is just around the corner. Who doesn’t know Dracula, for example? Marketers are well aware of the global fame of the legendary vampire, and they’ve been using his iconic image and vampire symbolism to boost sales for decades — and for good reason. His image is… Continue reading THEME OF THE MONTH: CREATIVITY
INTERACTIVE ADS ARE BECOMING A CORNERSTONE OF CTV ADVERTISING
16. 10. 2025Interactivity is becoming a key driver of growth for connected TV (CTV) advertising as the format evolves alongside shifting audience preferences. In a conversation with EMARKETER, Joshua Blum, director of research and analytics at BrightLine, described how interactivity is becoming the norm for CTV ads, and addressed lingering advertiser misconceptions. Blum highlighted that interactivity is… Continue reading THEME OF THE MONTH: CREATIVITY
FORUM MEDIA 25 CONFERENCE IS COMING UP. WHAT WILL THE EFFIE STAGE BRING?
14. 10. 2025The Effie Stage at this year’s Forum Media 2025 international conference will provide an opportunity to look at data on marketing effectiveness and be inspired by the best European and domestic projects. For the second time, the Effie Stage will announce the Effie Czech Republic shortlist and the winners of the Art Directors Club special… Continue reading THEME OF THE MONTH: CREATIVITY
GEN AI CREATIVE FINDS GROWING ACCEPTANCE
1. 10. 2025The use of Gen AI in advertising is growing as attitudes shift across clients, creatives and consumers, but greater openness to the tech doesn’t mean there won’t be strings attached. What’s happening “We have seen a shift in client openness to fully AI-developed campaigns,” Christian Pierre, global chief intelligence officer, Gut, told Digiday, as he… Continue reading THEME OF THE MONTH: CREATIVITY
EFFECTIVENESS IS BUILT ON CONSISTENCY AND CREATIVITY, EMERGED FROM THE CREATIVE IMPACT DISCUSSION FORUM AT THE CANNES LIONS FESTIVAL
26. 9. 2025At the Cannes Lions Festival, leading marketers, prominent creatives, and representatives from research agencies come together each year to explore the relationships between creativity, consistency, and effectiveness. This year, as part of the Creative Impact discussion forum, they focused on finding ways to maintain brand consistency in an uncertain and ever-changing environment, leverage creators and… Continue reading THEME OF THE MONTH: CREATIVITY
CREATIVITY IS IMPORTANT, BUT WHAT DOES GOOD CREATIVITY ACTUALLY MEAN?
26. 9. 2025Up to 85% of marketers believe that creativity is the key to success, but only 59% know what good creativity actually means, according to the survey. 83.5% of marketers believe that creativity is the key to advertising performance, but only 58.5% of respondents agree within their team on exactly what good creative is. That’s according… Continue reading THEME OF THE MONTH: CREATIVITY
WOOD AND HEGARTY: ADVERTISING NEEDS A NEW CREATIVE REVOLUTION
25. 9. 2025Creativity is essential for business growth, and its importance is increasing in the age of AI. Agencies and CMOs have the opportunity to become drivers of creativity and strategic partners to company leadership, as emphasised in a webinar featuring John Hegarty and Orlando Wood. During Wednesday’s Global TV Group webinar hosted in the Czech Republic… Continue reading THEME OF THE MONTH: CREATIVITY
ORLANDO WOOD AND SIR JOHN HEGARTY ON HOW CREATIVITY FUELS BRAND GROWTH
24. 9. 2025This year marks a symbolic anniversary – 150 years since the first documented use of the word creativity in English. Historian Adolphus William Ward used the term in 1875 in reference to William Shakespeare’s “poetic creativity”. Today, the importance of creativity in all sectors, including the media, is unquestionable. According to Sir John Hegarty, who… Continue reading THEME OF THE MONTH: CREATIVITY
ORLANDO WOOD INTERVIEW: WHY ADVERTISING NEEDS SHOWMANSHIP AGAIN – AN INTERVIEW WITH ORLANDO WOOD
2. 9. 2025Orlando Wood share his views on the enduring principles of effective advertising, the future role of television, and how brands can rediscover the creativity that fuels long-term growth.
SUMMER-FLAVOURED TV ADVERTISING: AD SPOTS FILLED WITH SUN, SEA AND CHEERFUL VIBES ENCOURAGE SHOPPING
2. 9. 2025Summer has come to an end, but even a few rays of sunshine can keep the summer mood alive. The flood of summer-themed TV commercials is gradually fading, and so is the effort by brands to tap into the specific consumer behaviour typical of the warmest season of the year—one devoted to experiences and relaxation.… Continue reading THEME OF THE MONTH: CREATIVITY