Are creatives better at creativity?

The Contagious Edit /

Researchers pitted ad agency creatives against noncreatives (planners, account handlers) and regular folks in a series of creative challenges and found no difference in their performance.

The participants were asked to complete a divergent thinking task (name different uses for a brick), a convergent thinking task (find the missing word) and an advertising task (come up with taglines).

The creatives did not perform better than the noncreatives on any test and only outperformed regular people on two specific aspects of the divergent thinking test: they were better at elaborating on their answers and gave more original answers. The latter is arguably a good win for creatives, though, since that’s what they’re hired to do. But surprisingly, they did not outshine the competition when it came to inventing taglines.

The relatively strong performance of the noncreatives meanwhile led the researchers to ponder whether ‘perhaps the advertising industry tends to attract unconventional people in general, regardless of specific department, and thus creative ideas may be found throughout.’

While we’re always interested in the nature of creativity, it’s important to put experiments like these into perspective – there’s a lot more to being an agency creative than what was tested here. After all, being good at keep-ups doesn’t mean you can play professional football.

Campaign of the week /

Open Like Never Before

Coca-Cola has returned from a seven-month advertising hiatus with an uplifting spot narrated by George The Poet. The ad was created by 72andSunny Amsterdam and asks whether we should aim to ‘go back to normal’ after the pandemic or aspire to something better.

‘The idea of openness in these times carried such courage and optimism that we immediately felt it was something Coke could truly own,’ said Emiliano Trieveiler, a creative director at 72andSunny Amsterdam, about the ad. Read our full analysis here. Contagious.

Read this /

What does Triller offer brands?

With TikTok caught in the political crossfire between the US and China, other social video apps are keen to make hay. None more so than Triller, which is climbing up the app charts. But what does the video-sharing platform offer brands?

In an article for Contagious, Isobar’s innovation director, Alex Hamilton, takes a deeper look at Triller’s appeal to users and brands, and shows how some companies are already working with creators to make an impact on the platform. Contagious.

Read this /

Are billboards propagating inequality?

Whether it’s because of cheaper land, fewer regulatory hurdles, or something else, low-income areas have more billboards. A US study found between two and four times as many more outdoor ads in low-income postal codes than in high-income areas, for instance. And protestors are claiming links between higher concentrations of billboards and mental overload, overspending and poor diets.

This in-depth piece by the BBC explores the impact of public advertising and how it is disproportionately borne by certain demographics with some eye-opening stats. BBC.

Watch this /

Contagious Live(stream): Changing Attitudes

Think your consumers have an attitude problem? It’s more likely your brand has a perception problem. You can find out what you can do about it in our FREE Change Attitudes live stream today at 4pm (UK).

In this session, Contagious strategist Becca Peel will share Contagious’ favourite examples of campaigns that changed the way people think and feel about a brand.

Sign up and get the insights behind the work and first-hand perspectives from the people behind the ideas. But hurry, time is running out. Contagious.

Quote of the week /

‘Three-dimensional branding is a thing of the past’

Says Pentagram partner Marina Willer, whose design agency has revamped Rolls-Royce’s branding by making its Spirit of Ecstasy emblem the main logo of the car marque. Numerous brands have also recently flattened their logos to fit with the digital age, including Mastercard and BMW.

Speaking about the redesign of Rolls-Royce’s figurehead, Willer added: ‘Things like the size of the waist were so important, because we didn't want to indicate that she was too skinny, as that wouldn't set a good example, and we didn't want to make her too feminine and sexual either.’ Dezeen.