I stumbled across this line from advertising professor Tyler Dolph:
“Creative without strategy is called ‘art’ — creative with strategy is called ‘advertising.’”
The annual Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, which ended a few days ago, always reminds me of the tension of creativity and effectiveness.
Last year was the first time I attended this most celebrated advertising award festival in person. In the basement of the Palais, there’s a giant room with all of the work that is up for recognition. It’s a lot of fun and much of it is very creative, but effectiveness is frequently treated as an afterthought. Much of the work is creativity for creativity’s sake.
In 2011, Cannes Lions added a separate award category called “Creative Effectiveness,” which is the only category that highlights a clear and measurable impact on business results. Apple won with Grand Prix this year with their 10-year campaign, “Shot on iPhone.”
In some ways, the creation of a “Creative Effectiveness” category underscores the absence elsewhere.
This year Mark Ritson shared System1 research on Cannes Lions award winners over the years. They found that most of the campaigns that won Cannes Lions awards were not actually effective.
Sir John Hegarty, BBH founder, had this reaction:
“Creativity without impact isn’t just indulgent. It’s irrelevant.”
Here are a few related cartoons I’ve drawn over the years:
