Advertising exercises from The Advertising Concept Book by Pete Barry

Hard Sell vs Soft Sell

Take a basic hard sell ad (eg a basic price-led ad) and "soften" it. Keep the offer in the ad, but create an idea that works as an integral part of the offer, not something that looks stuck onto it.

Single Minded Proposition

Turn on the TV, or grab a magazine or paper. Look at each ad and try to work out what each one is trying to say about the product. Is there one benefit being communicated? Are they saying too many things? In other words, identify the proposition.

Target Audience

Watch TV ads, or look in a magazine or paper and try to work out whom each ad is directed at, or talking to. Try to be as specific as possible. In other words, identify the target.

Opposites

Think of something, anything, and do the opposite. Start with visuals, eg an egg. It's usually round, so make it square instead. Then turn it into an ad. Maybe a line for this example could be: Have genetically modified foods gone too far? (Not great. Think of some better examples...)

Print Campaign

Pick the product/service that you love the most. Create a print campaign for it. Then do the same for the product you hate the most.

Exaggeration

Apply each stage of the exaggeration tool to a brand of really sharp kitchen knives. Start with ten working taglines that begin with "So sharp that..." Pick your favourite line/idea (the one that you can write lots of ads to). Then write a reduced, separate final tagline. Test the idea without a tag.

Ambient Marketing

Pick any five products/services and create as many original ambient ideas as you can. Try both types of ambient ideas (using traditional media in an innovative and interesting way eg colour-changing billboards, or creating a new medium eg using a bench as a poster), but try to avoid obvious charity organisations, or condom ads in toilets, etc.

Interactive Marketing

Choose an everyday object (eg a type of drink or article of clothing) and think of all the ways you can interact with it. Go through the five senses. Now apply this to a digital interactive experience (eg website or app) and see if any of the first ideas can work for a particular brand.

Games

Pick a brand (or start with a market, if it's easier) that has yet to produce a gaming experience, and create ideas for one. Maybe produce it too. (Either way, it could become a stand-out piece in your portfolio.)

App

Create an app for a brand that's never been done before. Really.

QR Code

Create an original, compelling QR code concept for a brand of your choice. (Creatively, think beyond the design-focused, "executional" use of QR codes like unusual positioning/placement, or photographic mosaic montages, unless it's relevant to the brand or concept like the My Toys campaign that used QR codes made from Lego bricks.)

Augmented Reality (AR)

Create a mobile (phone/tablet) AR concept for any brand.

Call-To-Actions (CTAs)

Instructional copy should be good copy too. Go online or browse an interactive manual. Pick out CTAs, eg banners and websites are the best bet. (Most use the standard 'Learn more.') Now try rewriting each CTA in a way that's more interesting and/or relates to the idea.

Social Co-Creation

Choose a brand and then think of an engaging co-creation idea that the brand "starts" and the consumer(s) has to "finish". For the same product, think of a new idea that the consumer "starts" and the brand has to "finish". Compare each approach to see which is the most original, creative and compelling.

Snapchat Campaign

Create an idea (for three different brands) to appear on Snapchat that utilises its content-lifespan (1-10s for a Snap; up to 24 hours for a Story) in a unique way.

Typography

Famous people are like brands. We get a feeling as soon as we hear a name: a definite, unique picture. Think of ten famous people (dead or alive), and pick a typeface that expresses each persona. Restrictions: black, roman (upright) type only; UPPERCASE, lower case, or upper and lower.

Redesigning Old Ads

Give an ageing ad a face lift. Find a headline and visual print that has a great concept, but looks dated. (Hint: go through some 1980s awards annuals.) Now re-direct the ad, changing the layout, hierarchy, type, colour palette etc, as necessary. (If the visual is from a specific photo shoot, either Photoshop/Illustrate a new visual, or insert a similar stock image.)