Only 12 Kinds of Ads
A really interesting Slate article on Donald Gunn’s categorization of (mostly tv) ads. Click the popup on that page, for a run through of all of them and video examples.
In 1978, Donald Gunn was a creative director for the advertising agency Leo Burnett. Though his position implied expertise, Gunn felt he was often just throwing darts—relying on inspiration and luck (instead of proven formulas) to make great ads. So, he decided to inject some analytical rigor into the process: He took a yearlong sabbatical, studied the best TV ads he could find, and looked for elemental patterns.
After much research, Gunn determined that nearly all good ads fall into one of 12 categories—or “master formats,” in his words.
To me, the 12 formats serve equally well as a weapon of defense for the consumer under assault from endless advertising messages. It’s like learning how a magic trick works: Once the secret’s revealed, the trick loses all its power.
The creative side of me hates this “over simplification” of the delicacy of the creative process and delivery. The information designer side loves it, providing another example of excellent categorization and analysis. Hehe… I’m such a mess. 8-)
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