Advertising Agency and Process Structure!! 15MZ: Do you think that the Internet will become a major source of
sales as a result of advertising on the Internet?
Joel: It’s really the future. I think there will be new forms of adver-
tising. I think that over time, we will be seeing less and less
advertising on television, certainly network television and even
cable television. I think there is going to be more one-on-one—a
certain advertiser will find out where they can reach his or her
main prospect for buying a product, and they will try and get
that message to that person. A lot is going to be done on the
Internet. I can see more and more of an advertiser’s message
being directed that way.
MZ: How are commercials created?
Joel: It is almost always a team effort—a writer and an art director
working together on an assignment. I as a creative director will
decide who I want working on it, depending upon the impor-
tance of the project, we would all sit down in a room—the
account people, strategic planners [and the creative team]—they
will have found out who the target audience is, what the benefit
of the product or service is, and key consumer insight—where
our head should be in trying to come up with some successful
and compelling copy to sell the product. That’s the way it is
done—give the assignment to a team or several teams, set up a
timetable, probably work backwards from when the advertising
has to air or be in print.... Any good creative director won’t just
say they don’t like the work; they will say, ‘‘Hey, you’ve got a
great selling line here, why don’t you try it this way? Why don’t
you try doing it with music? Try doing it with a testimonial
approach.’’ That’s what a creative director does—gives creative
direction. I know plenty of creative directors who just look at
work and say this stinks. You’ve got to tell them why you don’t
think it is hitting the mark, why you don’t think it’s a bull’s-eye,
what’s wrong with it, what can be right with it.
MZ: How many campaigns do you develop for a presentation?
Joel: I always have had a rule of thumb. I would never show too
much or too little. I usually try to show two or three different
ideas, and sometimes those two or three ideas may have several
executions in them.
MZ: When you are working at a large agency and you have two or
three ideas, what is the next step?
Joel: In a large agency, more times than not, you would then go to
the executive creative director and then share it with the top
account person. It’s very important for the agency to have every-
body on the same page so you don’t go to a client and there are
any internal disagreements.