Financial Times

The Chillies Ad Awards
Getting to grips with the science of true creativity
By Tyron Devotta, Media Analyst
In the late eighties I was privy to a conversation between two account executives of a leading ad agency here in Colombo on the merits or demerits of “creativity” as a recyclable art form. One of them held on to the fact that creativity had to be original and the other was a firm believer that there was nothing new under the sun.

This conversation or argument went on for days, while the agency was involved in the launch of a product for a multinational company. There were no holds barred on the expenses so creativity was on the rampage. They stopped at nothing, and the climax to the launch was a grand musical show on the Galle Face Green. To introduce the product to the public there were thousands of sample packs being distributed.

The product never took off not surprising as it had the qualities more suitable to the tastes of an unsociable koala bear rather than to the average Sri Lankan taste bud. And the argument still lingered. Which brings me back to the question does “creativity”, brand new or recycled, sell products and make consumers aware?

“Buying is not a decision, it can never be a decision. It is only a choice between alternatives and advertising can create an interest to influence the process of choice,” says S. D. Nissankar, Managing Director of Red Lime, a newly formed ad agency in Colombo. “So the only way to get interest and make an impression and make your brand stand out from the rest is through creativity.”

Judge my work on my creativity, these ad guys are saying. A joint industry initiative between the International Advertising Association and the Association of Accredited Advertising Agencies has led to their first awards in May this year. Called “The Chillies”, the awards will recognise excellence in advertising and the criteria for judging will be purely on creativity. “Given the rules of the game, the task is daunting. Being creative in advertising is one of the biggest challenges. You need to stay on strategy, work within the frame work, and execute on time. It is this daunting task that we intend to recognise this year,” says Imal Fonseka, General Manager, Caltex Lubricants who chairs The Chillies Steering Committee.

So creativity or advertising is not going to be “legalised lying” as H. G. Wells said, nor will it be “responding to a situation without critical thought” as the comedian John Cleese deems it to be, but a scientific approach to a strategy.
And the responsibility of judging the science of creativity will fall upon the judges, six of who will be from abroad. The industry itself expects the highest standards to be maintained and there will not be numerous gold awards dished out this year.

According to industry stalwart Nimal Gunawardena this is because most local advertising is not “ideas based” i.e. it is not based on an insightful creative concept. He says that to a great extent what the advertising industry has been churning out for clients are infomercials. Eight out of 10 ads are just that, he says.

Gunawardena points out that past awards were held more on the lines of a prize giving, but now that the ad industry has taken control of this process and set a higher benchmark what needs to get awarded are advertisements that are based on brilliant creative ideas that stand out.

This year the industry’s vision is to raise the bar of creative excellence and strive for diversity, dynamism and world-class execution. Which brings me back to the original question? How does creativity help build consumer awareness and does it sell products? “Ninety-nine percent of advertising doesn't sell much of anything” David Ogilvy said.

So this time as the industry goes in for the awards with hopes of creating higher standards, it will also do them good to prove that the whole exercise is not just an academic one.

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