for the Digiday Programmatic Marketing Summit, May 6-8 in Palm Springs.
Advertising creatives are a notoriously fickle bunch. We spoke to several to come up with the surefire ways to land on their bad sides.
1. Make them work on banners.
2. Start talking about metrics and analytics.
3. Go into excruciating detail about RTB, DSPs, SSPs and DMPs.
4. Show them a media plan spreadsheet.
5. Let them know that the client cancelled the campaign after they spent a full holiday weekend working on it and now there is new one to get started on ASAP.
6. Ask them to make the logo bigger.
7. Have them push around at least one ad element by two pixels after “final client approval.” Do that four times.
8. Proclaim metaphors are for sissies.
9. Tell them that media is more important to performance than creative and then show them empirically.
10. Take away their Mac and make them work on a PC.
11. Insult their black-rimmed glasses.
12. Tell them that the concept is too derivative of previous advertising concepts or executions.
13. Put them on the phone with a client.
14. Shoulder surf.
15. Critique their work in front of them to a client.
16. Defend the client.
17. Ask if they work in PowerPoint.
18. Put them on a B2B account.
19. Tell them they’d be better off crossing over to the brand side.
20. Change the office dress policy to “business casual.”
Image via Shutterstock
More in Marketing
Why Coca-Cola has made World Cup TV ads one part of its sports marketing play
The new Powerade World Cup 2026 campaign takes a 360 approach across social, digital, and traditional TV advertising to maximize impact.
Future of Marketing Briefing: In the age of AI, taste is the new competitive advantage
in a world where the tools are everywhere and the output is indistinguishable, taste is the last thing that actually compounds.
Nike’s Boston Marathon billboard chiding walkers inspires new Asics and Ecco campaigns
After Nike removed a controversial Boston Marathon sign late last week, Asics and Ecco responded with messaging focused on inclusivity and everyday movement.