Inspiration in Advertising: Embark on Your Creative Thinking Journey

A child hugged a star and smiled happily.

Summary

Advertising uniquely blends art with everyday life, influencing us at every turn. This toolkit will help you draw inspiration from ad creativity, exploring and building your own unique creative thinking.

Course Objectives

Understand the core role of associations in advertising.

Learn how to use associations to build creative connections and solve problems.

Stimulate creative thinking and explore the endless possibilities of advertising through interactive games.

STEP 1 Introduction: The Power of Advertising (3 minutes)🤩

Advertising is everywhere. Some may find it intrusive, but in reality, advertising carries a unique charm. Those ads we see every day are not just tools for spreading information; they are the embodiment of creative thinking, adding inspiration and possibilities to our world.

Imagine flipping through a seed catalog but seeing a gentleman whose body is a giant tomato…

A gentleman in an elegant tuxedo with a high bowler hat and a walking stick. However, the body part is designed as a giant red tomato. The headline reads, ‘The Mikado or Turner Hybrid Tomato.’

Yesterday’s Paper. “Victorian Advertising – Make Way For Tom.” DeviantArt, July 25, 2018. https://www.deviantart.com/yesterdays-paper/art/Victorian-Advertising-Make-Way-For-Tom-756715658. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0.

At first, you might feel surprised or even laugh. But as you look closer, you begin to understand the message.

This ad combines a round gentleman with a plump tomato. It uses humor and personification to show the tomato’s fullness and quality. The gentleman’s formal outfit makes the tomato feel elegant and trustworthy. His “tomato-like” body highlights the fruit’s round and firm shape. This playful combination grabs attention and connects the tomato with ideas of “excellence” and “tradition.”

Let’s think about this:🤔

- Why can simple scenes or words in ads convey such complex emotions?

- What everyday objects around you could be given a new meaning?

These questions lead us to the essence of advertising creativity: association is one of the core methods.

The ad links two unrelated things—a gentleman and a tomato. This connection makes us laugh and remember it. It shows how creative thinking can make even a simple product stand out.

STEP 2 Exploring Association Methods in Advertising (5 minutes)

Based on the introduction, I think maybe you’ve got some interest in how to carry out advertising associations.

If we were to create an advert for an alarm clock, what are some of the angles we could associate it with? ⏰

I’m going to show you four common ways to think creatively and explore new ideas.

These four posters are my own designs.

Feel free to look at the posters alongside the text—they’ll help you better understand each concept.

- - Analogical Association：

An alarm clock with coffee in the centre and the text ‘Coffee Alarm’.

Analogical associations are a bit like ‘mixing’, linking elements that are similar in shape. There are many objects in life that have similar shapes, and we can use them to convey ideas through clever combinations. For example, an alarm clock and coffee are very similar in shape and can be blended together to symbolise that the alarm clock, like the coffee, wakes you up in the morning and gives you a clear head for the day. This association is both intuitive and visually appealing through the similarity of function and shape, and can quickly convey a message.

Contrastive Association：

Surrounded by sleeping people, only one person had an alarm clock, so he woke up.

By combining two or more completely different elements, this method creates a strong visual impact. The key is to use “contrast” to highlight one element’s features. In this poster, the contrast between “sleep” and “wakefulness” vividly shows the alarm clock’s importance in waking you up in the morning. Additionally, the repetition of visual elements further strengthens this contrast, emphasizing that only those with an alarm clock can successfully get out of bed.

Causal Association：

One man happily raised his hands, one resting on an alarm clock and the other on a note, to receive a prize for perfect attendance.

This method uses cause-and-effect relationships to expand creative ideas. For example, instead of just highlighting the product’s quality or features, you can think about it this way: “Because I used this product (cause), I achieved something (effect).” In this example, “Because I have an alarm clock, I got a perfect attendance award.” This connects the two, showing the importance of the alarm clock and the benefits it brings to your life.

Metaphorical Association：

Two best friends walking happily together, a girl with an alarm clock for a head. The text is: Alarm clock - My most reliable friend.

Metaphorical association is often used to connect a product with emotions or functions through a metaphor. In this example, the clock’s “punctuality” is compared to the idea of “a reliable friend” in life, changing the negative perception of alarm clocks. Through this emotional metaphor, the alarm clock is no longer seen as an annoying device but as a trustworthy companion that always stays by your side, giving it warmth and a sense of closeness.

While life offers many templates, true creativity often breaks those boundaries. These methods are just the beginning. Once you master them, you may find that the best ideas often come in a single, spontaneous moment！

STEP 3 Interactive Game: Association Challenge (10 minutes)🙌🏻

Goal: Combine unrelated elements creatively to design innovative ad concepts.

Preparation (1 minute):

Provide two sets of random words:

- Set 1: Everyday objects

(🌂 Umbrella 🎒 Backpack 🕷️ Spider ✏️ Pencil 🛏️ Bed 🎧 Headphones 📖 Book 🎮 Game Controller 🍴 Fork and Knife 🧸 Teddy Bear).

- Set 2: Abstract concepts (hope, speed, warmth, Joy, Light, Calm, Peace, Strength, Energy, Freedom).

Game Time (6 minutes):

Each participant combines one item card with one concept card and creates an ad concept.

The presentation of this ad concept can take various forms—such as a painting, a tagline, a scene, or a story.

There are no limits to how you choose to express it, so go with what resonates with you.

If you feel unsure, revisit the associative methods introduced earlier for inspiration.

Don’t worry—just dive in and create! Remember, there’s no right or wrong when it comes to your creativity.

Next, I will share one of my examples with you.
Examples: Fridge + Warmth → How are these two seemingly completely opposite things associated?

1. A fridge placed inside a volcano—highlighting its cooling power through contrast.
2. A fridge filled with mom’s homemade dumplings—cooling the food, but warming the heart.
3. Let’s exaggerate a bit more and be a bit more abstract🤓
  In the ice and snow of the end times, the refrigerator has instead become a warm refuge for mankind, a symbol of constant temperature comfort and hope.
  – The refrigerator, mankind’s eternal comfort zone

Hahaha, you can associate freely – the essence of creativity is to break with convention!😎

Sharing and Feedback (3 minutes):

Each participant briefly presents their idea or sketches a quick ad concept.
Group members can add suggestions to refine the ideas.🤝

STEP 4 Course Summary and Extension (2 minutes)

Summary:👍
Association is the bridge of creativity, connecting seemingly unrelated elements to create refreshing ad concepts. Through today’s activities, we’ve not only experienced the charm of advertising but also activated our inner creative potential, learning to solve problems in unique ways.

Extension Task:
After the course, try using everyday objects (like a water bottle or a car) and combining them with abstract concepts to design your own ad concept. Share your ideas with the group for inspiration!

We hope this course has shown you the limitless possibilities of creativity and opened a new perspective on the world of advertising!

Inspiration in Advertising: Embark on Your Creative Thinking Journey © 2 by Y is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0