Categorizing ads

Although there may seem to be many, many different approaches to advertising, Seth Stevenson, writing in Slate, says, "There are only 12 kinds of ads." The idea originated with Donald Gunn, Stevenson explains. Gunn was a creative director at Leo Burnett who took a one-year sabbatical to think deep thoughts about what made advertising good and bad.

At the link, Stevenson offers recent examples of each of the 12 types of ad. He also points out how the types overlap or seem to be variations of one another. Just one ad concerns financial services. Although it is for Charles Schwab, the same creative proposition was offered many times by Jim Macdonald in Merrill Anderson's trust newsletters.

To follow up on Gunn's theories, see the Gunn Report.