Is branding killing advertising - or saving it?

"As a creative it can be heresy to admit I am a fan of the evidence based school of thinking, but I've always aspired to break things in the cathedral of advertising. Effectiveness is my love language. Driving campaigns that deliver measurable results is just as satisfying as creative that delights and disrupts - and even better when both are true. Byron Sharp reminds us that mental availability drives growth. As an agency this intent to impact the business is the ultimate objective."

"Sonic mnemonics. Colour palettes. Tone of voice. These are a creative's superpowers. They're memory shortcuts. Daniel Kahneman says it best: "Thinking is to humans as swimming is to cats; they can do it but they'd prefer not to." For anyone in the attention business, this is a dilemma we face every day. In our studio, we remind ourselves to Think Inside The Box."

"As an agency we do a lot of work in beauty and The Ordinary is a brand we have heart for. The Ordinary understands that distinctiveness beats novelty. By embracing its clean, clinical design and refusing the excesses of traditional beauty branding, it has created assets that are instantly recognisable with a tone"

Advertising faces a persistent tension between creativity and brand distinctiveness, where novelty or celebrity can overshadow the brand. Measurable effectiveness and creative delight should coexist, with mental availability cited as a driver of growth. Practical brand assets—sonic mnemonics, colour palettes, tone of voice—serve as memory shortcuts to boost recognition and build long-term brand equity. The approach of "thinking inside the box" uses existing brand cues to tell many stories while preserving identity. The Ordinary exemplifies distinctiveness by using clean, clinical design and refusing traditional beauty excess, creating instantly recognisable assets.

Read at Creative Bloq