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Lois was part of a new generation of art directors who rebelled against advertising's old establishment (Heller, 1989, p.117-119). Following Rand, William Golden, and other art directors, he sought to replace cliché slogans, puerile cartoons, and boring product shots with provocative imagery. A street smart son of immigrants, Lois "was one of the brashest and toughest-talking of the wunderkinds". His advertising style has an irreverence to it that related more to the human experience. While at Doyle Dane and Bernbach (DDB) in the 1960s, he further developed this style. DDB was the first creative agency where art directors and copywriters first begun to work in teams. This is where graphics and text first merged, and the agency was the leader of the Creative Revolution of the late 1950s and 1960s. Lois' work at DDB flourished.
He believed that advertising should be human and not talk down to consumers (Heller, 1989, p.119). Advertising copy should be conversational in tone. Contrary to the belief among agencies, consumers are smart individuals and as such, advertising should also be smart to grab their attention:
The only way you can do great advertising is to do advertising that challenges (peoples) mind a little bit. It has to be an idea that they get. And when they get it, they're with you a thousand percent because you've challenged their minds. And when they get it, they love you for it (Graphis, 1999, p.92).
This belief that people should "get (the idea)" is really Lois' Big Idea discussed earlier. The Big Idea has to surprise consumers, leaving a lasting impression on them (Gurvis, 1998, p.23). It should have the power to persuade individuals by changing their point of view or habit (Graphis, 1991, p.93). The Big Idea can be summarized as follows:
1. The Big Idea can change popular culture (Lois and Pitts, 1991, p.274). It should allow people to look at an intended object differently. To do this, however, it must be a reflection of popular culture such as the arts, politics, and current news stories (Lois and Pitts, 1991, p.6). People must be able to make a realistic connection with the Big Idea before they can be persuaded by it (Lois and Pitts, 1991, p.6). This implies that the Big Idea should be presented in a warm, friendly way. Developing the Big idea necessitates an understanding of the target audience‹their likes and dislikes, preferences, biases, demographics, and other characteristics (Lois and Pitts, 1991, p.17, 41).
2. The Big Idea can transform our language (Lois and Pitts, 1991, p.274). Advertising is an art and as such, each new problem entails a creative solution. There are no fixed rules or methods to solve a problem. Advertising that relies on conventional rules and traditions does not yield the Big Idea. It is mediocre, dull, and easily forgotten. Therefore, it does not add to our culture and change our everyday language. Note that language here does not simply refer to the written or spoken word but also to signs and symbols that communicate an idea or emotion. Advertising is a mass language that can add meaning to daily life through powerful and succinct images.
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