In advertising agency, after setting advertising goals, deciding strategy, and choosing among different creative styles, it is time to create the actual advertising. The creative stage encompasses the creative (idea generation) process, copywriting, illustrating and layout. Alex Osborn developed a theory of the steps in the creative process:

...those who have studied and practiced creativity realize that its process is necessarily a stop-and-go, catch-as-catch-can operation - one which can never be exact enough to rate as scientific. The most that can honestly be said is that it usually includes some or all of these phases:

  1. Orientation: Pointing up the problem.

  2. Preparation: Gathering pertinent data.

  3. Analysis: Breaking down the relevant material.

  4. Hypothesis: Piling up alternatives by way of ideas.

  5. Incubation: Letting up, to invite illumination.

  6. Synthesis: Putting the pieces together.

  7. Verification: Judging the resultant ideas.

In actual practice we can follow no such one-two-three sequence. We may start our guessing even while preparing. Our analyses may lead us straight to the solution. After incubation, we may again go digging for facts which, at the start, we did not know we needed. And, of course, we might bring verification to bear on our hypotheses, thus to cull our "wild stabs" and proceed with only the likeliest.

Osborn tells of a successful copywriter at BBDO who starts a job by clearing his mind and sitting down at a typewriter and simply writing everything that comes to mind. He even includes silly, worthless phrases with the thought that they will block others if they are not included. In some cases, a piece of copy will be generated on the first try, but, more typically, hundreds of possible ideas will be created before several reasonable alternatives are generated.

For some idea generation comes easier in a group, from which more information and associations are collectively available. The difficulty here is to overcome the inhibiting aspects of group behavior. One technique developed by Osborn to encourage the free flow of idea is "brainstorming."

The creative process of brainstorming was invented in the 1930s by Alex Osborn as a way to think of as many ideas-good, bad, or both-as possible. It was first presented in 1948, in a book called Your Creative Power. Osborn developed this technique to encourage original and spontaneous thinking among his employees and to produce the maximum number of new ideas. Brainstorming involves creating an atmosphere in which people feel uninhibited and free to propose the sort of wild and improbable solutions to problems that often point to the best course of action. The technique requires some practice and skill to use effectively but is not difficult if the guidelines are followed

Osborn provides four basic rules for brainstorming:

  1. Criticism is ruled out.
    Negative judgments of ideas must be withheld until later.

  2. Free-wheeling is welcomed.
    The wilder the idea, the better it is easier to tame down than to think up.

  3. Quantity is wanted.
    The greater the number of ideas, the more the likelihood of winners.

  4. Combination and improvement are sought.
    In addition to contributing ideas of their own, participants should suggest how ideas of others can be turned into better ideas; or how two or more ideas can be joined into still another idea.

The first rule implies that people will be less likely to be creative if they are constantly criticized. The second rule suggests that all ideas should be welcomed at first, and then later, after the brainstorming session is over, the ideas can be refined and made more practical and possible. The third rule suggests that the larger the pool of ideas, the more likely that some of those ideas will be interesting and usable. The final rule encourages participants to extend their creative energies beyond thinking up wholly new ideas to forge links between or to refine or modify existing ideas.
Osborn also makes the following suggestions for the person leading the brainstorming session:
  • If you are not already in a meeting in which the problem has arisen, make arrangements for a meeting to take place.

  • If you are getting together a group which is not already formed, try to involve all those people who have a vested interest in solving the problem, and those who have specialized knowledge and are willing to participate.

  • You will need to have the following equipment on hand; one or two flipcharts and a good stock of paper for them; plenty of marking pens to write on the flipcharts (you will be the only one writing, but a good stock of pens will avoid interruptions if pens run dry); a good supply of sticky tape to attach the sheets of paper around the walls; and a whiteboard will be useful but is not absolutely necessary.

  • Try to get a meeting room which is sufficiently large for people to feel comfortable in, and make the seating arrangements as informal as possible (a horseshoe shaped arrangement of desks with the flipcharts facing the open end of the U is usually best).

  • Ensure that there will be no interruptions. Nothing spoils the free flow of ideas more quickly than a telephone call or someone being called out of the room.
The leader of the brainstorming session will take the group through four distinct stages. These stages are:
  1. Stating the problem

  2. Restating the problem

  3. Brainstorming on one or more of the restatements

  4. Evaluating the ideas produced
  • If the group members have not used the technique before then you will need to take them through a preliminary stage to explain the technique and set the scene.

  • State the problem to the group (without writing it on a flipchart or whiteboard).

  • Ask for suggestions as to how the problem may be restated and write these up in front of the group (each restatement should be prefaced by the words "How to.."). By participating in restating the problem in different words a number of times, the group will begin to see different perspectives on the problem. Without this step, it is likely these perspectives would be overlooked.

  • Choose one or more of the restatements to brainstorm on. You may want to use a tool such as multivoting for this.

  • Begin the main part of the exercise - the brainstorming itself. This calls for a free flow of ideas aimed at producing as many as possible. Wild ideas are encouraged and the atmosphere should be enjoyable. 
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    A related technique, called synectics, was developed by William J.J. Gordon in 1967.

    It differs from brainstorming in that it does not focus on a clearly specified problem. Rather, a discussion is stimulated around a general idea that is related to the ultimate specific problem. For example, instead of being concerned with marketing a citrus beverage, the group might discuss drinking. When a variety of ideas is exposed, the leader starts directing the discussion toward the specific problem. The sessions tend to last longer than the sixty - or ninety - minute brainstorming sessions, based on a belief that fatigue tends to remove inhibitions.