So you've decided to try out an exciting career in advertising. Well, Jim Young had some ideas about what skills are needed to become a successful advertising practitioner, particularly a Creative.

In 1963 James Webb Young published How to Become an Advertising Man, a book which combined over 50 years of advetising experience, countless lectures, and life observations to address the question of what it would take to become an advertising professional. This is sort of a companion to his 1940 book, A Technique for Producing Ideas, which no advertising creative should be without. Both of these texts were born from Young's daily musings and his need to produce Monday morning lectures (Young, 1940, 1975 edition).

So what does Jim Young say is necessary?


Essentially, an aspiring Ad Man needs:



What does this mean?

Many of these things have become ingrained in the advertising industry and will appear to be very obvious, but this is only because giants like James Webb Young have made them obvious.


Propositions


This is the quid for the pro quo. You must understand what benefit the consumer will receive for purchasing the product. If you do not know what the benefit is, the consumer won't either. This answers the question "What are you advertising?" (Young, 1963).


Markets


If a large percentage of umbrella purchasers buy umbrellas on rainy days, a wise store owner puts a sign in the window advertising umbrellas when it is wet outside. You have to know this about the market before you can act. You must also be aware that markets change with demographic and psychographic characteristics. Be aware of receptivity and demand. This answers "To whom are you advertising?" (Young, 1963).


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Messages


FREE MONEY HERE!!! Attention is the first attribute of a well constructed message. Interest is the second attribute. Desire is the third attribute. Action is the desired response (Young, 1963). Hmmm, do you think James Webb Young knew something about the Hierarchy of Effects?

Where do the messages come from though?

This is the question Young's book A Technique for Producing Ideas is based on. The basic process, according to Young involves gathering as much information about the specific product (step 1) and turn the facts over in your mind until every aspect has been exhausted (step 2), then then let your mind take over; stop thinking about the product by engaging things that stimulate your imagination (step 3). Out of "nowhere" everything will come together and a "new combination of old elements," an idea will form (step 4). Then, the hardest step (step 5), active refining and shaping must take place (Young, 1940). Obviously, the more areas of general knowledge that are available for step 3 incubation, the better the chances of forming a unique idea (Young, 1940).


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Message Carriers/Media


This is the answer to "Where shall we advertise?" These are the message transporters. It is through the use of a variety of media that messages get delivered to the markets. It is important to understand the expanding medium choices as well as the benefits and limitations of each if messages are to be designed and delivered effectively (Young, 1963). With the expansion of vehicles comes the expansion of the kinds of people in advertising. This is why it is crucial that advertising practitioners become fluent with new media. Imagine if all web advertising was designed by Microsoft programmers.


Trade Channels


How does the stuff get where it is going? The intricate workings of a Teamster Union may not be necessary (it has been speculated that too much knowledge could get you killed), but knowing the channels of distribution and the relaionships between salesmen, brokers, wholesalers, distributors, and retailers are necessary. Knowing these things can give an advertiser the insight on how, when, where, and what to advertise (Young, 1963). Do you want to create a demand beyond distribution capabilities?


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How it Works


There are five basic functions of advertising as formulated by Young after being "attacked" at a dinner party. The five functions originally appeared in a lecture delivered at the University of Illinois in 1959 (Young, 1960).

Familiarizing


"It seems that one of the deepest needs of the human being is for orientation, for a sense of 'at-homeness' in his world" (Young, 1960). Young tells the story of a couple who were stranded in the desert in New Mexico; the woman sobbed uncontrollably because she thought everything was so savage and unfamiliar. She cried all the way to Santa Fe where she finally calmed down because "she had heard of Santa Fe" (Young, 1963). This applies to advertising as well. Trial sizes are great for travel; why bring the 40 ounce economy size toothpaste when you will only be gone for the weekend? The only problem is you probably won't be able to find a 2 ounce trial size of Minty Mountain-Stream-Fresh Ultra-whitening Tartar Control Sensitive Teeth Flour-o-rific Toothpaste. So, what to do? For most people, doing without toothpaste is not an option, and bringing the 40 ounce economy size probably isn't ideal either. Most people will choose one of the available brands. If there are two brands, Happy Gums, which you have heard of, and Sparkle Tooth, which you have not heard of, you are more likely to choose Happy Gums. Why? You have a greater familiarity with the brand,even if it isn't your usual purchase.


Reminding


Young says that many people are "minded" to do something, "but Hell, as we say, is paved with good intentions. And so, about many things in life, from little things to big things, that original 'minding' needs to be recalled by re-minding" (Young, 1960).


Spreading News


This can range from the announcement of a new product, or where to find a rotary lathe, to a Saturday sale at Macy's; advertising news is "what you need to know when you need to know it" (Young, 1960). Advertising news can drive the "New and Improved" product. Jim Young was inspired to buy a new Kodachrome slide projector for its "new" improvements (Young, 1963).


Overcoming Inertia


There is an old cartoon of a farmer leaning on a rusty tractor and a magazine salesman; upon the salesman's attempts to sell the farmer a subscription to to a farm magazine the farmer replies "'Nope, I don't need your paper. I already know how to farm much better than I do'" (Young, 1960). Advertising can push the rewards and punishments of this lack of action in order to overcome the inertia which keeps consumers from the desired response (Young, 1963).


Adding Value


Advertising has the ability to associate a product with a benefit outside of the product (Young, 1960). "Next to Eleanor Roosevelt, Betty Crocker is the woman's name best known and respected among American housewives; and that fact indicates the key to creating rapport through advertising" (Young, 1963). Young says, "'In a jar of face cream the advertiser may pack a dream of youth more priceless to some than the rarest unguents of the Orient'" (Woodward, 1938).


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The Situation


This addresses the question, "What is the objectve?" Once the objectives are clearly defined, the Ad Man can call upon his knowledge to use the most effective strategies and tactics to meet them (Young, 1963).


A Liberal Education


Whether it comes from formal or informal education, an Ad Man must be educated (Young, 1963). The most important things to learn are how to write, to think in pictures, to recognize signs and symbols, to develop intuition, to observethings objectively, to use mathematics, and to live (Young, 1963).


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People and Society


An Advertising Man must know people and people's needs and wants; this is increasingly important as the industry becomes more globalized (Young, 1963). The way people communicate and the things that they desire are important factors in creating effective advertising.


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Take a peek at the Diary that JWY kept and experience a bit of his wit and insight.

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