VIA Seth Stevenson Slate.com

“In 1978, Donald Gunn was a creative director for the agency Leo Burnett. Though his position implied expertise, Gunn felt he was often just throwing darts—relying on and (instead of proven formulas) to make great ads. So, he decided to inject some analytical rigor into the process: He took a yearlong sabbatical, studied the best TV ads he could find, and looked for elemental patterns.”

“After much research, Gunn determined that nearly all good ads fall into one of 12 categories.

This slide show presents some recent ads exemplifying each of Gunn's 12 basic categories. With a little practice, you, too, will be ticking off the master formats during commercial breaks.”

1. Demo
2. Show the Need
3. Symbol/Analogy
4. Comparison
5. Exemplary Story
6. Benefit Causes Story
7. Tell It/Testimonial
8. Ongoing Characters/Celebrities
9. Symbol Analogy
10. Associated User Imagery
11. Personality Property
12. Parody

Skip to content
×