Shareworthy: Advertising That Creates Powerful Connections Through Storytelling

In this useful guide, Landa (Strategic Creativity), an advertising professor at Kean University, and Braun, the retired chief creative officer of the advertising agency Commonwealth/McCann, expound on how to create effective corporate promotional campaigns. According to the authors, successful ads “are authentic to the brand’s values” and should “change conversations” or “inform people about important issues.” Emphasizing the need to address consumer sentiment, Landa and Braun share how Lysol overcame misgivings about whether its new laundry sanitizer would be too harsh by hosting a two-week “hospital for stuffed animals” that invited families to bring their children’s toys for cleaning and repair. Recommendations for crafting “advertising stories” are pragmatic and specific (a good ad might include “an inciting incident that requires the protagonist to change” and should make viewers laugh, cry, or cringe), but the book’s highlight is the in-depth interviews with industry professionals taking readers inside campaigns for Hyundai, Visa, and other major brands. For instance, ad executive Susan Young recounts how she created a Microsoft commercial showcasing a company program that helps women patent their inventions. Advertising professionals will want to pick this up. Photos. (June)