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Apply Susan's creative philosophy to a real brief. In this hands-on exercise, you'll use her core principles — 'it's not an ad, it's an idea,' 'push culture forward,' and 'make it interesting' — to develop a campaign concept that transcends the ordinary.
You've absorbed Susan's philosophy. Now it's time to use it.
This exercise puts her core principles to work on a real brief. You're going to develop a campaign concept using the same filters Susan applies — the "does it feel like an ad?" test, the culture-push question, and the simplicity-as-vehicle principle. By the end, you'll have a rough campaign platform that's bigger than any single execution.
Choose your brief. Pick ONE of the following product/brand scenarios — or substitute a real brief you're currently working on:
Got your brief? Good. Now resist the urge to immediately think of an ad. That's the whole point.
Work through each of the following five steps. Write your answers down — even rough notes count.
Step 1: Name the Obvious Execution
Write down the first idea that comes to mind for your brief. The cliché. The thing you've seen a hundred times. (For the gym brief, it's probably a montage of people sweating and smiling. Write it down anyway.)
Naming the obvious is how you escape it. Susan's whole approach starts with rejecting the predictable — you can't reject what you haven't identified.
Step 2: Apply the "Does It Feel Like an Ad?" Test
Look at your obvious execution and ask honestly: Would someone choose to watch this if it weren't forced on them? If the answer is no, ask: What would make this genuinely interesting to a person who doesn't care about this brand at all?
Write down at least two answers. Push past your first instinct — that's usually still an ad.
Step 3: Find the Culture Push
Susan talks about advertising on its best day looking at where the world needs to go — challenging stereotypes, pushing progressive images, making people comfortable with the uncomfortable.
Ask yourself: What assumption, stereotype, or cultural norm does my category lean on by default? Then ask: What would it look like to challenge that?
For example — the January gym brief defaults to the "new year, new you" shame spiral. What if the idea challenged the assumption that your body is a problem to be solved?
Write down the assumption your category relies on, and one way your campaign could push against it.
Step 4: Build the Platform, Not the Spot
Think about how Susan described the M&M's characters — the goal wasn't a single funny commercial, it was making people believe these characters actually existed. That's a platform. It has room to grow across years, executions, and media.
Write a one or two sentence campaign platform statement for your idea. It should be big enough to live in multiple executions but focused enough that you could explain it to someone in thirty seconds.
Test it: Could this idea work as a TV spot, a social series, a live event, and a product experience? If yes, you might have a platform.
Step 5: Find the Charm
Susan has a deep affection for simplicity and charm — the M&M's Santa spot works because it's sweet, clean, and human. Ambition doesn't require complexity.
Look at your platform and ask: What's the most charming, simple, human version of this idea? Describe one single execution — a scene, a moment, an image — that captures the whole platform in its most delightful form.
By the end of this exercise, you should have:
This isn't a finished campaign — it's a creative framework in action. The goal is to feel the difference between generating executions and generating ideas. Once you feel that difference, you can't unfeel it.
That's exactly where Susan wants you.
Read the brief below and write down the first three campaign ideas that come to mind. Be honest — these are probably the obvious ones.
Brief: A mid-size insurance brand wants to increase brand awareness among 25-40 year olds. The brand's key message is 'we're there when life gets unpredictable.'
Apply Susan's first filter: 'Does it feel like an ad?' Review your three ideas. For each one, ask: if someone saw this, would they immediately recognize it as an insurance commercial? If yes, cross it out. Write a sentence explaining why each one feels too familiar.
Now apply Susan's second filter: 'Does it push culture forward?' Think about the world your target audience lives in. What assumption, stereotype, or cultural norm could your campaign challenge or reframe? Write 2-3 sentences describing the cultural tension your idea could tap into.
Now develop your Big Idea. Using the cultural tension you identified, write a one-sentence campaign platform — not a tagline, but the core idea. Then describe two very different executions that could live under that platform. Ask yourself: could this idea run for 5 years across multiple formats?
Final check — the 'Is It Interesting?' test. Imagine you're not in advertising. You're just a person watching TV or scrolling your phone. Would you stop for this? Would you tell a friend about it? Write 2-3 sentences honestly assessing whether your idea passes the test — and if not, what you'd change.
The most important document in advertising. Give it a few inputs and watch the Big Idea framework take shape — right here, no account needed.
The exercise provides a sample brand brief, but you're also encouraged to bring your own real brief to the table. The framework works on any category.
Quality over quantity. Susan's best ideas are often described in a single sentence. Aim for clarity and conviction, not length.
Mark this lesson complete to track your progress