Is it really a great commercial, if you don't remember the product after you've seen it?  I agree that without entertaining or visually captivating material, TV commercials would have lost their value years ago.  However, can being too “creative” actually hurt a campaign?
I would like to be clear before I continue…  If you have read or heard anything about our agency, you know how much we believe in and thrive on creativity.  It is the cornerstone for any good campaign and the catapult for a great one – but this specific argument is more about the different types of creativity; the best being the ability to create a campaign that not only entertains, but also has foresight, adaptability, and of course, staying power.

OK, so returning to my point…  It is my belief that some creators allow an idea to get away from them.  They can get so carried away and forget the idea's place in relevance to the campaign all together.  The effect of that being, their efforts are lost on the consumer.  To ensure this does not happen, the industry needs to get a prescription for something I'd like to call “AADD” (Advertising Attention Deficit Disorder) – to keep our heads from spinning in random directions while determining the course of an idea.

SO, instead of having your customer watch a man start on the couch, leave to play racket ball, go to the doctor, wear an eye patch, ride a bus home, be mistaken for a tough guy, get attacked, and end up in the gutter…?  Why not simply show three frogs, sitting on lily pads, croaking out three recognizable syllables, while craving an ice cold beer…  Remember that one?

You can push your mind creatively (through different characters, themes, scenarios, etc.), while still staying on track and being aware of the bridge between the product and the consumer.  Here is the formula that will ultimately steer them right to your door – smiling the entire way… and if you're lucky… they'll remember how they got there for years to come.