Ad Critique

Nancy R. Tag (M.A., The New School; B.A., University of Pennsylvania) is an Assistant Professor of Advertising and PR and Deputy Chair of the Media & Communication Arts Department at The City College of New York. She has been a Creative Director at various advertising agencies throughout New York City where she's overseen a distinguished roster of clients which include ING Financial Services, Procter & Gamble, The Waldorf-Astoria, Shiseido Cosmetics, Seiko, Canon, and Aruba Tourism. In addition to winning numerous industry awards, two of her television commercials have been inducted into the permanent collection on advertising at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. Before coming to City College, Tag taught advertising to potential copywriters, art directors, and design managers at Parsons School of Design where she twice received the Henry Wolf Award for Teaching Excellence. She's also taught in the Baker School of Business and Technology College at Fashion Institute of Technology. In 2007, she was the recipient of a City College of New York Presidential Junior Faculty Leadership & Service Award as well as a Colin Powell Fellowship.

PART 1: The Language of Critique Chapter 1: The Case for Critique: Why We Need Constructive Criticism to Make Great Ads Befriending the Beast What Exactly Is Critique? Critique Is a Skill, Not a Talent . . . . . . So Let's Teach It Print: The Ground Zero of Critique The Critique Paradox Critique Basics Further Reading Exercises Chapter 2: AdSpeak: The Vocabulary of Avertising Every Language Needs a Vocabulary The Basic Terms of AdSpeak The Creative Strategy: AKA "The WHAT" The Target Audience: AKA "The WHO" The Concept: AKA "The HOW" Execution The Layout Campaign Tagline The More Advanced Terms of AdSpeak Brand Identity and Equity "Ownability" Brand Personality Page Personality Demo: AKA "The Proof" The Terms : A Cheat Sheet Critique Exercises Suggested Viewing Suggested Reading Chapter 3: AdErrors: When Good Ads Go Bad AdError One: The Headline and the Visual Are Redundant or Disconnected AdError Two: Meaningless Gimmicks and Borrowed Interest AdError Three: Using Spokespeople Who Are Irrelevant to the Product or Message AdError Four: Lack of Focus AdError Five: The Page Is Overdeveloped and/or Poorly Planned AdError Six: Sacrificing Clarity for Cleverness AdError Seven: Overacknowledging Your Competition AdError Eight: Letting Your Strategy Show AdError Nine: Being Edgy for Its Own Sake AdError Ten: Huh? Using Pretzel Logic, Being Too Subtle or Obtuse AdError Eleven: Forgetting About the Product AdError Twelve: Being Boring or Too Obvious AdError Thirteen: The Tonality and/or Visual Style Is Inconsistent With the Product or Message Critique Exercises Chapter 4: AdAnalogy: How Art and Copy Play Together Why Are Single-Panel Cartoons Funny? Funny? Unfunny? How Cartoons Work Headline Swap: How Print Ads Work Critique Exercises Suggested Reading Great Collections of Single Panel Cartoons Chapter 5: The 360-Degree Critique: Being Digital, Going Viral and Beyond Defining Our Media Channels Timeline and Traits of Media Channels AdSpeak 360 Critique Exercises Find Out More PART 2: Critique in Action Chapter 6: AdAlliances: Your Partners in Creating Great Advertising The Dance The Cast of Characters Knee Jerk Reactions to Those on the Other Side of the Table Stories From the Combat Zone Two Sides to Every Stereotype Critique Exercises Suggested Reading Chapter 7: AdSpeak Up! Who Says What When The Cast of Characters The Basic Chronology of the Process Critique Exercise--in Four Parts Chapter 8: The Creative Team's Bill of Rights The Creative Team's Bill of Rights: Eight Things Every Art Director and Copywriter Have a Right to Expect During the Presentation of Their Work Recap Exercises Chapter 9: The Client's Bill of Rights The Client's Bill of Rights: Six Things Every Client Has a Right to Expect During a Creative Presentation Recap Suggested Viewing Critique Exercises Chapter10: Presentation Prep Prior to the Meeting Recap Suggested Reading Chapter 11: Critique Cheats: Tips to Make the Most of the Critique Shhhh! Blatant Cheats for a Killer Critique Role Playing Exercise