The advertising world is made up of many facets, such as creativity, networking, and thought leadership. At the center of these processes lies advertising creativity, a term used to describe an ad or element of an ad that is particularly novel and noteworthy. The contents of this thesis address the challenges academics and professionals have with establishing criteria to measure creativity, while considering the value of evaluating creative ability through a variety of processes. To do this, three case studies of award-winning advertisements were conducted in order to develop a profile of an effective ad. Results indicate that successfully creative ads contain elements of cognitive dissonance, relevancy, and clear communication. These techniques can maximize an advertisement’s creative potential in the marketplace. By implementing these characteristics, advertisers have the potential to gauge the effectiveness of an ad prior to publication and optimize the results of their campaign
