CREATIVE LEADERS Thirty Years of Big Ideas

How did the dramatic changes in the business environment over the past 30 years affect the development of advertisements? This paper responds to this question with evidence from 120 interviews with creative leaders collected between 1977 and 2007. Creative leaders across the 30-year period were consistent regarding the importance of unearthing big ideas. However, their interviews reflected how the implementation and evaluation of the ideas changed in response to globalization, technological advances, expanded media offerings, and shifting client and consumer attitudes. In addition, responses of current creative leaders were analyzed and trends for the future of advertising are discussed.