ISSUE 106/

A BULLETIN FOR
BIG IDEAS AND
BETTER BUSINESS.

OPINION / Creativity

I know three things.

💬 Toby Horry, SVP of Global Marketing at Merlin Entertainments, outlines three enduring truths about creativity, storytelling, and the product itself…

i.
The basic principle of creativity hasn’t changed. But the methods and channels that we use to deploy it have. The paintbox you have to colour with is far broader than it used to be. There used to be only a few answers to the question: “What shall we do with our advertising?” A TV ad, a press ad, or a poster. The challenge now is not becoming snow blind to the array of options. You have to place bets. And those are often educated guesses rather than definitive proof.

ii.
Your marketing has to be based on truth. But that truth doesn’t have to be factual. When I was at TUI, our Christmas campaign featured Santa’s elves heading off for a well-deserved break. The thinking? No one works harder during the holidays than the miniature teams that fabricate toys in the workshop.

iii.
So many great ads in history have been dramatised product demos. Our industry has become slightly afraid of putting the product front and centre. Often, demonstrating the product’s appeal in a way that features characters, drama, humour, and truth is still a compelling way to communicate to an audience.

We asked Toby a couple of questions on how he personally relates to creativity, here’s what he had to say…

TBOC: What is your creative North Star?

TH: To create distinctive work that grows a business more than your competitors.  After all, creativity is the last legal unfair advantage.

TBOC: What has inspired you lately?

TH: Charlie Brown's Christmas. 60 years old and just as fresh and heartwarming as the day it came out.

Last week in Creativity:

1. AI introduces itself on the biggest stage - Anthropic aired its first Super Bowl spot for Claude, deliberately framing the product around its decision not to advertise. Built for social sharing, the film sparked strong reactions and put tone, restraint, and personality front and centre.

2. Album covers as creative architecture - Tyler, the Creator’s Grammy win for Best Album Cover was a reminder that visual identity is still part of the work itself. The cover functioned as world-building, reminding us that craft and authorship still matter - even as formats get smaller.

3. Testing truth in a new market - Saturday Night Live UK has been announced, raising questions about how culturally specific ideas travel - and what happens when live satire meets a new national mood.

Head to Instagram for more detail - and what this means for creativity…

Unlock your creativity.

Has this newsletter
been forwarded to you by a friend?
Sign up to The Business of Creativity 
to receive your own weekly dose
of creativity news.