# Creative Ideation Methods Catalog

A reference guide of methodologies for generating advertising and marketing ideas.
Each card is an executable instruction, not theory.

Key fact: 89% of award-winning advertising works use identifiable Goldenberg/SIT patterns. Creativity is structural.

---

## Category A: Structural Templates

### 1. SIT / Goldenberg Templates (Structural Templates)

**Essence:** Six recurring patterns that cover the vast majority of award-winning ads. They work on the Closed World principle — all elements are drawn from the product's world and its immediate environment.

**Input:** Product, its components, attributes, usage environment.

**Process:**
1. List all components of the product, user, and environment (Closed World).
2. Apply each of the six patterns to the component list:
   - **Subtraction** — remove a key element of the product or environment, show the consequences. Example: an ad without a logo, where the absence of the product creates drama.
   - **Multiplication** — copy an element with a modification. One product becomes many, or one attribute is doubled with variation.
   - **Division** — break the product/scene into parts, rearrange. Separate function from form.
   - **Task Unification** — assign an existing element an additional task. Packaging becomes media, the product becomes a tool.
   - **Attribute Dependency** — link two independent attributes with a dependency. "The more X, the more Y" — where the connection is unexpected.
   - **Pictorial Analogy** — replace one visual element with another, preserving form. Symbol A looks like symbol B.
3. For each pattern, generate at least 2-3 variations.
4. Select ideas where the pattern creates an instantly readable insight.

**Output:** 12-18 structured ideas (6 patterns x 2-3 variations).

**Advertising example:** Volkswagen "Think Small" — Subtraction. Huge white space, tiny car. All visual "noise" removed.

**When to use:** First method in any session — delivers maximum coverage with minimum effort.

---

### 2. SCAMPER (Structural Templates)

**Essence:** Seven transformation operators applied sequentially to a product, message, or format. Systematic enumeration of modification options.

**Input:** Object of transformation: product, existing ad, communication format.

**Process:**
1. Define the transformation object in one sentence.
2. Go through each operator, asking a question about the object:
   - **Substitute** — what to replace? Material, character, channel, time, place.
   - **Combine** — what to merge? Two products, two audiences, two formats.
   - **Adapt** — what to borrow from another category? What technique from another industry fits?
   - **Modify/Magnify** — what to enlarge, shrink, amplify, weaken?
   - **Put to other use** — where else is this applicable? Different context, different audience.
   - **Eliminate** — what to remove? Which element is unnecessary?
   - **Reverse** — what to flip? Order, roles, perspective.
3. For each operator — minimum 2 answers, even if forced.
4. Mark the most unexpected combinations.

**Output:** 14+ directions for ideas (7 operators x 2 variations).

**Advertising example:** Old Spice "The Man Your Man Could Smell Like" — Reverse. The audience is flipped: an ad for a men's product is addressed to women.

**When to use:** When there's an existing product/campaign and you need to find a new angle.

---

### 3. TRIZ: 10 Principles for Advertising (Structural Templates)

**Essence:** From Altshuller's 40 inventive principles, 10 most productive for advertising communication are selected. Each principle is a transformation operator for an advertising message.

**Input:** Advertising task formulated as a contradiction: "need X, but Y gets in the way."

**Process:**
1. Formulate the contradiction in the task.
2. Apply each of the 10 principles:
   - **Segmentation** — divide the message/audience/product into parts. Personalized versions of one campaign.
   - **Extraction** — extract one attribute and make it the hero. Isolate the main thing, discard everything else.
   - **Local Quality** — different parts perform different functions. One banner works differently in different contexts.
   - **Asymmetry** — break expected symmetry. Non-standard format, disproportionate emphasis.
   - **Merging** — combine identical operations. One message solves two tasks simultaneously.
   - **Universality** — one element performs several functions. Packaging = media channel.
   - **Nesting** — one object inside another. An ad within an ad, a story within a story.
   - **Inversion** — do the opposite. Anti-advertising, admitting flaws.
   - **Dynamicity** — the element changes depending on conditions. Adaptive creatives, context-responsive.
   - **Copying** — replace the original with a copy. Use metaphor instead of direct demonstration.
3. Select 2-3 principles most relevant to the specific contradiction.

**Output:** 10-20 directions tied to a specific contradiction in the task.

**Advertising example:** Patagonia "Don't Buy This Jacket" — Inversion. A direct call not to buy the product resolves the contradiction between commerce and environmental mission.

**When to use:** When the brief contains an obvious contradiction or constraint that seems insurmountable.

---

### 4. Morphological Analysis (Structural Templates)

**Essence:** Fritz Zwicky's method. Break the task into 5-7 independent parameters, list possible values for each, then combine values from different columns.

**Input:** Campaign brief broken down into key dimensions.

**Process:**
1. Define 5-7 campaign parameters. Standard matrix: Tone x Mechanic x Channel x Hero x Proof.
2. For each parameter, list 4-6 possible values. Example: Tone = [irony, epic, documentary, absurd, tenderness]; Hero = [user, product, antagonist, celebrity, unexpected character].
3. Randomly select one value from each column — get a combination.
4. Repeat 10-15 times, interpreting each combination as a complete idea.
5. Select 3-5 viable combinations.

**Output:** 10-15 combinations, of which 3-5 are viable concepts.

**Advertising example:** Matrix for a beer campaign: [humor x user-generated x Instagram x friends x statistics] yields a concept: funny user stories with data on how many friends get together thanks to the product.

**When to use:** When you need a volume of diverse concepts and there's a risk of getting stuck on one direction.

---

## Category B: Association / Collision

### 5. Bisociation (Association / Collision)

**Essence:** Arthur Koestler's term. The collision of two unrelated "matrices of thought" produces a creative effect. Each matrix has its own logic — at the point of collision, an insight emerges.

**Input:** Two spaces of meaning: the product's world and a donor world (an arbitrary context).

**Process:**
1. Describe the "product matrix": its context, associations, usage logic.
2. Choose a second matrix — as far removed from the first as possible (different industry, different era, different situation).
3. Find the intersection point — a shared structural element that works in both matrices.
4. Formulate the idea at the intersection point.

**Output:** 1-3 ideas with high surprise potential.

**Advertising example:** Snickers "You're Not You When You're Hungry." Matrix 1: a hungry person. Matrix 2: a celebrity with characteristic behavior. Collision point: personality transformation.

**When to use:** When you need one strong idea, not a volume of options.

---

### 6. Random Entry / Random Word (Association / Collision)

**Essence:** Edward de Bono's method. Take a random word and forcibly connect it to the task. Randomness jolts thinking out of habitual patterns.

**Input:** Brief + a random word (a concrete, visualizable noun).

**Process:**
1. Generate a random word. Requirements: concrete noun, visual, unrelated to the product.
2. List 5-7 associations, attributes, functions of this word.
3. For each association, find a connection to the brief — forcibly, through any logic.
4. Select 2-3 connections that produce an unexpected yet readable meaning.

**Output:** 2-3 unexpected directions for an idea.

**Advertising example:** Brief: bank advertising. Random word: "aquarium." Associations: transparency, enclosed space, observation, fragility. Connection to the bank: "complete transparency of terms" — a bank with no hidden fees, visualized through glass walls.

**When to use:** When you've hit a dead end and need an external stimulus to break out of a mental rut.

---

### 7. Forced Connections (Association / Collision)

**Essence:** Deliberate connection of unrelated concepts. The value lies in the space between two ideas, in the tension their combination creates.

**Input:** A list of 5-10 objects/concepts unrelated to the product. The brief.

**Process:**
1. Compile a list of random objects: items, professions, situations, places.
2. For each object, ask: "If [product] were [object], what would that mean?"
3. Explore the collision: what properties of the object transfer to the product? What contradictions arise?
4. Turn the most interesting collisions into advertising concepts.
5. Check: can the idea be read in 3 seconds?

**Output:** 5-10 "raw" ideas, of which 2-3 have potential.

**Advertising example:** Volvo + ballerina. Collision: the brute force of a truck and the grace of a ballerina. Result: Volvo Trucks — Jean-Claude Van Damme does a split between two moving trucks (steering precision = grace).

**When to use:** In early stages, when you need to expand the search space.

---

### 8. Synectics (Association / Collision)

**Essence:** William Gordon's method. Four types of analogy, each yielding a different type of idea. Principle: "Make the familiar strange, the strange familiar."

**Input:** Product/problem + readiness to think in four analogy modes.

**Process:**
1. **Direct Analogy** — find a direct analogy from nature, technology, another industry. Question: "Where in the world is a similar problem being solved?"
2. **Personal Analogy** — become the product. Question: "If I were this product, what would I feel, want, fear?"
3. **Symbolic Analogy (Compressed Conflict)** — describe the product with an oxymoron. Question: "What two opposite words describe the essence?" Examples: "safe speed," "living mechanics."
4. **Fantasy Analogy** — suspend physics. Question: "If there were no constraints, how would the product work in an ideal world?"
5. For each type of analogy, write 2-3 variations, then convert into advertising ideas.

**Output:** 8-12 ideas through four different analogy types.

**Advertising example:** Apple "1984" — Fantasy Analogy. A world without Apple = Orwell's dystopia. Macintosh launch = liberation from conformity.

**When to use:** When you need depth of metaphor, not quantity of ideas.

---

## Category C: Inversion / Disruption

### 9. Reverse Brainstorming (Inversion / Disruption)

**Essence:** Generate ideas about how to make the problem worse, then invert each answer. The brain generates negatives more easily — the method exploits this asymmetry.

**Input:** Task from the brief, reformulated as a negative.

**Process:**
1. Reformulate the task: "How do we make sure no one buys this product?" or "How do we maximally ruin the customer experience?"
2. Generate 10-15 answers to the "harmful" question — the more specific, the better.
3. Invert each answer: turn the "harmful" idea into a positive concept.
4. Evaluate the inverted ideas for viability.

**Output:** 10-15 ideas obtained through inversion.

**Advertising example:** "How to ruin an airline ad?" — "Show flight delays." Inversion: a campaign where the airline publishes actual punctuality statistics, turning a vulnerability into proof.

**When to use:** When standard brainstorming yields banal results — inversion bypasses mental blocks.

---

### 10. Worst Possible Idea (Inversion / Disruption)

**Essence:** Generate deliberately terrible ideas, analyze what exactly makes them bad, then invert specific "badness" attributes.

**Input:** Brief + intentional disabling of the inner critic.

**Process:**
1. Generate 10 of the stupidest, crudest, most boring, expensive, or impossible ideas.
2. For each bad idea, list: what specifically makes it bad? (3-4 attributes)
3. Invert each "bad" attribute separately, preserving the rest of the idea's structure.
4. Check: has the "bad" idea become good after targeted inversion?

**Output:** 10 "bad" ideas transformed into 5-7 potentially viable ones.

**Advertising example:** Bad idea: "A watch ad that lasts 24 hours." Bad attribute: too long. Attribute inversion: an ad lasting 1 second. Result: an actual campaign with one-second banners demonstrating the watch's precision.

**When to use:** When the team is afraid to propose "weird" ideas — the method legitimizes absurdity.

---

### 11. Provocation PO (Inversion / Disruption)

**Essence:** De Bono's method. Create an intentionally absurd statement (marker "PO"), then use it as a springboard to a real idea. PO is a signal: "this is not an opinion, it's a provocation for thinking."

**Input:** Brief + willingness to formulate absurdity.

**Process:**
1. Formulate a provocation using the formula: "PO: [absurd statement about the product/ad]." Examples: "PO: the ad apologizes to the viewer," "PO: the product destroys itself," "PO: the brand advertises a competitor."
2. For each provocation, apply one of four movement methods:
   - **Extract** — what's valuable in this absurdity?
   - **Moment-to-moment** — imagine the absurdity as reality, what happens next?
   - **Positive aspects** — what positive consequences would this absurd reality have?
   - **Special circumstances** — under what conditions would this not be absurd?
3. Turn the movement result into an advertising idea.

**Output:** 3-5 ideas born through deliberate provocation.

**Advertising example:** PO: "The brand advertises a competitor." Movement: under what conditions is this not absurd? When the brand is so confident in itself. Result: BMW congratulates Mercedes on its 100th anniversary: "Thank you for 100 years of competition. The first 30 years were boring."

**When to use:** When you need a breakthrough beyond category conventions.

---

## Category D: Recombination / Perturbation

### 12. Oblique Strategies (Recombination / Perturbation)

**Essence:** A set of cryptic instructions by Brian Eno and Peter Schmidt. Each card is a mysterious directive that redirects thinking. Works as a randomizer between generation passes.

**Input:** Current set of ideas that feel insufficient. A random card.

**Process:**
1. Draw a random card. Example instructions: "Honor thy error as hidden intention," "What would your closest friend do?," "Remove specifics and convert to ambiguities," "Use an old idea," "Emphasize the flaws."
2. Apply the instruction literally to the current set of ideas or to the brief.
3. Write down everything that comes to mind — don't filter.
4. Repeat with another card if the first one didn't work.

**Output:** 1-3 unexpected turns for existing ideas.

**Advertising example:** Card: "Emphasize the flaws." Applied to a car ad: instead of perfect gloss — a campaign showing scratches, dirt, dents as evidence of the owner's rich life.

**When to use:** Between recursive ideation passes — as a perturbation tool.

---

### 13. Six Thinking Hats (Recombination / Perturbation)

**Essence:** De Bono's method. Six thinking modes applied sequentially to one idea. Separation allows more complete thinking without mixing logic with emotions.

**Input:** An existing idea or set of ideas requiring evaluation and refinement.

**Process:**
1. **White Hat (facts)** — what data supports or refutes the idea? What do we know for certain?
2. **Red Hat (emotions)** — what emotional reaction does the idea provoke? Gut feeling: does it work or not?
3. **Black Hat (risks)** — what could go wrong? Where are the weak spots? What objections will arise?
4. **Yellow Hat (benefits)** — what is the idea's strength? What positive consequences?
5. **Green Hat (alternatives)** — how to modify the idea? What development paths?
6. **Blue Hat (process)** — what are the next steps? What's needed for implementation?

**Output:** Comprehensive evaluation of the idea from six angles + 2-3 refined variations.

**Advertising example:** Idea: a living billboard with plants for an eco-brand. Black Hat: plants will die in winter. Green Hat: make seasonality a feature — the billboard "dies" and "revives," visualizing the environmental problem.

**When to use:** For evaluating and refining existing ideas, not for generation from scratch.

---

### 14. Disney Creative Strategy (Recombination / Perturbation)

**Essence:** Three sequential roles for developing an idea: the Dreamer generates without constraints, the Realist builds an implementation plan, the Critic finds weaknesses. Roles are separated physically or temporally.

**Input:** Task from the brief + discipline to switch between roles.

**Process:**
1. **Dreamer** — generate without constraints. Question: "If there were no limits — budget, physics, time — what would the ideal campaign be?" Write down everything, criticism is forbidden.
2. **Realist** — take the Dreamer's ideas and build a plan. Question: "How to implement this? What resources are needed? What steps?" Transform fantasy into an executable plan.
3. **Critic** — find weaknesses in the plan. Question: "What won't work? What did we miss? Who won't like this?" Document problems without killing the idea.
4. Return to the Dreamer accounting for the criticism. Repeat the cycle.

**Output:** 2-3 ideas that have passed the full "dream — plan — critique" cycle.

**Advertising example:** Dreamer: "Launch the product into space!" Realist: "Stratospheric balloon with a camera — $50K budget." Critic: "Been done before. Need a plot twist." Dreamer 2.0: "Product falls from space and a random person finds it." Result: Red Bull Stratos — not an ad brief, but born from a similar process.

**When to use:** For developing an idea from fantasy to a realistic plan in one cycle.

---

## Category E: Volume Generation

### 15. Crazy 8s (Volume Generation)

**Essence:** 8 ideas in 8 minutes. Speed kills perfectionism and the inner critic. Format: one sheet folded into 8 sections (or 8 slots in a document).

**Input:** Brief compressed to one sentence. A timer.

**Process:**
1. Compress the brief to one sentence.
2. Set 8 minutes (or set a limit: 1 minute per idea).
3. Write 8 ideas — one per slot. Each idea: headline + one sentence of description.
4. Rule: you can't stop, can't go back to previous slots, can't evaluate.
5. After completion — mark 2-3 ideas that spark the most interest.

**Output:** 8 "raw" ideas, of which 2-3 are worth developing.

**Advertising example:** Brief: "Promote a meditation app." In 8 minutes: 1) an ad that makes you hold your breath; 2) a banner that loads intentionally slowly; 3) a story consisting of one frame of silence; 4) a collaboration with an alarm clock; 5-8) escalating absurdity from there.

**When to use:** At the start of a session for a quick "warmup" or when you need to break through a block.

---

### 16. Brainwriting 6-3-5 (Volume Generation)

**Essence:** A structured volume generation method. 6 participants write 3 ideas in 5 minutes, then pass the sheet to the next person, who develops or adds. For AI context: 6 "rounds" with development of previous ideas.

**Input:** Brief + round structure.

**Process:**
1. Round 1: generate 3 ideas in 5 minutes (or quickly, without self-censorship).
2. Round 2: take the 3 ideas from round 1, write a development or variation for each.
3. Rounds 3-6: repeat. Each round develops the previous round's ideas. You can mutate, crossbreed, invert.
4. After 6 rounds: 18 ideas (3 original x 6 iterations). Sort by potential.

**Output:** 18 ideas with traceable evolution from the initial thought to a developed concept.

**Advertising example:** Round 1: "Show the before/after of product use." Round 2: "Show only the 'before' — the viewer constructs the 'after' themselves." Round 3: "Show only the 'after' that doesn't resemble the 'before' — the viewer searches for the connection." Evolution from banality to an intriguing concept.

**When to use:** When one good idea already exists and you need to develop it in several directions.

---

### 17. Starbursting (Volume Generation)

**Essence:** Generate questions instead of answers. Six rays of a star: Who, What, Where, When, Why, How. Good questions lead to non-obvious ideas.

**Input:** Product or campaign concept.

**Process:**
1. Place the product/concept at the center.
2. For each ray, generate 5+ questions:
   - **Who** — who else could use this? Who would it surprise? Who's against it?
   - **What** — what if we scale x100? What's the most non-obvious thing about the product?
   - **Where** — where is this product inappropriate? Where is it needed most?
   - **When** — when do people think about it least? When is it critically needed?
   - **Why** — why would someone refuse? Why don't competitors do this?
   - **How** — how to explain to a child? How to show without words?
3. Select the most provocative questions.
4. Answer them — each answer = a direction for an idea.

**Output:** 30+ questions, of which 5-7 lead to strong ideas.

**Advertising example:** Product: insurance. Question "Where": "Where is insurance completely inappropriate?" Answer: "On a roller coaster." Idea: insurance advertising at amusement parks — at the moment of maximum risk awareness.

**When to use:** When the brief seems obvious and you want to find a non-obvious angle.

---

## Category F: Bonus Methods

### 18. First Principles Thinking (Bonus)

**Essence:** Decompose the task to fundamental truths, discarding all assumptions. Reassemble the solution from scratch based on basic facts.

**Input:** Brief + list of assumptions usually taken for granted.

**Process:**
1. List all assumptions about the product, category, and advertising: "advertising should be...," "in this category it's customary to..."
2. For each assumption, ask: "Is this a fundamental truth or a convention?"
3. Discard conventions, keep only fundamental truths.
4. Build the solution anew, relying only on fundamental truths.

**Output:** 2-3 ideas free from category templates.

**Advertising example:** Assumption: "A car ad should show a car." Fundamental truth: "People don't buy a car, they buy mobility/status/freedom." Result: a campaign where the car never appears — only moments of freedom.

**When to use:** When the category is oversaturated with similar advertising and a radical departure is needed.

---

### 19. Lateral Thinking Toolkit (Bonus)

**Essence:** Edward de Bono's toolkit for lateral thinking. Four key tools: Focus, Random Entry, Challenge, Alternatives.

**Input:** Brief + choice of specific tool depending on the situation.

**Process:**
1. **Focus** — choose an atypical focus point. Not the product and not the consumer, but a secondary element: packaging, the moment of purchase, sound, smell.
2. **Random Entry** — introduce a random element (see method 6), use as a catalyst.
3. **Challenge** — dispute every element of the current approach. "Why this way? What if not?" Question the format, channel, tone, hero.
4. **Alternatives** — for each decision, forcibly generate 3 alternatives. Even if the current solution seems good.
5. Combine findings from all four tools.

**Output:** 5-10 ideas generated through various lateral thinking tools.

**Advertising example:** Focus on sound: a headphones campaign where all visuals are secondary, and the hero is the sound design. An ad that needs to be listened to, not watched.

**When to use:** As a meta-level toolkit — when you need to choose one of four modes depending on the type of impasse.

---

### 20. Design Sprint Sketch (Bonus)

**Essence:** Method from Google Design Sprint. A detailed sketch of the solution, not an abstract idea. Focus on specifics: what does the final product/ad look like, what does the user see.

**Input:** An idea or direction requiring concretization.

**Process:**
1. Take one idea (from any previous method).
2. "Draw" it in 3 frames (describe textually):
   - Frame 1: what does the viewer see in the first second?
   - Frame 2: what happens next (twist, surprise, action)?
   - Frame 3: finale — message, brand, call to action.
3. Add details: text, tone, colors, music — everything that makes the idea concrete.
4. Check: can you "see" this ad from reading the description?
5. If not — add details. If yes — the idea is ready for evaluation.

**Output:** A detailed ad description, ready for evaluation and presentation.

**Advertising example:** Idea: "a bank with no fine print." Frame 1: close-up — a contract with all text in one size. Frame 2: camera pulls back — the contract is on a billboard, everything is readable from the street. Frame 3: bank logo, tagline: "Terms you don't need to search for."

**When to use:** In the final stage — for turning an abstract idea into a concrete visualization.

---

## Method Selection Matrix

| Situation | Recommended methods |
|---|---|
| Starting out, need volume | SIT Templates (1), Morphological Analysis (4), Crazy 8s (15) |
| Hit a dead end | Random Entry (6), Oblique Strategies (12), Provocation PO (11) |
| Need one strong idea | Bisociation (5), Synectics (8), First Principles (18) |
| Have an idea, need refinement | Six Thinking Hats (13), Disney Strategy (14), Brainwriting (16) |
| Category is oversaturated | First Principles (18), Reverse Brainstorming (9), Challenge from Lateral Thinking (19) |
| Need concretization | Design Sprint Sketch (20), Starbursting (17) |
| Need a breakthrough beyond boundaries | Provocation PO (11), Worst Possible Idea (10), Fantasy Analogy from Synectics (8) |

---

*Author: Serge Shima ([t.me/aimastersme](https://t.me/aimastersme) · [sergeshima.com](https://sergeshima.com) · [aimasters.me](https://aimasters.me)) · License: CC BY 4.0 — attribution required · Source: [smixs/creative-director-skill](https://github.com/smixs/creative-director-skill)*