Guest Article: Parag Tembulkar: How to make sure your idea is shit hot

The idea has to be crisp, and the headline smart enough to capture attention.

Creativity is very subjective. So are ideas. Unfortunately, in the business of advertising, there is only that many times one can hide under the blanket of subjectivity.

At some point, it boils down to just one simple truth -- is your idea shit hot, or not. This is the point that can be frightening, potentially embarrassing and can put the best of us in manic throes of self-doubt.

Is there a way to test if your idea is really a killer idea? Is there any 'funda' behind knowing if your idea will be really, really talked about?

There, then;)

While freelancing at Crispin Porter Bogusky, I learnt a cool, little trick from some of my mates there, which is, to write your ideas as a press release. In other words, what is the newspaper article that they will write about your idea? What will make your idea famous?

It's a great way to think bigger, beyond just a television spot. And ultimately, it will lead to great television that is equally exciting and fun to make. Because, it will force your television to be about something bigger than 30 seconds of random multi-million pound theatre.

A press release means a headline, a quick little write-up and maybe a tagline or a URL. Here's a great example...

Headline: To prove the Whopper is America's favourite burger, Burger King removes it from the menu.

Write-up: In an unprecedented social experiment to prove the Whopper is indeed the most beloved of all burgers, Burger King removes the Whopper from the menu. Hidden camera footage captures the results as shocked and enraged patrons demand their favorite burger.

URL: whopperfreakout.com

Boom. You get it. It's simple. Like a good newspaper article, you don't even have to read past the headline to understand the idea. And, you can imagine reading that in any leading newspaper in the world.

Think about it. Think about HOW your idea will become famous. The press would not cover a brilliant big idea by starting an article with "it's an anthem spot where..., "it's a TV spot where"..."imagine a series of commercials where..."

So, why do we?

Parag Tembulkar is a Restless Freelance Creative Director based in New York who, instead of doing ads, is currently doing a music video for an automobile brand.