tl;dr
Good taste is more important than great prompts. ’Cause even if you’re an AI prodigy, GPT will still always generate a lot of fluff. And if you can’t distinguish between trash and treasure, you’re lost.
The best way to develop taste is by actively viewing great ads. Here’s how:
1. Find great work
If you ask David Ogilvy, a great ad must tick off five boxes:
In my opinion, these 20 are truly great:
Burger King // Moldy Whopper
Dove // Real Beauty Sketches
Mercedes Benz // The Journey
Old Spice // The Man Your Man Could Smell Like
Sandy Hook Promise // Back to School Essentials
Snickers // You’re Not You When You’re Hungry
The Guardian // Three Little Pigs
2. Practice active viewing
Ask yourself:
• What problem does the ad solve? Structure: [Business problem] because [Customer behavior/belief].
• What’s the human insight? The relatable truth that makes you see yourself in the ad.
• What’s the creative technique? The technique they used to come up with the ad.
• What’s the hook? The visual or verbal element that prevents you from clicking “skip.”
Let's take this Monster ad, for example:
Watch the full video (30 sec)
3. Start an ad journal
When I was starting out, I organized my favorite ads in an Ad Journal, like this:
