Issue 106: A Bulletin for Big Ideas and Better Business

OPINION / Creativity

💬 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.

Toby Horry is SVP Global Marketing at Merlin Entertainments, a Marketing Academy Fellow 2024, and was listed in Campaign’s Power 100 2024.

Tyler, the Creator, Chromakopia (2024)

Imagination is the beginning of creation. You imagine what you desire, you will what you imagine and at last you create what you will.

/George Bernard Shaw