Creative process is a mix of certain rules and a certain degree of non-conformism.One has to understand when to apply the rules and when to refrain from doing so.This is called rationality. In advertising, there is a wide canvas not governed by any rules. The previous precedents and case histories are a great help. And to some extent the concepts.

We have to exploit in advertising some methodology to generate the ideas rather than solely relying upon randomness or pure chance. The aim is to ignite the creative spark by generating a large pool of ideas abandoning reasoning and judgment. It may lead to better qualitative output after filtering the ideas. The best ideas come from a large number of ideas. The maxim is to use quantity to get the quality.

It is still open to research whether a group is better in generating ideas than an individual thinking alone. Yes one can have a nominal group. Let us not have excess or surfeit of ideas. It hampers the ideation process.Random ideas impede creativity. Research has now come to the conclusion that total freedom in idea generation is not always superior.

Many researchers feel creativity represents iconoclastic tendencies and does not follow any rules.It transcends all rules, and operates in total freedom. Any creative idea is not bound by constraints. No constraints means easy accessibility. Creativity is non-conformism. Conformity suppresses diversity. Diversity is the forerunner of creative ideas.

Creativity appears out of thin air, as a flash. It strikes all of a sudden. It is spontaneous. It appears when a person is thinking something else. Maybe, these ideas were stored in the mind previously. They were there and arrive so suddenly that they appear as inspiration. The flow of ideas comes forth under conducive circumstances.

There are thinkers who suspect even a pattern in the chance element and arbitrariness. Creative people are not extra-ordinary. They are ordinary people who exercise creative processes and techniques to do a good job.

Still the problem of understanding the creative process that generates creative output remains unsolved.Experts oscillate between rule and no-rules for the process. Creative ideas have an element of surprise and still they can be generated in the regular course. Both these elements of surprise and regularity co-exist.

Though by its very nature creativity is unpredictable, it is still subjected to constraints which run contrary to unpredictability.Original thinking is an amalgam of fresh ideas and familiar ideas, of constraints and unpredictability.

Creativity is considered the ultimate test of excellence.It is an elusive concept, not amenable to quantification.Many feel that to be creative means to be divinely gifted. The creative spark cannot be analysed scientifically.Though there is much research on creativity, it still retains a tinge of irrationality.They call it creative intuition.