Abstract

The intensity of modern business has increased pressure for innovation, which places greater emphasis on creativity. This article explores one of the central sites of creativity in the American corporate world, the advertising agency. We examine how creativity in agencies is managed, controlled, and channeled to produce advertisements. We contend that the brand advertised and the agency’s creative collaborations have properties of ritual symbols and that rituals mediate tension inherent in two forces, stability and change, which define the brand and the advertising collaboration. The article offers an analytical perspective on creativity and a new perspective on rituals and ritual symbols.

View research

Citation

de Waal Malefyt, Timothy, and Robert Morais. "Creativity, Brands, and the Ritual Process: Confrontation and Resolution in Advertising Agencies." Culture and Organization 16, no. 4 (2010): 333-347.

Each author name for a Columbia Business School faculty member is linked to a faculty research page, which lists additional publications by that faculty member.

Each topic is linked to an index of publications on that topic.