An Authoritative and entertaining volume begins with Murrow's quote, "The obscure takes time to see, the obvious takes longer." Regrettably, the obvious lessons that took time to learn in the advertising business are rarely being taught. Most big agencies today are too pressed for profit to do much studying or training. Shortcuts to the Obvious fills the gap by teaching what counts at each step of the way, including: Successful Brands--What they are, and how to know you've got one Positioning--First step, guiding light, ruthless taskmaster Creative Strategy--Seven questions, and how to answer them well The Creative Exploratory--What to look for, What risks to take How to pre-test advertising without getting burned How to get a great test score, and still get a great ad Producing a TV commercial--The five key issues When to change ads, When to change campaigns The elusive threshold media level--How to find it Ten obvious things to know about media planning and buying Internet Advertising--Lessons Learned, Hazards to Avoid