People don't know aspirin from acetaminophen, but they do know brand names. The world in which people understand pain relievers is simple. Then there was Tylenol. Now there's Advil. Eighmey's interest in the creative force behind advertising has led to the recent development of an interactive computer software program that simulates brainstorming and prompts the creative process.
Simplicity is the software's other overriding feature.
Through a series of questions, the Ampersoft users focus on their project by identifying the assignment, audience, assets and liabilities of the product. Additional questions, based on free association, help stimulate creative thinking. The exercise prompts the participant to consider new possibilities and unlikely combinations, Eighmey explained. The public relations manager of a leading hotel chain said the software has had a multiplier effect on creative efforts in his office. Eighmey shares that enthusiasm for the creative process itself, and for teaching it to others.