Dramaturgy of a Campaign: Viewing the Advertising Agency Process as a Theatrical Production

The creation of advertisements is the most widely researched topic in the advertising literature. However, the extant literature on advertising agency dynamics during campaign development remains vague and imprecise. The purpose of this paper is to introduce a new framework that can be used in the practice of studying advertising agencies. Twelve face-to-face interviews were conducted with executives at an advertising agency. A qualitative discourse analysis revealed parallels that exist between the major skill areas of an advertising agency and a theatrical troupe. In particular, the roles of producer, director, designer, technical crew, house manager, actors, and audience are similar to roles in an advertising agency.