Meaning & use
creatives
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“creatives” is a form of “creative”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
nounpluralbusiness
People whose jobs involve producing original ideas and designs, such as writers, designers and artists in advertising or media.
Grammar: Plural noun: the creatives are pitching on Friday.
Patterns
- creatives at somewhere
The agency hired two new creatives to work on the campaign.
Many creatives prefer to work from a studio rather than an office.
Freelance creatives often struggle with irregular pay.
nounpluralbusinesstechnical
The finished advertising materials, such as images, videos and text, prepared for a campaign.
Grammar: Used in digital marketing for the ads themselves: test several creatives.
Patterns
- creatives for something
We tested three creatives before picking the final banner.
The client rejected the creatives for being too busy.
Updated creatives must be uploaded before the campaign begins.
Common combinations
- agency creatives
- Agency creatives gathered to brainstorm slogans.
- freelance creatives
- Freelance creatives share a studio downtown.
- test creatives
- We test creatives to see which attract more clicks.
- ad creatives
- The ad creatives must follow the brand colors.
- approve the creatives
- The manager must approve the creatives before launch.
Synonyms and how they differ
- designers
- Designers focus on visual or product design, whereas creatives can include writers and idea people too.
- artists
- Artists suggests personal expression, while creatives implies work done for clients or brands.
- ads
- Ads is the everyday word for the finished pieces, but creatives sounds like trade language for the production assets.
Word family
- creative adjective
- involving imagination and original ideas
- create verb
- to make something new
- creativity noun
- the ability to produce original ideas
- creator noun
- a person who makes something
Commonly confused: creatives or creative?
creatives vs creative
Creative is the adjective, and as a noun creatives is plural for people or ads; the singular creative also exists but is less common.
Practice
In advertising, the ___ at the agency wrote the slogans and designed the posters.
Choose one answer.
Creatives are the people who produce ideas and designs. Clients pay for the work, and the other options do not fit this job.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “creatives”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.