Who are these people? Surprisingly, some of them are writers and artists - usually the most solitary and reclusive of creatures. But in the world of advertising, the creatives are the charismatic characters of their profession.

"We love presenting the work. Our job is fun from beginning to end," enthuses Tom Murphy, art director at DDB Needham in Chicago, and one half of the creative team that works on accounts such as Pep Boys, Tyson Chicken and several General Mills brands.

"It's a fantastic way to make a living," agrees copywriter Sean Bryan, the other half of the creative team. "In the world of business, this is the fun part." Great advertising, as Murphy and Bryan acknowledge, is built on a foundation of strategy.

"One of the mantras Keith Reinhard has always used for this agency is 'Good advertising has three elements: simplicity, surprise and a smile.' The surprise element usually comes out of the strategy," observes Murphy.

Having been partners for more than four years, Murphy and Bryan have perfected their creative choreography. The process for developing their concepts has a certain archetypal flow. "The account team has to come up with a single-minded, manageable strategy that can lead to some interesting executional ideas," maintains Murphy. "Then, we get three or four weeks to work on it. Sixty to seventy percent of that time is spent coming up with ideas."

The concepts must fit into a budget as well. "We narrow things down to a few ideas that we think are smart, entertaining and realistic," chuckles Bryan.

At this point, they go into a tag team routine. "I write up a script and pass it over to Tom and he'll say, 'This sucks,' or 'The ending's not funny,'" recounts Bryan.

Murphy doodles some storyboards to illustrate the action, then the two assemble their best ideas. "It's hard to critique yourself," he admits.

The work then goes to group creative director Richard Di Lallo, who refines it further. "We then turn it into full storyboards - explainable, tangible ideas - and show it to the account folks to get their input," says Bryan. "Once any revisions are complete, we go into production full tilt."

"It's nice to work with people who take their products and their business very seriously, and look to advertising as a chance to have fun and convey a little of their personality," says Murphy.