I was discussing with one of the consultants regarding advertisement strategy of our products - hows and whats. In a consultants usual lingo there are many complexities involved in formulating the advertisement strategy. However, simply put advertisement is just another form of a 'story' around the object. And the ingredients of any good 'story' - characters with whom one can relate, mystery to trigger the imagination, anticipation, surprise element, and a satisfying climax - are precisely the requirements of any advertisement.
I think in most of the life and business situations 'stories' play one of the most important roles and the difference between two competing players is made by their story-telling skill. We are probably born with this skill, as I observe in most of the kids, but over the period of time due to lack of formal attention many tend to loose this pivotal skill.