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Advertising is fundamentally persuasion and persuasion happens to be not a science, but an art.

William Bernbach

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William Bernbach
Age: 71 †
Born: 1911
Born: August 13
Died: 1982
Died: October 2
Art Director
Economist
Entrepreneur
The Bronx
New York City
Persuasion
Fundamentally
Advertising
Business
Science
Art
Happens

More quotes by William Bernbach

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There is no such thing as a good or bad ad in isolation. What is good at one moment is bad at another. Research can trap you into the past.
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Adapt your techniques to an idea, not an idea to your techniques.
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The real giants have always been poets, men who jumped from facts into the realm of imagination and ideas.
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Find the simple story in the product, and present it in an articulate and intelligent, persuasive way.
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Creativity is the most practical thing a businessman can employ.
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Our job is to sell our clients' merchandise... not ourselves. Our job is to kill the cleverness that makes us shine instead of the product. Our job is to simplify, to tear away the unrelated, to pluck out the weeds that are smothering the product message.
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You have to live with your product, you have to know it through and through, you have to look at it, understand it, love it then, and only then, you can crystallize in one clear thought, one single theme, what must be conveyed about the product to the consumer.
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You can say the right thing about a product and nobody will listen. You’ve got to say it in such a way that people will feel it in their gut. Because if they don’t feel it, nothing will happen.
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The difference between the forgettable and the enduring is artistry.
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We are so busy measuring public opinion that we forget we can mold it. We are so busy listening to statistics we forget we can create them.
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Advertising doesn't create a product advantage. It can only convey it.
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You cannot sell a man who isn't listening word of mouth is the best medium of all and dullness won't sell your product, but neither will irrelevant brilliance.
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In communications, familiarity breeds apathy.
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Today's smartest advertising style is tomorrow's corn.
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I warn you against believing that advertising is a science.
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The creative man with an insight into human nature, with the artistry to touch and move people, will succeed. Without them he will fail.
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The heart of creativity is discipline.
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Never do anything yourself that you can hire someone else to do, especially if they can do it better.
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Rules are what the artist breaks the memorable never emerged from a formula.
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An idea can turn to dust or magic, depending on the talent that rubs against it.
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