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The most powerful element in advertising is the truth.

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
Elements
Powerful
Truth
Element
Marketing
Advertising

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If your advertising goes unnoticed, everything else is academic!
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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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Is creativity some obscure, esoteric art form? Not on your life. It's the most practical thing a business-man can employ.
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Advertising doesn't create a product advantage. It can only convey it.
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Rules are what the artist breaks the memorable never emerged from a formula.
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Adapt your techniques to an idea, not an idea to your techniques.
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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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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 truth isn't the truth until people believe you, and they can't believe you if they don't know what you're saying, and they can't know what you're saying if they don't listen to you, and they won't listen to you if you're not interesting, and you won't be interesting unless you say things imaginatively, originally, freshly.
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A great ad campaign will make a bad product fail faster. It will get more people to know it's bad.
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Logic and over-analysis can immobilise and sterilize an idea. It's like love. The more you analyse it, the more it disappears.
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The difference between the forgettable and the enduring is artistry.
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Let us prove to the world that good taste, good art, and good writing can be good selling.
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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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Advertising is the art of persuasion.
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No matter how skillful you are, you can't invent a product advantage that doesn't exist. And if you do, and it's just a gimmick, it's going to fall apart anyway.
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Advertising is fundamentally persuasion and persuasion happens to be not a science, but an art.
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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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It may well be that creativity is the last unfair advantage we're legally allowed to take over our competitors.
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The heart of creativity is discipline.
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