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It is insight into human nature that is the key to the communicator's skill. For whereas the writer is concerned with what he puts into his writings, the communicator is concerned with what the reader gets out of it. He therefore becomes a student of how people read or listen.

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
Human
Reader
Skill
Humans
Students
Student
Writing
Listen
Puts
People
Gets
Insight
Writer
Keys
Communicator
Becomes
Skills
Communicators
Read
Therefore
Writings
Nature
Concerned
Whereas

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The difference between the forgettable and the enduring is artistry.
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Imitation can be commercial suicide.
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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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Forget words like 'hard sell' and 'soft sell.' That will only confuse you. Just be sure your advertising is saying something with substance, something that will inform and serve the consumer, and be sure you're saying it like it's never been said before.
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A principle isn't a principle until it costs you something.
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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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The most powerful element in advertising is the truth.
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I warn you against believing that advertising is a science.
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Today's smartest advertising style is tomorrow's corn.
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Research can trap you into the past.
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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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Nothing is so powerful as an insight into human nature... what compulsions drive a man, what instincts dominate his action. If you know these things abut a person, you can touch him at the core of his being.
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It's not just what you say that stirs people. It's the way that you say it.
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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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Properly practiced creativity can make one ad do the work of ten.
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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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For the Flower to blossom, you need the right soil as well as the right seed. The same is true to cultivate good thinking.
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Advertising is the art of persuasion.
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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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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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