Quote

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.

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
Moments
Another
Trap
Past
Ads
Thing
Traps
Good
Isolation
Research
Design
Moment

More quotes by William Bernbach

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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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It's not just what you say that stirs people. It's the way that you say it.
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Those who are going to be in business tomorrow are those who understand that the future, as always, belongs to the brave.
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Good advertising does not just circulate information. It penetrates the public mind with desires and belief.
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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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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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Advertising doesn't create a product advantage. It can only convey it.
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Don't confuse good taste with the absence of taste.
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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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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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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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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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In communications, familiarity breeds apathy.
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Our job is to bring the dead facts to life.
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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.
William Bernbach
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Rules are what the artist breaks the memorable never emerged from a formula.
William Bernbach
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If your advertising goes unnoticed, everything else is academic!
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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.
William Bernbach
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Because an appeal makes logical sense is no guarantee that it will work.
William Bernbach
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An idea can turn to dust or magic, depending on the talent that rubs against it.
William Bernbach