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Advertising doesn't create a product advantage. It can only convey it.

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
Advertising
Product
Advantage
Products
Create
Business
Doesn
Convey

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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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Nobody counts the number of ads you run they just remember the impression you make.
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The most powerful element in advertising is the truth.
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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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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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Good advertising does not just circulate information. It penetrates the public mind with desires and belief.
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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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Advertising is the art of persuasion.
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Just because your ad looks good is no insurance that it will get looked at. How many people do you know who are impeccably groomed... but dull?
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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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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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Find the simple story in the product, and present it in an articulate and intelligent, persuasive way.
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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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Word of mouth is the best medium of all.
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The heart of creativity is discipline.
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If you stand for something, you will always find some people for you and some people against you. If you stand for nothing, you will find nobody against you, and nobody for you.
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An idea can turn to dust or magic, depending on the talent that rubs against it.
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A principle isn't a principle until it costs you something.
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The difference between the forgettable and the enduring is artistry.
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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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