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Don't confuse good taste with the absence of taste.

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
Confuse
Absence
Taste
Good

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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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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Nobody counts the number of ads you run they just remember the impression you make.
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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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In this very real world, good doesn't drive out evil. Evil doesn't drive out good. But the energetic displaces the passive.
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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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Adapt your techniques to an idea, not an idea to your techniques.
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Word of mouth is the best medium of all.
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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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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.
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I warn you against believing that advertising is a science.
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Imitation can be commercial suicide.
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Rules are what the artist breaks the memorable never emerged from a formula.
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Properly practiced creativity MUST result in greater sales more economically achieved. Properly practiced creativity can lift your claims out of the swamp of sameness and make them accepted, believed, persuasive, urgent.
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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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If your advertising goes unnoticed, everything else is academic!
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The most powerful element in advertising is the truth.
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Today's smartest advertising style is tomorrow's corn.
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A principle isn't a principle until it costs you something.
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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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