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== The economic imperative of visibility ==
== The economic imperative of visibility ==


== The economic imperative of visibility ==
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| image = henry-ford.jpg
| {{Quote
| text = Stopping advertising to save money is like stopping your watch to save time.<ref>{{cite web |title=Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim Delivers Remarks at the Antitrust Division's Public Workshop on Competition in Television and Digital Advertising |url=https://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/speech/assistant-attorney-general-makan-delrahim-delivers-remarks-antitrust-divisions-public |website=Office of Public Affairs |publisher=United States Department of Justice |date=May 2, 2019 |access-date=21 December 2025 |author=Makan Delrahim}}</ref>
| author = {{Henry Ford/attribution}}
}}
}}


{{Insert quote panel | image = steuart-henderson-britt.jpg | {{Quote | text = Doing business without advertising is like winking at a girl in the dark. You know what you are doing, but nobody else does.<ref>{{cite book |last=Britt |first=Steuart Henderson |last2=Boyd |first2=Harper W. |title=Marketing Management and Administrative Action |edition=4th |publisher=McGraw-Hill |location=New York |date=1978 |isbn=9780070079236}}</ref> | author = {{Steuart Henderson Britt/attribution}} }} }}
{{Insert quote panel | image = steuart-henderson-britt.jpg | {{Quote | text = Doing business without advertising is like winking at a girl in the dark. You know what you are doing, but nobody else does.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Stewart Henderson Britt |encyclopedia=Oxford Reference |url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/acref/9780191826719.001.0001/q-oro-ed4-00017262 |access-date=2025-12-21}}</ref> | author = {{Steuart Henderson Britt/attribution}} }} }}


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| image = bruce-barton.jpg
| image = bruce-barton.jpg
| {{Quote
| {{Quote
| text = In good times people want to advertise; in bad times they have to.<ref>{{cite web |title=2009 2nd Quarter and First Six Months Internet Advertising Revenue Report |url=https://www.iab.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/2009-Midyear-RevenueReport_IABMaster_FINAL.pdf |website=Interactive Advertising Bureau |publisher=Interactive Advertising Bureau |date=2009 |access-date=21 December 2025}}</ref>
| text = In good times people want to advertise; in bad times they have to.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Bruce Barton Letter |publisher=SOFII |date=1925 |url=https://sofii.org/case-study/the-bruce-barton-letter-the-classic-long-copy-letter-from-1925-that-pulled-a-100-per-cent-response |access-date=2025-12-21}}</ref>
| author = {{Bruce Barton/attribution}}
| author = {{Bruce Barton/attribution}}
}}
}}

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| image = jef-i-richards.jpg
| {{Quote
| text = Creative without strategy is called 'art.' Creative with strategy is called 'advertising.'<ref>{{cite news |title=My culture: APAC creatives on their wellsprings of inspiration |url=https://www.campaignasia.com/article/my-culture-apac-creatives-on-their-wellsprings-of-inspiration/452349 |work=Campaign Asia |date=18 June 2019 |access-date=21 December 2025}}</ref>
| author = {{Jef I. Richards/attribution}}
}}
}}
}}
}}
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| text = Advertising is fundamentally persuasion and persuasion happens to be not a science, but an art.<ref>{{cite news |title=The Creative Revolutionist |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1982/10/03/obituaries/william-bernbach-is-dead-at-71.html |work=The New York Times |date=October 3, 1982 |access-date=December 19, 2025}}</ref>
| author = {{William Bernbach/attribution}}
}}
}}


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| image = david-ogilvy.jpg
| image = david-ogilvy.jpg
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| {{Quote
| text = A good advertisement is one which sells the product without drawing attention to itself.<ref>{{cite book |last=Ogilvy |first=David |title=Confessions of an Advertising Man |publisher=Atheneum |date=1963}}</ref>
| text = A good advertisement is one which sells the product without drawing attention to itself.<ref>{{cite book |last=Ogilvy |first=David |title=Confessions of an Advertising Man |year=1963 |publisher=Atheneum}}</ref>
| author = {{David Ogilvy/attribution}}
| author = {{David Ogilvy/attribution}}
}}
}}
}}
}}


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| image = leo-burnett.jpg
| image = leo-burnett.jpg
| {{Quote
| {{Quote
| text = Make it simple. Make it memorable. Make it inviting to look at. Make it fun to read.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Leo Burnett Story |url=https://leoburnett.com/about |publisher=Leo Burnett Worldwide |access-date=December 19, 2025}}</ref>
| text = Make it simple. Make it memorable. Make it inviting to look at. Make it fun to read.<ref>{{cite book |title=100 LEO's: Wit and Wisdom from Leo Burnett |publisher=NTC Business Press |year=1995 |page=47}}</ref>
| author = {{Leo Burnett/attribution}}
| author = {{Leo Burnett/attribution}}
}}
}}
}}
}}


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| text = The best ideas come as jokes. Make your thinking as funny as possible.<ref>{{cite book |last=Ogilvy |first=David |title=Confessions of an Advertising Man |publisher=Atheneum |date=1963}}</ref>
| author = {{David Ogilvy/attribution}}
}}
}}


| image = leo-burnett.jpg
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| {{Quote
| text = Advertising is the ability to sense, interpret... to put the very heart throbs of a business into type, paper and ink.<ref>{{cite book |last=Kufrin |first=Joan |title=Leo Burnett: Star Reacher |year=1995 |publisher=Leo Burnett Company, Inc. |page=54}}</ref>
| text = An ad should be an appetizer, not a buffet.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Creative Mind of Lee Clow |url=https://www.fastcompany.com/1670642/the-creative-mind-of-lee-clow |website=Fast Company |access-date=2025-12-19 |date=2012-08-28 |author=Fast Company Staff}}</ref>
| author = {{Lee Clow/attribution}}
| author = {{Leo Burnett/attribution}}
}}
}}
}}
}}


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| image = leo-burnett.jpg
| {{Quote
| text = Advertising is the ability to sense, interpret... to put the very heart throbs of a business into type, paper and ink.<ref>{{cite book |last=Burnett |first=Leo |title=100 Leo's: The Advertising Philosophy of Leo Burnett |publisher=Leo Burnett Company |date=1961}}</ref>
| author = {{Leo Burnett/attribution}}
}}
}}


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| image = david-ogilvy.jpg
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| {{Quote
| text = People screen out a lot of commercials because they open with something dull...When you advertise fire-extinguishers, open with the fire.<ref>{{cite book |last=Ogilvy |first=David |title=Confessions of an Advertising Man |publisher=Atheneum |date=1963}}</ref>
| text = People screen out a lot of commercials because they open with something dull...When you advertise fire-extinguishers, open with the fire.<ref>{{cite book |last=Ogilvy |first=David |title=Ogilvy on Advertising |year=1983 |publisher=Crown Publishers}}</ref>
| author = {{David Ogilvy/attribution}}
| author = {{David Ogilvy/attribution}}
}}
}}
}}
}}


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| image = howard-gossage.jpg
| image = howard-gossage.jpg
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| {{Quote
| text = Nobody reads ads. People read what interests them. Sometimes, it's an ad.<ref>{{cite book |last=Gossage |first=Howard |title=The Book of Gossage |publisher=Copy Workshop |date=1995}}</ref>
| text = Nobody reads ads. People read what interests them. Sometimes, it's an ad.<ref>{{cite book |last=Gossage |first=Howard Luck |title=The Book of Gossage |year=1995 |publisher=Copy Workshop}}</ref>
| author = {{Howard Gossage/attribution}}
| author = {{Howard Gossage/attribution}}
}}
}}

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| {{Quote
| text = Good advertising does not just circulate information. It penetrates the public mind with desires and belief.<ref>{{cite book |last=Burnett |first=Leo |title=Communications of an Advertising Man |publisher=Privately printed |date=1961}}</ref>
| author = {{Leo Burnett/attribution}}
}}
}}
}}
}}
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| image = seth-godin.jpg
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| {{Quote
| text = Marketing is no longer about the stuff that you make, but about the stories you tell.<ref>{{cite book |last=Godin |first=Seth |title=Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us |publisher=Portfolio/Penguin |date=2008}}</ref>
| text = Marketing is no longer about the stuff that you make, but about the stories you tell.<ref>{{cite book |last=Godin |first=Seth |title=All Marketers Are Liars: The Power of Telling Authentic Stories in a Low-Trust World |year=2005 |publisher=Portfolio}}</ref>
| author = {{Seth Godin/attribution}}
| author = {{Seth Godin/attribution}}
}}
}}
}}
}}


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| image = david-ogilvy.jpg
| image = david-ogilvy.jpg
| {{Quote
| {{Quote
| text = Tell the truth, but make the truth fascinating.<ref>{{cite book |last=Ogilvy |first=David |title=Confessions of an Advertising Man |publisher=Atheneum |date=1963}}</ref>
| text = Tell the truth, but make the truth fascinating.<ref>{{cite book |last=Ogilvy |first=David |title=Confessions of an Advertising Man |year=1963 |publisher=Atheneum}}</ref>
| author = {{David Ogilvy/attribution}}
| author = {{David Ogilvy/attribution}}
}}
}}
}}
}}


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| text = Advertising must respect the intelligence of its audience and if it does not prompt them to think, it will be dismissed.<ref>{{cite book |last=Fallon |first=Ivan |title=The Brothers: The Rise and Rise of Saatchi & Saatchi |publisher=Hutchinson |date=1988}}</ref>
| author = {{Maurice Saatchi/attribution}}
}}
}}


| image = jan-koum.jpg
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| {{Quote
| text = Nobody who bought a drill actually wanted a drill. They wanted a hole.<ref>{{cite book |last=Marshall |first=Perry |title=80/20 Sales and Marketing |publisher=Entrepreneur Press |date=2013}}</ref>
| text = No one wakes up excited to see more advertising, no one goes to sleep thinking about the ads they'll see tomorrow.<ref>{{cite web |last=Koum |first=Jan |title=Why we don't sell ads |publisher=WhatsApp Blog |date=2012-06-18 |url=https://blog.whatsapp.com/why-we-dont-sell-ads |access-date=2025-12-21}}</ref>
| author = {{Perry Marshall/attribution}}
| author = {{Jan Koum/attribution}}
}}
}}
}}
}}


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| image = leo-burnett.jpg
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| text = I am one who believes that one of the greatest dangers of advertising is not that of misleading people, but that of boring them to death.<ref>{{cite book |last=Burnett |first=Leo |title=100 LEO'S: 100 Years of Leo Burnett |publisher=Leo Burnett Worldwide |date=2012}}</ref>
| author = {{Leo Burnett/attribution}}
}}
}}


| image = david-ogilvy.jpg
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| image = jan-koum.jpg
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| {{Quote
| text = If it doesn't sell, it isn't creative.<ref>{{cite book |last=Ogilvy |first=David |title=Ogilvy on Advertising |year=1983 |publisher=Crown Publishers}}</ref>
| text = No one wakes up excited to see more advertising, no one goes to sleep thinking about the ads they'll see tomorrow.<ref>{{cite web |title=Why we don't sell ads |url=https://blog.whatsapp.com/why-we-dont-sell-ads |website=WhatsApp Blog |publisher=WhatsApp Inc. |access-date=2025-12-19 |date=2012-06-18 |author=Koum, Jan}}</ref>
| author = {{Jan Koum/attribution}}
| author = {{David Ogilvy/attribution}}
}}
}}
}}
}}


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| image = david-ogilvy.jpg
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| text = If it doesn't sell, it isn't creative.<ref>{{cite book |last=Ogilvy |first=David |title=Ogilvy on Advertising |publisher=Crown Publishers |date=1983}}</ref>
| author = {{David Ogilvy/attribution}}
}}
}}


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| image = george-will.jpg
| image = george-will.jpg
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| {{Quote
| text = Advertising tries to be a pyromaniac, igniting conflagrations of desires for instant gratification.<ref>{{cite book |last=Will |first=George F. |title=The Morning After |publisher=Free Press |date=1986}}</ref>
| text = Advertising tries to be a pyromaniac, igniting conflagrations of desires for instant gratification.<ref>{{cite news |last=Will |first=George F. |title=The Madison Legacy |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=1981-12-07}}</ref>
| author = {{George Will/attribution}}
| author = {{George Will/attribution}}
}}
}}
}}
}}


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| image = david-ogilvy.jpg
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| {{Quote
| text = Much of the messy advertising you see on television today is the product of committees. Committees can criticize advertisements, but they should never be allowed to create them.<ref>{{cite book |last=Ogilvy |first=David |title=Confessions of an Advertising Man |publisher=Atheneum |date=1963}}</ref>
| text = Much of the messy advertising you see on television today is the product of committees. Committees can criticize advertisements, but they should never be allowed to create them.<ref>{{cite book |last=Ogilvy |first=David |title=Confessions of an Advertising Man |year=1963 |publisher=Atheneum}}</ref>
| author = {{David Ogilvy/attribution}}
| author = {{David Ogilvy/attribution}}
}}
}}
}}
}}


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| image = stephen-denny.jpg
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| {{Quote
| text = If dogs don't like your dog food, the packaging doesn't matter.<ref>{{cite book |last=Denny |first=Stephen |title=Killing Giants: 10 Strategies to Topple the Goliath in Your Industry |publisher=Portfolio |date=2011}}</ref>
| text = If dogs don't like your dog food, the packaging doesn't matter.<ref>{{cite book |last=Denny |first=Stephen |title=Killing Giants: 10 Strategies to Topple the Goliath in Your Industry |year=2011 |publisher=Portfolio}}</ref>
| author = {{Stephen Denny/attribution}}
| author = {{Stephen Denny/attribution}}
}}
}}
}}
}}
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| text = Every single element in an advertisement must be put there because testing has shown that it works best!<ref>{{cite book |last=Caples |first=John |title=Tested Advertising Methods |publisher=Prentice Hall |date=1997}}</ref>
| text = Every single element in an advertisement must be put there because testing has shown that it works best!<ref>{{cite book |last=Caples |first=John |title=Tested Advertising Methods |edition=5th |year=1997 |publisher=Prentice Hall |page=Chapter 2}}</ref>
| author = {{John Caples/attribution}}
| author = {{John Caples/attribution}}
}}
}}
}}
}}


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| text = It is flagrantly dishonest for an advertising agent to urge consumers to buy a product which he would not allow his own wife to buy.<ref>{{cite book |last=Ogilvy |first=David |title=Confessions of an Advertising Man |publisher=Atheneum |date=1963}}</ref>
| author = {{David Ogilvy/attribution}}
}}
}}


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| text = Dishonesty in advertising has proved very unprofitable.<ref>{{cite book |last=Burnett |first=Leo |title=100 Leo's: The Advertising Philosophy of Leo Burnett |publisher=Leo Burnett Company |date=1961}}</ref>
| text = Dishonesty in advertising has proved very unprofitable.<ref>{{cite web |title=Q&A with Leo Burnett Strategy Head Joy Santos |publisher=Josiah Go |url=https://josiahgo.com/qa-with-leo-burnett-strategy-head-joy-santos/ |access-date=2025-12-21}}</ref>
| author = {{Leo Burnett/attribution}}
| author = {{Leo Burnett/attribution}}
}}
}}
}}
}}


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| text = Advertising brings in the customers, but it is your job to keep them buying from you.<ref>{{cite book |last=Holmes |first=Chet |title=The Ultimate Sales Machine |publisher=Portfolio |date=2007}}</ref>
| author = {{Chet Holmes/attribution}}
}}
}}


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| text = Never write an advertisement which you wouldn't want your own family to read. You wouldn't tell lies to your own wife. Don't tell them to mine.<ref>{{cite book |last=Ogilvy |first=David |title=Confessions of an Advertising Man |publisher=Atheneum |date=1963}}</ref>
| text = Never write an advertisement which you wouldn't want your own family to read. You wouldn't tell lies to your own wife. Don't tell them to mine.<ref>{{cite book |last=Ogilvy |first=David |title=Confessions of an Advertising Man |year=1963 |publisher=Atheneum}}</ref>
| author = {{David Ogilvy/attribution}}
| author = {{David Ogilvy/attribution}}
}}
}}
}}
}}


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| text = There is a great deal of advertising that is much better than the product. When that happens, all that the good advertising will do is put you out of business faster.<ref>{{cite book |last=Della Femina |first=Jerry |title=From Those Wonderful Folks Who Gave You Pearl Harbor |publisher=Simon & Schuster |date=1970}}</ref>
| text = There is a great deal of advertising that is much better than the product. When that happens, all that the good advertising will do is put you out of business faster.<ref>{{cite book |last=Della Femina |first=Jerry |title=From Those Wonderful Folks Who Gave You Pearl Harbor: Front-Line Dispatches from the Advertising War |year=1970 |publisher=Simon & Schuster}}</ref>
| author = {{Jerry Della Femina/attribution}}
| author = {{Jerry Della Femina/attribution}}
}}
}}
}}
}}


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| text = I've never found a client's business problem that could be solved solely through advertising.<ref>{{cite web |title=Art & Copy (2009) Documentary Quotes |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1341071/ |website=IMDb |access-date=2025-12-19 |date=2009 |author=Pray, Doug}}</ref>
| author = {{Lee Clow/attribution}}
}}
}}


| image = philip-kotler.jpg
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| text = In advertising, not to be different is virtually suicidal.<ref>{{cite book |last=Bernbach |first=Bill |title=Bill Bernbach Said... |publisher=DDB Needham Worldwide |date=1987}}</ref>
| text = The best advertising is done by satisfied customers.<ref>{{cite book |last=Kotler |first=Philip |title=Marketing Management |edition=15th |year=2016 |publisher=Pearson}}</ref>
| author = {{William Bernbach/attribution}}
| author = {{Philip Kotler/attribution}}
}}
}}
}}
}}


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| text = The best advertising is done by satisfied customers.<ref>{{cite book |last=Kotler |first=Philip |title=Marketing Management: Millennium Edition |publisher=Prentice Hall |date=1999}}</ref>
| author = {{Philip Kotler/attribution}}
}}
}}


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| text = Content is king, but engagement is queen, and the lady rules the house!<ref>{{cite book |last=Smith |first=Mari |title=The New Relationship Marketing |publisher=Wiley |date=2011}}</ref>
| text = Content is king, but engagement is queen, and the lady rules the house!<ref>{{cite web |last=Smith |first=Mari |title=We Long to Belong – Why Community is the Last Great Marketing Strategy |publisher=BG5 Business |url=https://bg5business.com/we-long-to-belong-why-community-is-the-last-great-marketing-strategy/ |access-date=2025-12-21}}</ref>
| author = {{Mari Smith/attribution}}
| author = {{Mari Smith/attribution}}
}}
}}
}}
}}


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| text = A brand is no longer what we tell the consumer it is — it is what consumers tell each other it is.<ref>{{cite news |title=Marketing in the Age of Social Media |url=https://hbr.org/2011/12/marketing-is-dead |work=Harvard Business Review |date=December 2011 |access-date=December 19, 2025 |author=Scott Cook}}</ref>
| text = A brand is no longer what we tell the consumer it is — it is what consumers tell each other it is.<ref>{{cite web |title=Building A Brand Campaign For Success: What Marketing Pros Should Know |publisher=Forbes Communications Council |date=2023-10-13 |url=https://www.forbes.com/councils/forbescommunicationscouncil/2023/10/13/building-a-brand-campaign-for-success-what-marketing-pros-should-know/ |access-date=2025-12-21}}</ref>
| author = {{Scott Cook/attribution}}
| author = {{Scott Cook/attribution}}
}}
}}

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| text = The secret to marketing success is no secret at all: Word of mouth is all that matters.<ref>{{cite web |title=Word of mouth is all that matters |url=https://seths.blog/2003/01/word_of_mouth_i/ |website=Seth's Blog |publisher=Seth Godin |access-date=December 19, 2025 |date=January 29, 2003 |author=Seth Godin}}</ref>
| author = {{Seth Godin/attribution}}
}}
}}

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| text = There is no advertisement as powerful as a positive reputation traveling fast.<ref>{{cite book |last=Koslow |first=Brian |title=365 Ways to Market Your Business |publisher=Dutton |date=1998}}</ref>
| author = {{Brian Koslow/attribution}}
}}
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Revision as of 21:17, 21 December 2025

Advertising is the definitive engine of commercial visibility, functioning as the vital communication link between enterprise and consumer. More than mere promotion, effective advertising requires a sophisticated balance of creative rigor and strategic intent to penetrate the public consciousness. This resource organizes the fundamental philosophies of advertising into a coherent framework, tracing its trajectory from a basic economic necessity to a high-art form of persuasion and reputation management.

~*~

The economic imperative of visibility

The economic imperative of visibility

Doing business without advertising is like winking at a girl in the dark. You know what you are doing, but nobody else does.[1]

— Steuart Henderson Britt, Professor of Marketing

In good times people want to advertise; in bad times they have to.[2]

— Bruce Barton, Co-founder of BBDO


~*~

The strategic art of persuasion

A good advertisement is one which sells the product without drawing attention to itself.[3]

— David Ogilvy, Founder of Ogilvy & Mather

Make it simple. Make it memorable. Make it inviting to look at. Make it fun to read.[4]

— Leo Burnett, Founder of Leo Burnett Worldwide

Advertising is the ability to sense, interpret... to put the very heart throbs of a business into type, paper and ink.[5]

— Leo Burnett, Founder of Leo Burnett Worldwide

People screen out a lot of commercials because they open with something dull...When you advertise fire-extinguishers, open with the fire.[6]

— David Ogilvy, Founder of Ogilvy & Mather

Nobody reads ads. People read what interests them. Sometimes, it's an ad.[7]

— Howard Gossage, Advertising Executive

~*~

The psychology of audience engagement

Marketing is no longer about the stuff that you make, but about the stories you tell.[8]

— Seth Godin, Author and Marketing Executive

Tell the truth, but make the truth fascinating.[9]

— David Ogilvy, Founder of Ogilvy & Mather

No one wakes up excited to see more advertising, no one goes to sleep thinking about the ads they'll see tomorrow.[10]

— Jan Koum, Co-founder of WhatsApp

If it doesn't sell, it isn't creative.[11]

— David Ogilvy, Founder of Ogilvy & Mather

Advertising tries to be a pyromaniac, igniting conflagrations of desires for instant gratification.[12]

— George Will, The Washington Post

Much of the messy advertising you see on television today is the product of committees. Committees can criticize advertisements, but they should never be allowed to create them.[13]

— David Ogilvy, Founder of Ogilvy & Mather

If dogs don't like your dog food, the packaging doesn't matter.[14]

— Stephen Denny, Business Strategist

~*~

Ethics, testing, and professional rigor

Every single element in an advertisement must be put there because testing has shown that it works best![15]

— John Caples, Vice President of BBDO

Dishonesty in advertising has proved very unprofitable.[16]

— Leo Burnett, Founder of Leo Burnett Worldwide

Never write an advertisement which you wouldn't want your own family to read. You wouldn't tell lies to your own wife. Don't tell them to mine.[17]

— David Ogilvy, Founder of Ogilvy & Mather

There is a great deal of advertising that is much better than the product. When that happens, all that the good advertising will do is put you out of business faster.[18]

— Jerry Della Femina, Chairman of Della Femina Travisano & Partners

The best advertising is done by satisfied customers.[19]

— Philip Kotler, Professor of International Marketing

Content is king, but engagement is queen, and the lady rules the house![20]

— Mari Smith, Social Media Strategist

A brand is no longer what we tell the consumer it is — it is what consumers tell each other it is.[21]

— Scott Cook, Co-founder of Intuit

~*~

References

  1. Template:Cite encyclopedia
  2. "The Bruce Barton Letter". SOFII. 1925. Retrieved 2025-12-21.
  3. Ogilvy, David (1963). Confessions of an Advertising Man. Atheneum.
  4. 100 LEO's: Wit and Wisdom from Leo Burnett. NTC Business Press. 1995. p. 47.
  5. Kufrin, Joan (1995). Leo Burnett: Star Reacher. Leo Burnett Company, Inc. p. 54.
  6. Ogilvy, David (1983). Ogilvy on Advertising. Crown Publishers.
  7. Gossage, Howard Luck (1995). The Book of Gossage. Copy Workshop.
  8. Godin, Seth (2005). All Marketers Are Liars: The Power of Telling Authentic Stories in a Low-Trust World. Portfolio.
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