Don't confuse good taste with the absence of taste.
William BernbachRead
In advertising, not to be different is virtually suicidal.
Interpretation
Being unique in advertising is essential; without it, success is unlikely.
This quote emphasizes the critical need for differentiation in advertising. William Bernbach suggests that in a crowded marketplace, failing to stand out from the competition can lead to failure, making originality and creativity invaluable for achieving success in advertising campaigns.
In practice
During a marketing seminar to illustrate the importance of creativity in campaigns.
Don't confuse good taste with the absence of taste.
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.
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.
In this very real world, good doesn't drive out evil. Evil doesn't drive out good. But the energetic displaces the passive.
Let us prove to the world that good taste, good art, and good writing can be good selling.
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.
A product for everyone rarely reaches much of anyone.
Advertising has always been the 'head boy' of the communications industry, but not anymore. Now the rest - creative, digital, and media - is just as important.
I do not regard advertising as entertainment or an art form, but as a medium of information.
Styling cars sells cars and safety does not.
Brand is not what you say it is. It’s what they say it is.
It has been found that the less an advertisement looks like an advertisement and the more it looks like an editorial, the more readers stop, look, and read.
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