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.
Between two products equal in price, function and quality, the one with the most attractive exterior will win.
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.
Advertising is only evil when it advertises evil things.
Your story needs to move people’s spirits and build their goodwill, so that when you finally do ask them to buy from you, they feel like you’ve given them so much it would be almost rude to refuse.
The work of an advertising agency is warmly and immediately human. It deals with human needs, wants, dreams and hopes. Its 'product' cannot be turned out on an assembly line.
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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