In advertising, not to be different is virtually suicidal.
William BernbachRead
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.
Interpretation
To effectively communicate about a product, it is essential to evoke an emotional response rather than just providing information.
William Bernbach emphasizes the importance of engaging people on an emotional level when promoting a product. Simply stating the facts or saying the right things is not sufficient; the message must resonate deeply with the audience, making them feel a connection that compels them to act. Only then will the message truly inspire change and drive results.
In practice
A motivational speech at a product launch event.
In advertising, not to be different is virtually suicidal.
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.
Anyone who thinks that people can be fooled or pushed around has an inaccurate and pretty low estimate of people - and he won't do very well in advertising.
Great advertising, in and of itself, becomes a benefit of the product.
To advertisers: "Do not compete with your agency in the creative area. Why keep a dog and bark yourself?"
It takes a big idea to attract the attention of consumers and get them to buy your product. Unless your advertising contains a big idea, it will pass like a ship in the night. I doubt if more than one campaign in a hundred contains a big idea.
Marketing is not the art of finding clever ways to dispose of what you make. It is the art of creating genuine customer value.
Too many ads that try not to go over the reader's head end up beneath his notice.
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