In professional work - certainly in the arts and graphics - 99% of people have zero courage. They blow with the wind.
George LoisRead
You can't test great advertising. You can only test the mediocre. Not that I don't care about demographics. You have to understand who you're going after.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Great advertising cannot be measured by tests, only mediocrity can be assessed this way.
In this quote, George Lois emphasizes the idea that exceptional advertising transcends traditional measurement and testing metrics, which often only reveal the effectiveness of average efforts. He highlights the importance of truly understanding the target audience, as this comprehension is crucial for crafting impactful advertising that resonates deeply, rather than simply relying on demographic data or tests that may fail to capture the essence of creativity and effectiveness in advertising.
Themes
AdvertisingMediocreDemographicsGreatnessUnderstanding
In practice
Example use cases
In a marketing meeting to illustrate the importance of creativity over metrics.
More from George Lois
All quotes βTruly great images make all the other millions of images you look at unimportant. You gotta look at an image and understand it in a nanosecond.
George LoisRead
In any creative industry, the fact that others are moving in a certain direction is always proof positive, at least to me, that a new direction is the only direction.
George LoisRead
I've done truth to power all my life. It's got me into trouble, but who cares?
George LoisRead
I don't design. I get what I think is a big idea, and I put the idea down. I'm not a designer. I'm a communicator.
George LoisRead
Great advertising, in and of itself, becomes a benefit of the product.
George LoisRead
Similar quotes
The mistake so many marketers make is that they conjoin the urgency of making another sale with the timing to earn the right to make that sale. In other words, you must build trust before you need it. Building trust right when you want to make a sale is just too late.
Seth GodinRead
The advertisers who believe in the selling power of jingles have never had to sell anything.
David OgilvyRead
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.
Richard EdelmanRead
What you say in advertising is more important than how you say it.
David OgilvyRead
Most ads are ignored because every customer has a mental filter that evaluates and dismisses both of these languages of Ad-Speak with a single question: What are they not telling me?
Roy H. WilliamsRead
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.
David OgilvyRead