Category Archives: Creativity

Advertising Hall of Fame Quotes – Part 5

Happy Mardi Gras!!

Here’s the fifth in a five-part series (more to come later) of various worth-remembering quotes which I believe you’ll find interesting and hopefully inspiring. Excerpted from the newsletter “Smart Brief” from the American Advertising Federation, these quotes are usually from a member of the Advertising Hall of Fame.

Quote

41. I don’t like closed doors. Creativity flourishes best in an environment of open doors and open minds.

— Keith Reinhard

42. There is no such thing as ‘soft sell’ and ‘hard sell.’ There is only ‘smart sell’ and ‘stupid sell.’ 

— Charles H. Brower

43. In the modern world of business, it is useless to be a creative original thinker unless you can also sell what you create. Management cannot be expected to recognize a good idea unless it is presented to them by a good salesman.

— David Ogilvy

44. Grant graciously what you dare not refuse.

— George Gallup

45. Advertising makes people discontented. It makes them want things they don’t have. Without discontent, there is no progress, no achievement.

— Morris Hite

46. The artist defines creativity. The audience defines effectiveness. To be creative, study art. To be effective, study the audience. To be both, study how the audience responds to art.

— Keith Reinhard

47. I avoid clients for whom advertising is only a marginal factor in their marketing mix. They have an awkward tendency to raid their advertising appropriations whenever they need cash for other purposes.

— David Ogilvy

48. Creativity often consists of merely turning up what is already there.

— Bernice Fitz-Gibbon

49. We don’t grow unless we take risks. Any successful company is riddled with failures.

— James E. Burke

50. There’s nothing wrong with being fired.

— Ted Turner

So, which one or ones is/are your favorite(s)?

Do you have a favorite or favorites in the series?

Lemme know.

Advertising Hall of Fame Quotes – Part 4

Here’s the fourth in a (for now) five-part series of various worth-remembering quotes which I believe you’ll find interesting and hopefully inspiring. Excerpted from the newsletter “Smart Brief” from the American Advertising Federation, these quotes are usually from a member of the Advertising Hall of Fame.

Quote

31. Consumers are statistics. Customers are people.

— Stanley Marcus

32. It takes a real storm in the average person’s life to make him realize how much worrying he has done over the squalls.

— Bruce Barton

33. Big ideas are so hard to recognize, so fragile, so easy to kill. Don’t forget that, all of you who don’t have them.

— John Elliott Jr.

34. I have learned that any fool can write a bad ad, but that it takes a real genius to keep his hands off a good one.

— Leo Burnett

35. Good advertising is written from one person to another. When it is aimed at millions, it rarely moves anyone.

— Fairfax M. Cone

36. The creative process is often a matter of changing ‘What is’ to ‘What if?’ We first observe the status quo and then imagine a status novus.

— Keith Reinhard

37. No company that markets products or services to the consumer can remain a leader in its field without a deep-seated commitment to advertising.

— Edwin Artzt

38. Remove advertising, disable a person or firm from proclaiming its wares and their merits, and the whole of society and of the economy is transformed. The enemies of advertising are the enemies of freedom.

— David Ogilvy

39. We pay just as dearly for our triumphs as we do for our defeats. Go ahead and fail. But fail with wit, fail with grace, fail with style. A mediocre failure is as insufferable as a mediocre success.

— Bruce Barton

40. Know what the client wants, know what the client needs, and know how to cause the client to want what the client needs.

— Keith Reinhard

 So, which one or ones is/are your favorite(s)? Lemme know.

Advertising Hall of Fame Quotes – Part 3

Here’s the third in a multi-part series of various worth-remembering quotes which I believe you’ll find interesting and hopefully inspiring. Excerpted from the newsletter “Smart Brief” from the American Advertising Federation, these quotes are usually from a member of the Advertising Hall of Fame.

Quote

21. And I have always believed that advertising has a powerful impact on our society. It not only influences public taste and conduct; it also helps shape society’s values.

— Liener Temerlin

22. Creativity is no longer about grabbing attention or raising consumer awareness. Its goal is to remind consumers about what is fundamental and gratifying about a brand.

— Peter A. Georgescu

23. Nothing splendid has ever been achieved except by those who dared believe that something inside of them was superior to circumstance.

— Bruce Barton

24. There is no such thing as a mass mind. The mass audience is made up of individuals, and good advertising is written always from one person to another. When it is aimed at millions, it rarely moves anyone.

— Fairfax Cone

25. Advertising is a non-moral force, like electricity, which not only illuminates but electrocutes. Its worth to civilization depends upon how it is used.

— J. Walter Thompson

26. Creativity is so delicate a flower that praise tends to make it bloom while discouragement often nips it at the bud.

— Alex Osborn

27. An idea can turn to dust or magic, depending on the talent that rubs against it.

— William Bernbach

28. Rules are for people who don’t know what to do.

— Keith Reinhard

29. There is not some absolutely revolutionary model that somehow produces the best work. The core principle is still a battle between what’s relevant and what’s not.

— David Droga

30. When we are too timid to risk failure, we reduce the opportunities to succeed. And we eliminate the chance to learn.

— Keith Reinhard

So, which one or ones is/are your favorite(s)? Lemme know.

Advertising Hall of Fame Quotes – Part 2

Here’s another in a multi-part series of various worth-remembering quotes which I believe you’ll find interesting and hopefully inspiring. Excerpted from the newsletter “Smart Brief” from the American Advertising Federation, these quotes are usually from a member of the Advertising Hall of Fame.

Get ready to chuckle, and, I hope, remember.

q-curly-double

11. Know what the client wants, know what the client needs, and know how to cause the client to want what the client needs.

— Keith Reinhard

12. The good ideas are all hammered out in agony by individuals, not spewed out by groups.

— Charles Brower

13. The three ingredients of effective advertising are relevance, originality and impact, the initials of which spell out what clients most desire: ROI.

— Keith Reinhard

14. 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.

— Leo Burnett

15. Creativity varies inversely with the number of cooks involved in the broth.

— Bernice Fitz-Gibbon

16. When you are through changing, you are through.

— Bruce Barton

17. There are two kinds of men who don’t amount to much: those who can’t do what they are told and those who can do nothing else.

— Cyrus H. K. Curtis

18. You must make the product interesting, not just make the ad different. And that’s what too many of the copywriters in the U.S. today don’t yet understand.

— Rosser Reeves

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

— Leo Burnett

20. An important idea not communicated persuasively is like having no idea at all.

— William Bernbach

So, which one or ones is/are your favorite(s)? Lemme know.

Advertising Hall of Fame Quotes – Part 1

Once in awhile we see or hear someone say something that we like and want to remember, so we make note of it somehow, somewhere. That’s what I’ve done with various quotes on the advertising and marketing industry by different icons from the industry.

Every time I read the newsletter “Smart Brief” from the American Advertising Federation, I notice the quote at the bottom, usually from a member of the Advertising Hall of Fame. Sometimes I chuckle, yet in most cases I want to remember them.

So here’s the first in a multi-part series of various worth-remembering quotes which I believe you’ll find interesting and hopefully inspiring.

* * * * *

1. When executing advertising, it’s best to think of yourself as an uninvited guest in the living room of a prospect who has the magical power to make you disappear instantly.

— John O’Toole

2. A good advertisement is one which sells the product without drawing attention to itself.

— David Ogilvy

3. Creative imagination — the lamp that lit the world — can light our lives.

— Alex F. Osborn

4. I have always believed that writing advertisements is the second most profitable form of writing. The first, of course, is ransom notes.

— Philip Dusenberry

5. If you have anything really valuable to contribute to the world, it will come through the expression of your own personality, that single spark of divinity that sets you off and makes you different from every other living creature.

— Bruce Barton

6. We pay just as dearly for our triumphs as we do for our defeats. Go ahead and fail. But fail with wit, fail with grace, fail with style. A mediocre failure is as insufferable as a mediocre success.

— Bruce Barton

7. The soft stuff is always harder than the hard stuff.

— Roger A. Enrico

8. Let us blaze new trails. Let us prove to the world that good taste, good art and good writing can be good selling.

— William Bernbach

9. Creative people thrive in environments that stimulate and reward original thinking — where freedom is valued and controls are kept to a minimum.

— Keith Reinhard

10. The advertisers who believe in the selling power of jingles have never had to sell anything.

— David Ogilvy

 

So, which one or ones is/are your favorite(s)? Lemme know.

A TED Talk: Does Education Kill Creativity?

During a recent presentation I gave on creativity to the American Advertising Federation Rio Grande Valley, the question of education came up with respect to how it deals with creativity in a child’s life. The opinions were mixed. I referenced a TED talk from some years ago by Sir Ken Robinson in which he talks about this. I’ve posted it here for my brethren in the Valley and others who may not ever have seen this.

It is by far one of the most gripping and entertaining talks I have ever heard. Though he has several more on the TED YouTube channel, take a listen. It’ll make you think. But, do more than that. Act. Speak up. Don’t let our children be short-changed.

After all, we have plenty of crayons!

GE’s attempt to “creaturefy” scary ideas – not bad!

Ideas can scare the hell out of people. They can denote change if they’re adopted.

Too many times we’re not even given the time to explore generating new ideas. Yet, we seem to be constantly trying to evolve and innovate. Hmmmm, last time I checked, one needed ideas to do that. At least one.

This is the third in a series of four related blog posts I referenced in my recent presentation to the AAF Rio Grande Valley. It pertains to ideas and how people react to them. It’s not always receptive especially since ideas are not always welcome.

Hats of to GE for this innovative commercial about ideas and their surprising effects on people. It’s actually been airing since 2014 but I just noticed it a few months ago, and again recently. Good for them to continue the campaign.

The first time I saw it, I really wasn’t sure what I was watching. The more I watched, the more intrigued I got. It still “gets” me in an unnerving kind of way. Several times I just wanted to go “yuck” to myself, but then felt guilty about wanting to do so.

For those who haven’t seen it or who might have missed it, here’s what a scary idea could look like. Next time you come across one, you might give it a bit more respect than one normally would.

 

Creativity as a Problem Solver

During my recent presentation on creativity and creative thinking to the AAF Rio Grande Valley, I referenced using creativity to help solve problems. No matter how cutesy an ad looks or what kind of special effects one uses, if a problem does not get closer to being solved, the process is not doing any good.

The following video is one I suggested that interestingly addresses how creativity helps solve problems. It’s an excerpt from this year’s Aspen Ideas Festival, where a group of people who work in media, design, and the arts were asked about how the creative process can lend itself to unlocking solutions.

 

Kick Starting Creativity in the Rio Grande

I recently had the honor and pleasure to present “Kick Starting Creativity Without Screwing Up the Idea” to the American Advertising Federation Rio Grande Valley. As with my other presentations in this series, I did some fine-tuning with this version.

I was last in the Valley before this same group back in 2008. The landscape and development may have changed (more of it) but the people have not – still friendly, wonderful, courteous . . . and, of course, creative!

Those of you who were in the audience can, hopefully, enjoy it again and get some useful tips. Those of you who did not experience it that day, may learn a few things. Naturally, what follows is just the visual and not, unfortunately, the experience itself.

Kick-Starting Creativity Without Screwing Up the Idea

Keynote version (no audio)

PDF version (no audio)

 

Why Would Burger King Sell Red Burgers in Japan?

Sell red what? That’s what I thought when I first saw the headline, “The Inside Story on Why Burger King Sells Red Burgers in Japan.”

I didn’t think someone would make this up, especially since Advertising Age was reporting the story. Well, I became intrigued and felt like this may make for an interesting blog post on a site like this, exploring all forms of creativity and innovation.

Even in a land of relentlessly wacky fast food innovations, Burger King Japan has nabbed a lot of attention with its all-black burgers.

BK's Black Burger

Burger King Japan’s black burger.

Yeah, you heard right. The sight of pitch-black buns and cheese, evidently, really gets to people.

Pass the Pepto, please!

But wait, that’s nothing.

Burger King Japan recently launched an all-red burger, with red-colored cheese, buns and, obviously, hot sauce. A Google search turned up more than 150 headlines in English alone on the new creation.

What Better Way to Get Brand Attention on a Tight Budget?

The Aka Samurai from Burger King Japan. Also comes with chicken.

BK's Red Burger

As some of you may be gasping about now at the sight of the Red Burger (personally, I prefer the sight of the Red version over the Black), the question arising in my mind was “why?”

Obviously, the folks at Ad Age were curious, too. So, Burger King Japan’s general manager for business management, Masanori Tatsuiwa, who worked previously at agencies including Ogilvy & Mather Japan, answered a few questions about the red Aka Samurai Burger (buns and cheese tinted with tomato powder), the black Kuro Burger (which used bamboo charcoal and squid ink), as well as the brand’s “flame-grilled” personal fragrance.

Here are excerpts from that interview . . .

Ad Age: Where do these ideas come from, and what’s your process?

Mr. Tatsuiwa: We sit down with marketing and R&D look for something unusual. When we start to think about something, we have taste tests inside the restaurant. We have 93 restaurants in Japan.

At the moment we don’t have much ad budget in our hands, so we do almost everything by ourselves. We are not using any creative agencies for these products. This way we don’t need any big money to expand our awareness in the market.

Burger King is not big compared to the competitor companies in Japan. McDonald’s has about 3,000 restaurants in Japan. The local MOS Burger chain has almost 1,400 restaurants. (Editor’s note: Burger King re-entered Japan in 2007, after a first attempt had failed after eight years in 2001 amid tough fast food competition.)

Ad Age: How big is your marketing team?

Mr. Tatsuiwa: Five people. Including R&D.

Ad Age: So, why red this time?

Mr. Tatsuiwa: This is the fourth year we’ve had a black burger, and we wanted to have something new happen this year. And we were also thinking about the Burger King “Angry Whopper,” (a jalapeno-laden rendition of the classic), that launched in some markets, but with the color the same as usual. Brown. We thought making it red would make people curious and express the hot taste.

Ad Age: Are other markets picking up on these ideas?

Mr. Tatsuiwa: Burger King Singapore has a black burger and a white burger this year. Burger King Malaysia has a black burger called the Ninja.

Ad Age: On April 1 you had a one-day-only sale of something called “Flame-Grilled Fragrance.” (The 1,000-piece limited edition flasks sold for $41 and came with a Whopper. They sold out.) Why a perfume?

Mr. Tatsuiwa: The idea came from Burger King in the U.S., they had a perfume several years ago. We thought we could use that on “Whopper Day” in Japan.

We were thinking if we announced a launch for this kind of perfume for April 1 (yes, April Fool’s Day), some people might think it wasn’t true (and that would generate more conversations about it). But we seriously produced this product, and that was very effective. We collaborated with a local perfume company and asked them to produce a flame-grilled smell. It was a very unique order for them. They worked very hard on it. (I’m not making this up, gang. Sounds like the perfect White Elephant gift.)

Ad Age: How were sales?

Mr. Tatsuiwa: It was a record for one-day sales on a weekday.

Now, honestly, even as promotion-crazy as we tend to be in the US of A, I wonder if either one of these would fly. What do you think, marketers and creative folks? Would any of you client companies have the guts to try something like this or to let your agencies develop this kind of special promotion?

I doubt it.

Hell, if it tastes good, why not. Just put on a blindfold while eating one (especially the black version).