Tag Archives: Advertising Hall of Fame

“Clients respect talent.” Or do they, really?

“Clients respect talent” is a quote I read recently by Vincent Cullers, Advertising Hall of Fame. I wonder if this is universally true. Personally, I think not.

I think sometimes that’s what we’d like to think. More often than not, I’ve witnessed clients showing “ad agency execs” and/or creative professionals the lack of respect and not thinking anything of it. Now, in my experience not all clients are like this, obviously. But it only takes a few to put a sour taste in your mouth.

These are usually the type who have a greater-than-normal ego and believe they know everything or at least more than the ad guy in the room. Now, by “ad guy,” I’m referring to the expert who really knows his or her profession and has spent more than a year or two practicing the craft. This client loves to do his/her own thing and truly believes his ideas are amazing and should be implemented. That, naturally, is not always the case.

When the ad guy tries to explain to the client why this or that proposed idea may not work or is not appropriate, the client usually just ignores the logistics involved or the expense anticipated with an actual production. Also, depending on the maturity and experience level of the ad guy, the client may not appreciate the advice being given.

Times change, of course, as do people. Society can be very cruel at times as was evidenced decades ago during the fifties and sixties. No matter how smart one was, the color of one’s skin often determined whether or not one would even be invited into the conference room for a presentation.

“In those days, no African-Americans were working in advertising. They not only couldn’t get in the door, they didn’t go beyond the lobby.”

Vincent Cullers
Vincent T. Cullers (b. 1924 – October 4, 2003) was an American designer, advertising professional, and civil rights activist. Motivated by the civil rights movement in the United States, Vince Cullers made history in 1956 by founding Vince Cullers Advertising, recognized as the first African American-owned advertising agency.

Nowadays the color of one’s skin matters less than it did decades ago but, alas, the respect issue remains in some circles of the industry and society as a whole. Even the best qualified ad guy can tear down years of respect and admiration if he/she comes across as unprofessional, immature or, dare I say, irrespecutful. After all, respect goes two ways. It should always be upheld at both ends.

Hopefully making a ruckus, one blog post at a time!

Be sure to check out my other blog,Joe’s Journey, for selected short stories and personal insights on life and its detours.

A Few Quotes to Feed Your Soul.

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, member, Advertising Hall of Fame

A good advertisement is one which sells the product without drawing attention to itself. — David Ogilvy, member, Advertising Hall of Fame

Creative imagination — the lamp that lit the world — can light our lives.– Alex F. Osborn, member, Advertising Hall of Fame

I have always believed that writing advertisements is the second most profitable form of writing. The first, of course, is ransom notes. — Philip Dusenberry, member, Advertising Hall of Fame

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, member, Advertising Hall of Fame

The soft stuff is always harder than the hard stuff. — Roger A. Enrico, member, Advertising Hall of Fame

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, member, Advertising Hall of Fame

Creative people thrive in environments that stimulate and reward original thinking — where freedom is valued and controls are kept to a minimum. — Keith Reinhard, member, Advertising Hall of Fame

The advertisers who believe in the selling power of jingles have never had to sell anything. — David Ogilvy, member, Advertising Hall of Fame

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, member, Advertising Hall of Fame

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, member, Advertising Hall of Fame

Hopefully making a ruckus, one blog post at a time!

Be sure to check out my other blog, Joe’s Journey, for selected short stories and personal insights on life and its detours.

I’m Back with New Quotes

It’s been awhile since quotes have been featured on this blog and since various sayings by interesting people are not going away I thought it time to have quotes resurface. So . . .

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, member, Advertising Hall of Fame

Attract attention, maintain interest, create desire and get action. — E. Elmo St. Lewis, member, Advertising Hall of Fame

Regardless of the moral issue, dishonesty in advertising has proved very unprofitable. — Leo Burnett, member, Advertising Hall of Fame

Creativity is so delicate a flower that praise tends to make it bloom while discouragement often nips it at the bud. — Alex Osborn, member, Advertising Hall of Fame

Never write an advertisement which you wouldn’t want your family to read. You wouldn’t tell lies to your own wife. Don’t tell them to mine. — David Ogilvy, member, Advertising Hall of Fame

I have come up with something that I think is a bizarre and novel method of execution. One designed to challenge your talents. — Twilight Zone’s “The Jeopardy Room” by Rod Serling stars Martin Landau and John van Dreelen.

Every area of trouble gives out a ray of hope, and the one unchangeable certainty is that nothing is certain or unchangeable. — John E. Kennedy, member, Advertising Hall of Fame

Meetings are all too often the burial grounds of great ideas. — Keith Reinhard, member, Advertising Hall of Fame

Why does the eye see a thing more clearly in dreams than with the imagination being awake? – Leonardo da Vinci

Today’s marketplace is cluttered with products that are no better and no worse than their competitors. — Phil Dusenberry, member, Advertising Hall of Fame

Hopefully making a ruckus, one blog post at a time!

Be sure to check out my other blog, Joe’s Journey, for personal insights on life and its detours.

And, check out various creative selections from ideasnmore.net.

Jolan tru!

To Quote is to Speak, to Listen, to Learn!

The subject matter may vary. The speaker may vary. The quote may still be memorable no matter who says it. Keep that in mind when reciting any one of the quotes below. It will make for a memorable occasion.

 

Advertising becomes a dialogue that becomes an invitation to a relationship. — Lester Wunderman, member, Advertising Hall of Fame

Thinking about ourselves isn’t related to knowing ourselves. — Lauren Esposito, arachnologist, co-founder of 500 Queer Scientists

Nothing comes merely by thinking about it. — John Wanamaker, member, Advertising Hall of Fame

Regardless of the moral issue, dishonesty in advertising has proved very unprofitable. — Leo Burnett, member, Advertising Hall of Fame

Attract attention, maintain interest, create desire and get action. — E. Elmo St. Lewis, member, Advertising Hall of Fame


Rules are for people who don’t know what to do. — Keith Reinhard, member, Advertising Hall of Fame

I don’t like closed doors. Creativity flourishes best in an environment of open doors and open minds. — Keith Reinhard, member, Advertising Hall of Fame

Advertising is what you do when you can’t go see somebody. That’s all it is. — Fairfax Cone, member, Advertising Hall of Fame

 

Hopefully making a ruckus, one blog post at a time!

Be sure to check out my other blog, Joe’s Journey, for a different kind of playground for creativity, innovation and inspiring stuff.

 

Select Quotes From Advertising and Education

Here’s a sample of select quotes from some of the great minds in advertising and education.

 

The arts, sciences, humanities, physical education, languages and maths all have equal and central contributions to make to a student’s education. – Ken Robinson

You can be creative in anything – in math, science, engineering, philosophy – as much as you can in music or in painting or in dance. – Ken Robinson

Whether or not you discover your talents and passions is partly a matter of opportunity. If you’ve never been sailing, or picked up an instrument, or tried to teach or to write fiction, how would you know if you had a talent for these things? – Ken Robinson

You can’t be a creative thinker if you’re not stimulating your mind, just as you can’t be an Olympic athlete if you don’t train regularly. – Ken Robinson

Every area of trouble gives out a ray of hope, and the one unchangeable certainty is that nothing is certain or unchangeable. -John E. Kennedy, member, Advertising Hall of Fame

Brand value is very much like an onion. It has layers and a core. The core is the user who will stick with you until the very end. – Edwin Artzt, member, Advertising Hall of Fame

When you are through changing, you are through. – Bruce Barton, member, Advertising Hall of Fame

If you can’t turn yourself into your customer, you probably shouldn’t be in the ad writing business at all. – Leo Burnett, member, Advertising Hall of Fame

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, member, Advertising Hall of Fame

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, member, Advertising Hall of Fame

 

Hoping to make a ruckus, one blog post at a time!

Some More Quotes

As it has been about a month or so since we last published some quotes, we thought it timely to publish some news ones. Like before, it contains quotes from various acclaimed individuals from the worlds of advertising, philosophy, science, literature and education. So, go ahead and immerse yourself in creativity – intelligence having fun!

It is easier to tone down a wild idea than to think up a new one.— Alex Osborne, member, Advertising Hall of Fame

The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing. One cannot help but be in awe when he contemplates the mysteries of eternity, of life, of the marvelous structure of reality. It is enough if one tries merely to comprehend a little of this mystery every day. Never lose a holy curiosity. – Albert Einstein

Creativity can solve almost any problem. The creative act, the defeat of habit by originality, overcomes everything. – George Lois

If one advances confidently in the directions of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours. – Henry David Thoreau

Those people who think they know everything are a great annoyance to those of us who do. – Isaac Asimov

An idea can turn to dust or magic, depending on the talent that rubs against it. — William Bernbach, member, Advertising Hall of Fame

Creativity is as important as literacy and numeracy, and I actually think people understand that creativity is important – they just don’t understand what it is. – Ken Robinson
 
If you’re not prepared to be wrong, you’ll never come up with anything original. – Ken Robinson
 
I believe this passionately: that we don’t grow into creativity, we grow out of it. Or rather, we get educated out if it. – Ken Robinson
 
Many highly talented, brilliant, creative people think they’re not – because the thing they were good at at school wasn’t valued, or was actually stigmatized. – Ken Robinson

Hopefully making a ruckus, one blog post at a time!

Be sure to check out my other blog,Joe’s Journey, for personal insights on life and its detours.

Quotes Times Ten . . .

The ones who see things differently…who are not fond of rules…they change things. They invent. They imagine. They heal. They explore. They create. — Steve Jobs

Be brave enough to live life creatively. The creative place where no one else has ever been. – Alan Alda

Where there is shouting, there is no true knowledge. – Leonardo da Vinci

I think it’s better to be overly ambitious and fail than to be underambitious and succeed in a mundane way. I have been very fortunate. I failed upward in my life! – Francis Ford Coppola

Meetings are all too often the burial grounds of great ideas. — Keith Reinhard, member, Advertising Hall of Fame

You cannot force ideas. Successful ideas are the result of slow growth. Ideas do not reach perfection in a day, no matter how much study is put upon them. – Alexander Graham Bell

The most dangerous phrase in the language is, We’ve always done it this way. – Grace Hopper

If at first, the idea is not absurd, then there is no hope for it. – Albert Einstein

We are drowning in information, while starving for wisdom. The world henceforth will be run by synthesizers, people able to put together the right information at the right time, think critically about it, and make important choices wisely. – E. O. Wilson


There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed. — Ernest Hemingway

Hopefully making a ruckus, one blog post at a time!

Be sure to check out my other blog, Joe’s Journey, for personal insights on life and its detours.

Quotes of Historical Perspective

From Steinem to Van Gogh to Serling and more, these quotes cover a multitude of personalities and perspectives. Enjoy as you read through the history makers, some of our time, some not.

Without leaps of imagination, or dreaming, we lose the excitement of possibilities. Dreaming, after all, is a form of planning. Gloria Steinem

You cannot rely upon what you have been taught. All you have learned from history is old ways of making mistakes. There is nothing that history can tell you about what we must do tomorrow. Only what we must not do. Edwin H. Land

What would life be if we had no courage to attempt anything? Vincent Van Gogh

It isn’t enough for a sole voice of reason to exist. In this time of uncertainty we’re so sure that villains lurk around every corner that we will create them ourselves if we can’t find them. For while fear may keep us vigilant, it’s also fear that tears us apart. Rod Serling

Rod Serling

An important idea not communicated persuasively is like having no idea at all. William Bernbach, member, Advertising Hall of Fame

In writing advertising it must always be kept in mind that the customer often knows more about the goods than the advertising writers because they have had experience in buying them, and any seeming deception in a statement is costly, not only in the expense of the advertising but in the detrimental effect produced upon the customer, who believes she has been misled. John Wanamaker, member, Advertising Hall of Fame

Creativity is so delicate a flower that praise tends to make it bloom while discouragement often nips it at the bud.  Alex Osborn, member, Advertising Hall of Fame

Good advertising is written from one person to another. When it is aimed at millions, it rarely moves anyone.  Fairfax M. Cone, member, Advertising Hall of Fame

The scientist has marched in and taken the place of the poet. But one day somebody will find the solution to the problems of the world and remember, it will be a poet, not a scientist. Frank Lloyd Wright

Creativity Tip #36: If you can’t explain your idea to an 8-year old, it’s too complicated.



Hopefully making a ruckus, one blog post at a time!

Be sure to check out my other blog, Joe’s Journey, for personal insights on life and its detours.

Quotes (since it’s been awhile)

As it has been some time since a post was published with nothing but quotes, I thought we’d resurrect the form. Whereas in previous posts there has been a variety of authors quoting something not necessarily pertaining to advertising or the industry. This time, however, I thought we go with an emphasis on advertising, at least from people from within the ad biz. Enjoy!

When we are too timid to risk failure, we reduce the opportunities to succeed. And we eliminate the chance to learn. Keith Reinhard, member, Advertising Hall of Fame

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, member, Advertising Hall of Fame

Creative imagination — the lamp that lit the world — can light our lives. Alex F. Osborn, member, Advertising Hall of Fame

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, member, Advertising Hall of Fame

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, member, Advertising Hall of Fame

An important idea not communicated persuasively is like having no idea at all. William Bernbach, member, Advertising Hall of Fame

When we are too timid to risk failure, we reduce the opportunities to succeed. And we eliminate the chance to learn. Keith Reinhard, member, Advertising Hall of Fame

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, member, Advertising Hall of Fame

Rules are for people who don’t know what to do. AND I don’t like closed doors. Creativity flourishes best in an environment of open doors and open minds. Keith Reinhard, Advertising Hall of Fame

Variety of Quotes, Variety of Thought.

Just when you thought I had run out of quotes, I found some more. I tend to come across these every week from a variety of different sources, some of which are quite surprising as are the quotes. In any case, enjoy, and don’t be surprised when you’re surprised.

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, member, Advertising Hall of Fame

When you reach for the stars you may not quite get one, but you won’t come up with a handful of mud either.  Leo Burnett, member, Advertising Hall of Fame

Nothing splendid has ever been achieved except by those who dared believe that something inside of them was superior to circumstance. Bruce Barton, Advertising Hall of Fame

Creativity is so delicate a flower that praise tends to make it bloom while discouragement often nips it at the bud.  Alex Osborn, member, Advertising Hall of Fame

Good advertising is written from one person to another. When it is aimed at millions, it rarely moves anyone.  Fairfax M. Cone, member, Advertising Hall of Fame

Our job is to simplify, to tear away the unrelated, to pluck out the weeds that are smothering the product message.  William Bernbach, Advertising Hall of Fame

It is easier to tone down a wild idea than to think up a new one.  Alex Osborne, member, Advertising Hall of Fame

The ultimate obscenity is not caring, not doing something about what you feel, not feeling! Just drawing back and drawing in, becoming narcissistic. Rod Serling