Notable quotes about advertising
Advertising is the definitive engine of commercial visibility, functioning as the vital communication link between enterprise and consumer. More than mere promotion, effective advertising requires a sophisticated balance of creative rigor and strategic intent to penetrate the public consciousness. This resource organizes the fundamental philosophies of advertising into a coherent framework, tracing its trajectory from a basic economic necessity to a high-art form of persuasion and reputation management.
The economic imperative of visibility
Doing business without advertising is like winking at a girl in the dark. You know what you are doing, but nobody else does.[1]
— Steuart Henderson Britt, Professor of Marketing
In good times people want to advertise; in bad times they have to.[2]
— Bruce Barton, Co-founder of BBDO
The strategic art of persuasion
A good advertisement is one which sells the product without drawing attention to itself.[3]
— David Ogilvy, Founder of Ogilvy & Mather
Make it simple. Make it memorable. Make it inviting to look at. Make it fun to read.[4]
— Leo Burnett, Founder of Leo Burnett Worldwide
Advertising is the ability to sense, interpret... to put the very heart throbs of a business into type, paper and ink.[5]
— Leo Burnett, Founder of Leo Burnett Worldwide
People screen out a lot of commercials because they open with something dull...When you advertise fire-extinguishers, open with the fire.[6]
— David Ogilvy, Founder of Ogilvy & Mather
Nobody reads ads. People read what interests them. Sometimes, it's an ad.[7]
— Howard Gossage, Advertising Executive
The psychology of audience engagement
Marketing is no longer about the stuff that you make, but about the stories you tell.[8]
— Seth Godin, Author and Marketing Executive
Tell the truth, but make the truth fascinating.[9]
— David Ogilvy, Founder of Ogilvy & Mather
No one wakes up excited to see more advertising, no one goes to sleep thinking about the ads they'll see tomorrow.[10]
— Jan Koum, Co-founder of WhatsApp
If it doesn't sell, it isn't creative.[11]
— David Ogilvy, Founder of Ogilvy & Mather
Advertising tries to be a pyromaniac, igniting conflagrations of desires for instant gratification.[12]
— George Will, The Washington Post
Much of the messy advertising you see on television today is the product of committees. Committees can criticize advertisements, but they should never be allowed to create them.[13]
— David Ogilvy, Founder of Ogilvy & Mather
If dogs don't like your dog food, the packaging doesn't matter.[14]
— Stephen Denny, Business Strategist
Ethics, testing, and professional rigor
Every single element in an advertisement must be put there because testing has shown that it works best![15]
— John Caples, Vice President of BBDO
Regardless of the moral issue, dishonesty in advertising has proved very unprofitable.[16]
— Leo Burnett, Founder of Leo Burnett Worldwide
Never write an advertisement which you wouldn't want your own family to read. You wouldn't tell lies to your own wife. Don't tell them to mine.[17]
— David Ogilvy, Founder of Ogilvy & Mather
There is a great deal of advertising that is much better than the product. When that happens, all that the good advertising will do is put you out of business faster.[18]
— Jerry Della Femina, Chairman of Della Femina Travisano & Partners
The best advertising is done by satisfied customers.[19]
— Philip Kotler, Professor of International Marketing
Content is king, but engagement is queen, and the lady rules the house![20]
— Mari Smith, Social Media Strategist
A brand is no longer what we tell the consumer it is — it is what consumers tell each other it is.[21]
— Scott Cook, Co-founder of Intuit
References
- ↑ "Stewart Henderson Britt". Oxford Reference. Retrieved 2025-12-21.
- ↑ "The Bruce Barton Letter". SOFII. 1925. Retrieved 2025-12-21.
- ↑ Ogilvy, David (1963). Confessions of an Advertising Man. Atheneum.
- ↑ 100 LEO's: Wit and Wisdom from Leo Burnett. NTC Business Press. 1995. p. 47.
- ↑ Kufrin, Joan (1995). Leo Burnett: Star Reacher. Leo Burnett Company, Inc. p. 54.
- ↑ Ogilvy, David (1983). Ogilvy on Advertising. Crown Publishers.
- ↑ Gossage, Howard Luck (1995). The Book of Gossage. Copy Workshop.
- ↑ Godin, Seth (2005). All Marketers Are Liars: The Power of Telling Authentic Stories in a Low-Trust World. Portfolio.
- ↑ Ogilvy, David (1963). Confessions of an Advertising Man. Atheneum.
- ↑ Jay Yarow (20 February 2014). "The CEO of WhatsApp Hates Advertising". Business Insider. Retrieved 24 December 2025.
- ↑ Ogilvy, David (1983). Ogilvy on Advertising. Crown Publishers.
- ↑ Will, George F. (1981-12-07). "The Madison Legacy". The Washington Post.
- ↑ Ogilvy, David (1963). Confessions of an Advertising Man. Atheneum.
- ↑ Denny, Stephen (2011). Killing Giants: 10 Strategies to Topple the Goliath in Your Industry. Portfolio.
- ↑ Caples, John (1997). Tested Advertising Methods (5th ed.). Prentice Hall. p. Chapter 2.
- ↑ "Q&A with Leo Burnett Strategy Head Joy Santos". Josiah Go. Retrieved 2025-12-21.
- ↑ Ogilvy, David (1963). Confessions of an Advertising Man. Atheneum.
- ↑ Della Femina, Jerry (1970). From Those Wonderful Folks Who Gave You Pearl Harbor: Front-Line Dispatches from the Advertising War. Simon & Schuster.
- ↑ Kotler, Philip (2016). Marketing Management (15th ed.). Pearson.
- ↑ Smith, Mari. "We Long to Belong – Why Community is the Last Great Marketing Strategy". BG5 Business. Retrieved 2025-12-21.
- ↑ "Building A Brand Campaign For Success: What Marketing Pros Should Know". Forbes Communications Council. 2023-10-13. Retrieved 2025-12-21.