Quotes from Jerry Della Femina

I once attended an advertising conference held at the Greenbrier Hotel in 1968. The dean of the original Mad Men, the great David Ogilvy, was the keynote speaker. The subject of his speech was the new creative revolution in advertising.

The whole idea of a spokesman is a joke and a fraud if you drop someone like a hot potato if there's controversy.

There's something that goes on in a new-business meeting that's wonderful to watch. It's like showtime. There are people who are nervous, and there are people who are jittery, and there's so much drama and so much at stake.

The Internet is king. Newspapers are dead or dying. Magazines are shrinking every day. Ad budgets are being cut. The bottom line is now the only line in advertising.

The object of advertising is to get people to feel better about the product you're selling.

There's still a place for someone to come up with a strong headline, some copy in a commercial that's well written. I'm not saying it was better in the old days; it's just a totally different way of communicating.

Why do all our friends and relatives destroy the summer for us? Why can't they get married in February?

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.

I honestly believe that advertising is the most fun you can have with your clothes on.

People don't generally like advertising that takes a stand.

I only know two to three people that I grew up with in advertising in the 1960s who are married to the same women.

Advertising is what I do. It's got me everything I have, and I'm not going to leave it.

Sad to say, negative advertising really works.

Let's face it: in advertising, you are paid more, but you die younger. It's not very forgiving. Like sports stars, you're in it during your better years, and then you're out looking for work.

Every automobile ad looks alike.

I'm a driver, and I love it.

My first marriage ended after 24 years.

I don't want people ever to think I'm not in advertising. It's such a business of enthusiasm that if you're not totally excited about it, you should leave it.

The establishment can't change. It can't give people anything different; it can't make the turn.

I ran for political office in the Hamptons once in a war I was having with the village. I came in, there were four people running, and I came in around third. It was over my food market - they arrested me. I just wanted to go for office because I thought it would be an interesting to do.

By 1961, when I got my first copywriting job, 'my kind' were suddenly in demand. The creative revolution had begun. Advertising had turned into a business dominated by young, funny, Jewish copywriters and tough, sometimes violent, Greek and Italian art directors.

There's nothing worse than winning but being told by people that you're losing.

Whether you're a mafia guy or in advertising, you always end up going back to your family.

I learned much from my father just by watching his example. If I saw him hold a door open for someone, I learned to do the same. Kids always observe their parents and I always watched my daddy.