Quotes from Leo Burnett

Whether or not the standard of living made possible by mass production and in turn by mass circulation, is supported by and filled with the work of us hucksters, I guess is something that only history can decide.

Rarely have I seen any really great advertising created without a certain amount of confusion, throw-aways, bent noses, irritation and downright cursedness.

Regardless of the moral issue, dishonesty in advertising has proved very unprofitable

Plan the sale when you plan the ad.

To swear off making mistakes is very easy. All you have to do is swear off having ideas.

The secret of all effective originality in advertising is not the creation of new and tricky words and pictures, but one of putting familiar words and pictures into new relationships.

I have learned to respect ideas, wherever they come from. Often they come from clients. Account executives often have big creative ideas, regardless of what some writers think.

What helps people, helps business.

The greatest thing to be achieved in advertising, in my opinion, is believability, and nothing is more believable than the product itself.

Fun without sell gets nowhere but sell without fun tends to become obnoxious.

When you reach for the stars you may not quite get one, but you won't come up with a handful of mud either.

Make it simple. Make it memorable. Make it inviting to look at. Make it fun to read.

There is no such thing as a permanent advertising success.

Good advertising does not just circulate information. It penetrates the public mind with desires and belief.

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.

Too many ads that try not to go over the reader's head end up beneath his notice.

Curiosity about life in all of its aspects, I think, is still the secret of great creative people.

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.

I regard a great ad as the most beautiful thing in the world.

If you don't get noticed, you don't have anything. You just have to be noticed, but the art is in getting noticed naturally, without screaming or without tricks.

The secret of all effective advertising is not the creation of new and tricky words and pictures, but one of putting familiar words and pictures into new relationships.

The sole purpose of business is service. The sole purpose of advertising is explaining the service which business renders.

If you can't turn yourself into your customer, you probably shouldn't be in the ad writing business at all.

I have learned that it is far easier to write a speech about good advertising than it is to write a good ad.