Truth, Lies, and Advertising

"Leaving something to the audience's imagination is not a widely embraced concept in the advertising industry."

"Art alone is not enough, and when it is allowed to overpower strategic and business considerations, it can be an obstacle rather than an aid to persuasion."

"The best advertising solutions often emerge out of a situation of apparent chaos."

"To be truly effective, advertising must be both distinctive and relevant, and planning helps on both counts."

"Do we really need to do research at all?"

"The quality of information that results from any research project, whether quantitative or qualitative, is directly proportional to the quality of the information and thought that went into research."

"It doesn't seem to occur to many researchers who spend their lives in the pursuit of objectivity that the simple act of doing research changes the situation that they are attempting to observe or measure."

"To get the best out of focus group respondents in particular, it is important that they be given time to think."

"Why is there such a gap between what people say and what they actually do?"

"Many marketers spend much more time than is healthy trying to avoid missing opportunities than they do taking advantage of the ones that already exist and that make the most sense for them."

"Research provides some guidance, but seldom provides the answer."

"Why do companies persist in adhering to methodologies that are at best not helpful in making better advertising, and at worst downright destructive."

"If an agency and client are to be successful in establishing a relationship with their customers, they simply cannot adhere to a 300-year-old model of how things work."

"In creative development, it is rare for an idea to be so cut and dried that it is either perfect and needs tweaking, or such a disaster that it should never again see the light of day."

"The main task of a creative briefing is not to say okay, it's finally time for you creative folks to start work, but to inform the creative team, and most important, to inspire them."

"There is only one reason for anyone to write a brief or engage in briefing a creative team, and that is to help make their advertising better."

"Many of the best briefs I have ever seen avoided the temptation to sell an idea altogether, persuading instead through the use of honesty and simplicity of thought and expression."

"It is vital to be clear about the desired effect, and if it is effects, plural, that are being sought, it is important to prioritize."

"While its primary role is to define as precisely as possible the group that needs to be addressed by the advertising, it is equally important for the discipline of deciding whom to exclude."

"Personal experiences and anecdotes described in research can be enormously useful."

"Some fear that the agency desire to be creative and win awards far outweighs the desire to do the right thing for the clients' business."

"One of the main advantages of focus groups research, in the hands of a skilled moderator, is that high energy levels are much easier to create and sustain than in one-on-one interviews."

"Advertising ideas are frequently exposed to consumers in a form that bears little resemblance to the way they would look, sound, and feel as finished advertising."

"The beauty of "got milk?" lies in its simplicity, and the simple, obvious solution is nothing to be ashamed of."