Here’s how to spot creative qualities in a person. It’s from Bill Bernbach, the ad man who wrote these iconic slogans:
• “Think Small” for Volkswagen
• “When you’re only No. 2, you try harder. Or else.” (Avis)
How good an ad man was Bernbach?
Ad superstar David Ogilvy once told Bernbach his ads for VW were so good that:
“The VW people should give you a castle on the Rhine, stocked with victuals and servants, in perpetuity.”
Thanks to Kenneth Roman, author of “The King of Madison Avenue” for tipping me to Bernbach.
Watch “Bill Bernbach on Creative Qualities
You can watch it for free on YouTube by clicking the video embed above.
Ratings:
- My Rating: 90/100
- IMDB Rating: na
- Rotten Tomatoes Ratings: na
Release Date: 1977
Highlights of the Bernbach Interview
John H. Chrichton is the interviewer. He was the President of the AAAA (American Association of Advertising Agencies).
Say things the way they were never said before
I love Bernbach’s quote here (which seemed to fly over the head of interviewer John Crichton):
“If you do things the way things were always done you’re not going to be very effective. Because the essence of impact is saying things the way they were never said before.”
— Bill Bernbach
“Symbols can get you in trouble”
Bernbach tells the story:
“Symbols can get you in trouble. I love to tell that story, a true story that appeared in Science Magazine, about this great experiment.
Eight very intelligent men were put into several mental institutions. They were very sane men, but the experiment involved listing them as schizophrenics.
The purpose was to see how long it would take the staff to realize they were normal people.
Interestingly, the real inmates of the institution quickly suspected that these men were sane.
However, the doctors never suspected anything throughout the experiment.
This outcome highlights how the word “schizophrenic” became a symbol that conditioned the staff’s perceptions.
It shows how important it is to be cautious with labels and assumptions.
— Bill Bernbach
Thanks for reading!
Rob Kelly, Chief Maniac, Daily Doc