Keeping up with all the various innovations in marketing is certainly important, but its crucial not to forget that some core truths never change. I took the time to summarize one of my favorite books, The Art of Writing Advertising by Dennis Higgins and distill the vital, evergreen lessons for your modern enjoyment. Happy writing and hope you learn something. EMAIL: Jig813@gmail.com TWITTER: twitter.com/JoeandTell LINKEDIN: linkedin.com/in/josephgelman

1. T H E A R T O F W R I T I N G
ADVERTISING
Conversations with Masters of the Craft.
William Bernbach • Leo Burnett
George Gribbin • David Ogilvy •Rosser Reeves
A REDUX FOR THE MODERN AGE

2. HI!
I WRITE ABOUT MARKETING/BRANDING FOR HONIGMAN
MEDIA AND IDEON
AND TEACH DIGITAL MARKETING AT GENERAL ASSEMBLY
I’M JOE
GELMAN

3. In 1965 Dennis Higgins, the Senior Editor of Ad Age
Magazine went around Madison Avenue and asked
five advertising giants what they thought it takes to
Writeagreatad.

4. The following presentation
provides a short summary of
Whattheysaid.

5. Wantthefullstory?
Get the fantastic book for even
more vintage advertising
wisdom!
CLICK HERE!

6. 1.BillBernbach
Co-founder of Doyle Dane Bernbach, the agency
that pioneered advertising’s “creative revolution.”
Produced landmark campaigns for VW and AVIS.

7. ButIcan't.
IwishIcouldgivean
equation,sothatallyou
havetodoisfollowit.

8. Wewonderedwhethertheadvertisingcommunity
waslovedbytheAmericanpeople.
We’renotevenhated!
Theyignoreus.
“

9. “Oneofthedisadvantagesofdoingeverything
mathematically,byresearchandbymandate,isthat
afterawhile,everybodydoesitinthesameway.”

10. stillaproblemtoday…
theseareallgood,butalllookthesame!

11. “Youmusthave
inventiveness
butitmustbe
disciplined.”
Bernbach emphasizes over and
over that advertising that is not
different doesn’t get looked at. This
restrained inventiveness is on fine
display in this legendarily striking
campaign for Levy’s Jewish Rye

12. “Everythingyouwrite,everythingonapage,every
word,everygraphicsymbol,everyshadow,should
furtherthemessageyou’retryingtoconvey.”

13. 2.LeoBurnett
Founder of his eponymous agency, Leo Burnett
Worldwide. Mastermind behind such iconic
figures as the Marlboro Man and Tony the Tiger.

15. “Alwaysstressthe
inherentdrama
ofthingsbecausethere’s
almostalways
somethingthere.”
Burnett had the idea to shoot this
meat on a bright red background
to emphasize the inherent
dramatic qualities in the product.

16. “Ihaveafolderonmydesk–
andit’sgettingbiggerallthe
time.WheneverIheara
phraseinconversationorany
place,whichstrikesmeas
beingparticularlyaptin
expressingandidea,Iscribble
itdownandstickitinthere.

17. “Ihaveafolderonmydesk–
andit’sgettingbiggerallthe
time.WheneverIheara
phrasein conversationorany
placewhichstrikesmeas
beingparticularlyaptin
expressingandidea,Iscribble
itdownandstickitinthere.
Leowould’ve
beenallabout
Pinterest!

18. 3.GeorgeGribbin
Chairman of famed advertising agency Young &
Rubicam and company mastermind of landmark
campaigns such as Ohrbach’s.

19. Awriter
shouldbe
joyous,an
optimist…

20. “Centraltogoodwritingofadvertisingisan
understandingofpeople,aninsightintothem,a
sympathytowardthem.

21. [Afteryouwriteanad]
Askyourself: Willtheheadlinemakeyouwanttoread
thefirstlineofcopy,andwillthefirstsentencemake
youwanttoreadthesecondsentence?
Yougostraightthroughthecopy.
Itoughttobethelastwordwhenthereader
wantstodropoff.
“

22. Ever the master of the
headline, this institutional
ad for Young and
Rubicam certainly
passes Gribbin’s self-
imposed test.
Even today.
Wannareadon?

23. 4.DavidOgilvy
Widely hailed as the “Father of Advertising,” Ogilvy
championed a precise style that birthed famous ads
for Rolls Royce and Schweppes.

24. “Ididalotofwork
thatwasoriginal.
Ididn’tknow
enoughtobe
unoriginal.”

25. “A lot of copywriters
think they’re good judges
of their own work.
I know I’m not.”
Ogilvy intimates that when
he wrote this ad for Rolls
Royce (among the most
famous of all time) he wrote
“26 different headlines for it
and then got half a dozen
other writers to go over them
and choose the best one.”
If he needed a second
opinion you certainly do.

26. “If you have all the research, all the ground rules, all the
directives, all the data – it doesn’t mean the ad is written…
Then you’ve got to close the door and write something –
that is the moment of truth.”

27. 5.RosserReeves
Early trailblazer of television advertising and inspiration
for Mad Men’s Don Draper, he famously coined M&M’s
“Melts in your Mouth, Not in your Hands.”

29. EnduringLegacy
Arecent study by Texas
Tech found that Rosser
Reeves’slogan for M&M’s
“Melts in your Mouth, Not in
your Hands.” was the most
liked slogan of all time.

30. “Perhaps it could have been phrased 15 other
ways, but the idea for the campaign (that these
candies do not melt because of the sugar shell)
was the easiest thing in the world because it
was inherent in the product.”

31. “Let’s say your sales are tanking. Now what do
you want from me? Fine writing?
Or do you want to see the goddamned sales
curve stop moving down and start moving up?

32. The public doesn’t… the public
either acts or it doesn’t.
Only advertising men hold seminars and judge advertising.

33. Hope you enjoyed this summary.
Happywriting!

34. JoeGelman.com
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