100 Days of Leo Burnett, the Midwestern Master of Mascots DAY 36
Here’s this week’s Leo:
“Advertising says to people, ‘Here’s what we’ve got. Here’s what it will do for you. Here’s how to get it.” — Leo Burnett
In The Art of Writing Advertising | Conversations with Masters of the Craft, AdAge Interviewer Denis Higgins talks to Leo Burnett:
Q: In all the years you have been in this business, Mr Burnett, you’ve talked with many people and you’ve edited many pieces of copy from many different writers. Have you ever discerned any thread winding its way through all these people? Do you see any qualities common to all of them? Or do you think copywriters are made up of all sorts and all types?
A: Well, I think they come from all sorts of places and are made up of all types, but I think among the best ones there’s a flair for expression, of putting known and believable things into new relationships. We try to be — which I think typifies the Chicago school of advertising, if there is one, and I think there is one — we try to be more straightforward without being flatfooted. We try to be warm without being mawkish.
I believe that today visibility, sheer visibility, is more important than it’s been, speaking of printed advertising — and that applies to television, of course, too. Sheer visibility is important with today’s rising advertising costs; 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…
