Wit and wisdom from Leo Burnett
Here’s today’s Leo: “In this business when you start putting the emphasis on counting money rather than getting out better ads and otherwise giving your clients better service, you soon learn that there is very little money to count.” — Leo Burnett Advertising is a business of putting the needs …more
Here’s today’s Leo: “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.” — Leo Burnett Well, the best example of today’s Leo … and I’m treading on dangerous ground …more
Here’s today’s Leo: “I am one who believes that one of the greatest dangers of advertising is not that of misleading people, but that of boring them to death.” — Leo Burnett Today, Leo Burnett is still killin’ it — here’s an example of exceptional brilliance in stimulus-response advertising: And …more
Here’s today’s Leo: “As I have observed it, great advertising writing, either in print or TV, is always deceptively and disarmingly simple. It has the common touch without being or sounding patronizing.” — Leo Burnett Leo Burnett was known for keeping a folder in the lower left-hand corner of his …more
Here’s today’s Leo: “We built our business not so much by getting accounts as building them.” — Leo Burnett I love this Leo — it really talks to the magic of a great agency which focuses on building businesses, not just acquiring and milking something which already exists. I’m afraid …more
Here’s today’s Leo: “I like to look on our own shop as a kind of barefoot agency which is mentally always trying to put itself into other people’s shoes — a working ranch rather than a dude ranch.” — Leo Burnett The greatest mistake I see from marketers and businesspeople — …more
Here’s today’s Leo: “In my opinion. there has been only one indispensable man in the history of the world. His name was Adam.” — Leo Burnett Ah yes, the ol’ “man came first” argument. I love how we love our legends — no matter how ridiculous or implausible. It’s so …more
Here’s today’s Leo: “In all our planning I like to feel that we adventurously live on the fringe of the Great Creative Unknown, but if we are properly armed with facts we are always better prepared to enter it.” — Leo Burnett I’ve always been inspired when reading the words …more
Here’s today’s Leo: “I have learned that it is far easier to write a speech about good advertising than it is to write a good ad.” — Leo Burnett And it’s also far easier to show great ads and examine what made them work than it is to create them. …more
Here’s today’s Leo: “Too many ads that try not to go over the reader’s head end up beneath his notice.” — Leo Burnett This is a simple but compelling comment — treating the customer like an idiot by yelling and repeating the same drone-like message over and over never works. …more
Here’s today’s Leo: “A good ad which is not run never produces sales.” — Leo Burnett Wow, halfway to 100 Leo’s! For …more
Here’s today’s Leo: “The public does not know what it wants, and there is no sure way of finding out until the …more
Here’s today’s Leo: “Before you can have a share of market, you must have a share of mind.” — Leo Burnett More …more
Here’s today’s Leo: “The greatest thing to be achieved in advertising, in my opinion, is believability, and nothing is more believable than …more
Here’s today’s Leo: “In looking for creative people, I am always most interested in those who have an almost naïve curiosity about …more
Here’s today’s Leo: “It seems to us there should be less concern about the dimensions of a business. And considerably more concern …more
Here’s today’s Leo: “Our business is ideas. They grow and flourish best in an atmosphere of congenial collaboration.” — Leo Burnett Here’s …more
Here’s today’s Leo: “Are you blowing opportunity after opportunity because you can’t recognize a crossroad when you come to it?” — Leo …more
Here’s today’s Leo: “If you have the facts on your side and honest conviction in your heart, your rarely lose by fighting …more
Here’s today’s Leo: “I have learned that you can’t have good advertising without a good client, that you can’t keep a good client without …more
Here’s this week’s TBT Leo: “The only creative conference worth a damn is one in which everybody in the room starts from …more
Here’s this week’s Leo: “Good advertising does not just circulate information. It penetrates the public mind with desires and belief.” — Leo …more
Here’s this week’s Leo: “I have learned that any fool can write a bad ad, but that it takes a real genius …more
Here’s this week’s Leo: “The work of an advertising agency is warmly and immediately human. It deals with human needs, wants, dreams …more
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 …more
Here’s this week’s Leo: “Growing pains sometimes may seem unbearable, but believe me they are nothing compared to the pain of shrinking …more
Here’s this week’s Leo: “Collective solutions to problems start with individual human beings and individual efforts.” — Leo Burnett In The Art …more
Here’s today’s Leo: “Let’s continue to be known as an agency which spends more time trying to improve its theories rather than …more
Here’s today’s Leo: “Half the pleasure of getting big, I think, is to thumb your nose at the indignity of getting dignified.” …more
Here’s today’s Leo: “A company in which anyone is afraid to speak up, to differ, to be daring and original, is closing …more
