the factoid of the matter. Won’t hear a word against advertising?

“If advertising had a little more respect for the public, the public would have a lot more respect for advertising.” – James Randolph Adams, founder, former President & Chairman, McManus, John & Adams Inc.

A publication on advertising and marketing may be an unlikely place for a list of quotes taking a swipe at those professions, but a little introspection and humour can do no harm, can they? Ralph Starr Butler, former vice-president, General Foods, and a person credited with much innovation in advertising, said, “Advertising promotes that divine discontent which makes people strive to improve their economic status.” The view that rebellions are caused by people who cannot afford the expensive products advertising shows off finds expression in this quote: “Advertising has done more to cause the social unrest of the twentieth century than any other single factor.” This is attributed to American writer and ambassador Clare Booth Luce. And here’s what writer George Orwell had to say: “Advertising is the rattling of a stick inside a swill-bucket.”

Here’s something more heartening, though, from Phil Dusenberry of the ad agency BBDO: “I have always believed that writing advertisements is the second most profitable form of writing. The first, of course, is ransom notes.”

COMMENT NOW