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BILL BERNBACH: THE FATHER OF CREATIVE ADVERTISING
6 lessons on creative advertising from Bill Bernbach...
Niall Ratcliffe
November 05, 2023
REMEMBER: You can listen to the audio version of this breakdown HERE.
Breaking Down The Strategy
In 1933, Bill Bernbach took a very humble job running the mailroom for a liquor company in New York.
However, deep down he didn’t want a job in the mailroom, he wanted to work in advertising. But with it being the great depression and unemployment rates through the roof… he took what he could.
After a few months in the mailroom, Bill knew the job wasn’t for him - he was made for more!
So, in his spare time he created an ad for the companies’ cream whiskey product, then mailed it to the head of advertising.
The guy saw it, loved it, and ended up promoting Bernbach to the advertising department.
But when he got there it wasn’t what he expected.
He expected to find:
Creatives
Mastering the art
And crafting unique campaigns
But instead he found:
“Educated” people
Trying to stick to a formula
And creating the same things again & again
From that moment on, his career became a journey to change that.
It took him many years, but in the end, I think it’s pretty safe to say he did.
The ads he created are some of the most famous of all-time. But more impressively his style has now become the basis of many of today’s ads.
I spent the last 5 hours researching his journey, listening to his interviews, and reading his work.
Here are 6 key lessons on creative advertising from Bill Bernbach:
Lesson 1: Not Standing Out Is Advertising Suicide
When Bernbach first entered the advertising world, people tread carefully and followed formulas.
(Quite similar to the landscape today.)
The problem with that is that everything looked the same. Yes, they knew it “worked” but they were creating ads with the mindset of minimising risk.
They weren’t trying to create the most impactful ads possible, they were trying to hit the KPI that their client had set for them.
Standing out wasn’t an option for them, it was too risky - and Bernbach heavily disagreed.
In fact, on this he says:
“In advertising, not to be different is virtually suicidal.”
This was a great reminder for me to start thinking outside the box more!
Lesson 2: What Motivates, Sells
Bernbach was very against hiring “Educated” or “Experienced” people.
Because he felt like people were corrupted when they were told what works. Instead, he liked fresh young people who understood human desires.
He was a strong believer that to sell something, you had to understand what motivated people to buy it.
Yes people want a car to drive to work → But they really want it to show off to their friends → And even more so, to feel important.
The desire behind the desire, that’s what Bernbach believed you needed to speak to.
Bernbach says:
“[Great advertisers know] the reader reads with his ego, his emotions, his compulsions, his prejudices, his urges, and his aspirations, and he plots with his brain to rationalise the facts until they become the tools of his desire.”
Ego is the reason behind so many purchases, yet I still feel like so many people forget this when crafting ads - even today.
Lesson 3: Your Words Are Music
When we hire new people to our agency, one of the biggest lessons we have to teach them is that copy is so much more than the words you write.
It has to look easy to read, just as much as it being easy to read.
And it was only when I started researching Bernbach that I realised I wasn’t alone in this.
When talking about great copywriters, Bernbach said:
“They know that most readers come away from their reading not with a clear precise registration of it’s contents but rather with a vague misty idea that was formed as much by the pace, proportions and music of the writing as by the literal words themselves.”
And when you look at how some of Bernbach’s most famous ads are formatted, you understand just how important this was to him!
Lesson 4: Be Honest
… but spin it in a way that sells.
One of Bernbach’s most successful campaigns was his “We’re 2nd” campaign for Avis (see below).
99% of advertisers wouldn’t dream of admitting their client was 2nd in the market.
Yet Bernbach knew being honest and truthful would benefit the brand… as long as they painted it in the right light.
So they used it to their advantage.
They told people they were 2nd, and told them that’s the reason they’ll get a better service with them - because they “Try harder".”
This campaign really shows just how much of a genius he was.
Lesson 5: Ads Are More Than Just Words
Bernbach is probably most well known for his Volkswagen campaigns.
Today, even 30 years after his death these ads still go viral online.
Why?
They hook you with the creative just as much as the copy.
Before Bernbach, ads were made to be long text pieces and very rarely had visuals. Why would you? It just took up the space they could’ve been used to sell with their words.
But as the old saying goes, “A picture can say 1000 words” - and Bernbach embodies that to a tee.
Lesson 6: Treat Advertising Like An Art
Bernbach once said “I warn you against believing that advertising is a science.”
In today’s world, advertising and marketing is made so simple that everything comes down to formulas and frameworks.
Headline formulas
Copywriting frameworks
High-converting ad formulas
That’s all we are ever taught - Bill would hate this.
Because what made him so great was the fact he didn’t approach it as a science, but an art.
He wasn’t interested in doing what works, he was interested in doing what hasn’t been done.
He said:
“The essence of impact, is saying things the way they were never said before”
And by thinking like an artist he was able to do just that. Say things that had never been said and make that impact.
🌱 The Greenhouse
Things I’ve saved this week that are worth seeing:
Last week, we saw how Claude Hopkins approached ads from a scientific standpoint.
Today, we saw how Bernbach attacked them from an artistic standpoint.
Ironically, the pair probably would’ve hated each others approach.
Yet, both were hugely successful.
It just goes to show… there’s no right way to anything!
Right, that’s all I’ve got for you. Now to get some sleep before the marathon.
Until next Sunday.
— Niall
If you’ve read this far, why not see how else I can help you:
This has been a breakdown of Bill Bernbach’s marketing lessons. I hope you have learned something and can implement a similar strategy in your business!
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