5 Awesome Quotes from the Golden Age of Advertising

At Ignite HQ we’re obsessive about creativity. While this often means we look forward at new technologies and trends, we also know there’s an immense amount to learn from looking back.

Recently I received a copy of Damn Good Advice (for people with talent) by George Lois; a man widely acknowledged as a leading light during the golden age of advertising. It’s a wonderful, short read, packed with nuggets of damn good advice: much of it as uncompromising and shocking as the work that made him famous. Lois and his peers were not only responsible for some of the most enduring advertising ever: they could always be relied upon for an inspirational quote, many of which are still applicable to people working in creative industries some 50 years later. Here are five personal favourites:

“Creative ideas flourish best in a shop which preserves some spirit of fun. Nobody is in business for fun, but that does not mean there cannot be fun in business.”

– Leo Burnett, the Leo Burnett Company

“An idea can turn to dust or magic, depending on the talent that rubs against It.”

– Bill Bernbach, co-founder DDB

“You can’t just be you. You have to double yourself. You have to read books on subjects you know nothing about. You have to travel to places you never thought of traveling. You have to meet every kind of person and endlessly stretch what you know.”

– Mary Wells Lawrence, co-founder Wells Rich Greene

“The best ideas come as jokes. Make your thinking as funny as possible.”

– David Ogilvy, founder of Ogilvy & Mather

“Creativity can solve almost any problem. The creative act, the defeat of habit by originality, overcomes everything.”

– George Lois, co-founder of Lois, Holland, Callaway

To find out how Ignite’s creative inspiration can help your hospitality business, please get in touch.