George Lois Advertising Quotes & Sayings

When you create advertising, always start with the words. — George Lois

Because advertising and marketing is an art, the solution to each new problem or challenge should begin with a blank canvas and an open mind, not with the nervous borrowings of other people's mediocrities. That's precisely what 'trends' are - a search for something 'safe' - and why a reliance on them leads to oblivion. — George Lois

I am in the poison gas business. Advertising should make you choke, make your eyes water, make you feel sick. — George Lois

To me, great advertising can make food taste better, can make your car run smoother. It can change your perception of something. Is it wrong to change your perception about something? Of course not. I'm not lying; I'm just saying, 'This one's more fun, this one's more exciting.' — George Lois

It's almost as if creativity is dead. The visual power of advertising was everywhere - now it's basically gone. — George Lois

If somebody says to you, 'MTV,' you think of Mick Jagger on a phone screaming at that phone: 'I want my MTV.' That, to me, was always the epitome of great advertising. — George Lois

When I lecture kids, I say, 'You've got to be ambitious by the advertising - ambitious. You've got to say, 'See, this product? Maybe I can change the world with this product.' They look at me like I'm nuts, but that's what you can do. — George Lois

Great advertising, in and of itself, becomes a benefit of the product. — George Lois

With the way I worked, a client can give me everything they know about something, and then I go away and come back with advertising that knocks them out of their chair. They finally understand what kind of a company they are. — George Lois

When you think of a brand, you should immediately understand it from the advertising attitude, from the words and visuals. — George Lois

I'm sounding like an old fart talking about how bad advertising is today, but it's true. Advertising sucks. Guys like me and Bob Gage and certainly Bill Bernbach and two or three other guys, we exemplified and led the creative revolution. — George Lois

All the people who run agencies, all the important people in agencies have taken communication courses, marketing courses, advertising courses, and courses basically teach advertising as a science, and advertising is so far from a science it isn't even funny. Advertising is an art. — George Lois

Advertising is poison gas. It should bring tears to your eyes, unhinge your nervous system and knock you out. — George Lois

Advertising, an art, is constantly besieged and compromised by logicians and technocrats, the scientists of our profession who wildly miss the main point about everything we do ... — George Lois

You can't test great advertising. You can only test the mediocre. Not that I don't care about demographics. You have to understand who you're going after. — George Lois