we'd love to
hear from you

new business inquiries media and conferences Send us your resume help me find a ddb office
DDB Logo

Blog

Creativity

Why Bernbach Matters


This Saturday, August 13, marks the 100th Anniversary of the birth of DDB's founder, Bill Bernbach, the man who ignited the creative revolution in our industry. Rarely has one person affected an industry as much as Bernbach affected modern advertising and communications. He has been called the Father of Modern Advertising, the single most influential creative force in advertising's history. That is not an exaggeration.


Bill_Bernbach_Leg_Up_sm.jpg"Everybody talks about change all the time. I think advertising essentially, the persuasion part of advertising, is going to be the same a hundred years from now. Because the man with talent, will be able to persuade and the man without talent won't, no matter how much knowledge you bring to him. No matter what mechanical devices you have...
That little thing, sitting by yourself and getting an idea, is far more important than all the technology in the world."

Bernbach's vision of creativity was built around the idea of relevance and substance - finding the relevant truth about a brand, a product or a service and delivering it in a fresh and unseen way so that people will start to care about it. Advertising, he taught us, is the art of persuasion. We are "the shapers of society." In the end, it is not only about being great as a creative in advertising, but also being a remarkable human being by trying to make things better in this world.

We recognize and honor him throughout the world this week.

Posted in Creativity on

_MG_4333_blogcrop_sm.jpgAmir KassaeiChief Creative OfficerDDB Worldwide

comments (3)

got an opinion?

join the discussion

ugochukwu

It is very inspiring for me that somebody out of his creativity created an advertising platform that has changed the norm and brought a new dimension and freedom to art of building brands and communicating change in our society.
Bill is one of the few that dared limitations and opened new fronts for us to launch from.It is a mark of humility and kindness that he remembered that it is not just about advertising but the human angle of making things better in this world.
Ride on DDB... the creativity just begun...

Magnus-Matthias Sambo

Every time I changed agency, which happened a few times during the last 28 years, I took a framed qoute from Bill Bernbach with me. To put it on the wall in my new office. It had been with me ever since I started as a junior copy writer. And nobody ever commented on it. Or asked about it. Or asked me why it was there. I still have it. It is now hanging at TBWA\Zurich, next to a Beckett quote. You will know it: "All of us who professionally use the mass media are the shapers of society. We can vulgarize that society. We can brutalize it. Or we can help lift it onto a higher level."
by the way, it`s neighbour, the Beckett reads: "Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better."

MM Sambo, Exec. CD TBWA Switzerland

Denis Hagen

It's sad to see what has happened to the advertising business since Mr. Bernbach.
He got it right and pointed everyone in the right direction.
Advertising was fun, made sense, was well-aimed, and consumers responded.
Unfortunately since then, there have been way too many detours and people who forgot ...

we would love to hear your thoughts

comments are moderated

please be nice

ddb.com

terms & conditions

This website, and all of its contents, are published solely for self-promotional, business-to-business purposes for the exclusive use of DDB clients, prospects and employees, and is not intended for the casual viewing or entertainment purposes of the public. DDB explicitly forbids the downloading or re-purposing of any text, audio, visual, programming or design data without prior written consent from DDB Worldwide.

DDB Worldwide Communications Group Inc.
US-EU/Swiss Safe Harbor Privacy Policy

DDB Worldwide Communications Group Inc. (“DDB”) respects privacy and operates within the Safe Harbor Principles published by the US Department of Commerce and described at http://www.export.gov/safeharbor/. All capitalized terms used in this Privacy Policy have the meanings expressed in the EU directive EC/95/46 dated 24th October 1995 or at http://www.export.gov/safeharbor/. If there is any conflict between this Privacy Policy and the Safe Harbor Principles, the Principles will govern.

DDB receives data in a variety of ways to evaluate employee performance. The data collected will be human resource data and may include such information as name, date of birth, job title, date of hire, compensation, benefits package, and employee performance evaluations. The data may be collected on-line, off-line or through manual processes. This Privacy Policy applies to all Personal Data collected, whether electronic, paper or verbal format, in the EU and Switzerland. Individuals should review this Privacy Policy and not provide Personal Data to DDB unless they agree to these principles.

DDB will provide individuals Notice of the purposes and uses of the information collected and the choices for limiting its use and disclosure, including the types of third parties to which the Personal Data may be transferred. This Notice will be provided at either the initial point the Personal Data is collected or before it is used for a different purpose from which it was collected or before it is transferred to a third party.

Individuals will be given a Choice to opt-out if their Personal Data is to be disclosed to a third party or used for a purpose different from which it was originally collected.

DDB will ensure Security and Data Integrity for the Personal Data collected. DDB will protect Personal Data from loss, misuse and unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration and destruction. DDB will take reasonable steps to ensure that Personal Data is reliable for its intended use, accurate, complete, and current.

Individuals may have reasonable Access to their Personal Data to correct, amend or delete information that is inaccurate. DDB may require an individual to provide acceptable proof of identity prior to granting reasonable Access. Requests for Access should be directed to safe.harbor@ddb.com.

In order to enforce these principles, DDB employs Verification through Self-Assessment, such as ensuring implementation of this Privacy Policy and appropriate employee training. DDB will initiate investigation of complaints from people who feel the privacy of their Personal Data has been violated. If initial resolution of the complaint is not satisfactory, DDB is committed to cooperating with the EU Data Protection Authority mechanism. Complaints regarding Personal Data should be directed to safe.harbor@ddb.com.

DDB is subject to FTC Action for non-compliance with the Safe Harbor principles. Such Remedy and Sanctions include potential administrative action and/or civil penalties.