His attitude to the creative process can be summed up in three things he said: 1 ‘There is an inherent drama in every product. Our No. 1 job is to dig for it and capitalize on it.’ 2 ‘When you reach for the stars, you may not quite get one, but you won’t come up with a handful of mud either.’ 3 ‘Steep yourself in your subject, work like hell, and

Readers look first at the illustration, then at the headline, then at the copy. So put these elements in that order – illustration at the top, headline under the illustration, copy under the headline. This follows the normal order of scanning, which is from top to bottom. If you put the headline above the illustration, you are asking people to scan

It will help you recognize a big idea if you ask yourself five questions: 1 Did it make me gasp when I first saw it?

Most marketers spend too much time worrying about how to revive products which are in trouble, and too little time worrying about how to make successful products even more successful. It is the mark of a brave man to admit defeat, cut his loss, and move on. Concentrate your time, your brains, and your advertising money on your successes. Back your

The secret of his success was his ability to attract exceptionally able men, and to treat them with so much respect that they never left.

Do not, however, address your readers as though they were gathered together in a stadium. When people read your copy, they are alone. Pretend you are writing each of them a letter on behalf of your client. One human being to another, second person singular.

Make your promise specific. Instead of generalities, use percentages, time elapsed, dollars saved. You are talking to engineers.

Never hire your friends. I have made this mistake three times, and had to fire all three. They are no longer my friends. Never hire your client’s children. If you have to fire them, you may lose the client. This is another mistake I have made. Never hire your own children, or the children of your partners.

More people read the captions under illustrations than read the ’body copy, so never use an illustration without putting a caption under it. Your caption should include the brand name and the promise.