Success Quote by William Bernbach

Bernbach is taking a scalpel to the ad world’s oldest vanity: the urge to be admired for the ad rather than persuaded by it. The line sounds almost puritanical for a man who helped invent modern creative advertising, and that’s the point. He’s weaponizing humility as a creative doctrine. If the work “shines” in a way that competes with the product, it’s not brilliance; it’s misdirection.

The specific intent is managerial and aesthetic at once. He’s setting a rule for agencies that were drifting toward self-congratulation - copywriters and art directors chasing awards, inside jokes, and “clever” executions that read like performances. “Kill the cleverness” is less anti-intellectual than anti-narcissistic. He isn’t arguing against originality; he’s arguing against originality that can’t be traced back to a clear selling proposition. The audience should feel the product’s appeal, not the creator’s ego.

The subtext is a power shift: creativity is not the star, the product is. That’s a radical constraint, because it treats restraint as the highest craft. His gardening metaphors - “tear away,” “pluck out the weeds” - frame editing as labor, not compromise. The best idea is the one that survives subtraction.

Context matters. Bernbach’s DDB era (the 1950s-70s) elevated wit, design, and voice, yet he’s warning that style can become a hall of mirrors. When advertising becomes a culture industry, it starts marketing itself. Bernbach is reminding creatives that persuasion isn’t a talent show; it’s clarity with intent.