Success Quote by Leo Burnett

Burnett’s line is a polite knife twist aimed at the advertising industry’s most reliable bad habit: mistaking simplification for respect. “Try not to go over the reader’s head” sounds humane, even democratic, but he flips it. The fear of confusing people becomes a mandate to sand off anything sharp, witty, or demanding until the work isn’t merely clear - it’s invisible. “Beneath his notice” is the killer phrase: the ad doesn’t offend; it fails to register. In a crowded media environment, that’s the real sin.

The intent is practical, not poetic. Burnett built an empire on bold, legible brand characters (the Marlboro Man, Tony the Tiger), ads that could be grasped quickly but still carried myth, attitude, and a little danger. His warning lands in the mid-century moment when mass marketing was professionalizing: research, “consumer insights,” and committee-tested messaging promised safety. Burnett’s subtext is that safety is not a strategy; it’s camouflage. People don’t reward ads for being understandable. They reward them for being interesting.

There’s also a quiet rebuke to condescension. The reader is not a fragile vessel who must be protected from complexity; he’s a busy adult who filters noise aggressively. Burnett isn’t arguing for obscurity. He’s arguing for altitude: reach high enough to earn attention, then communicate with enough craft that the leap feels effortless. The best ads don’t talk down. They invite you up, fast.