The Wizard of Ads by Roy H. Williams

Pg 21 The advertising man is a liaison between the products of business and the mind of the nation. He must know both before he can serve either

Pg 30 Most people write intellectual ads the same way they tell a joke. They open with an obscure reference to what’s coming, then add relevant data little by little, working their way up to the punchline. This is the worst possible way to write an ad. An ad is not a joke. Those listening to a joke are committed to listening. Those listening to an ad are not

Pg 38 The problem is that advertising is not scientific. Trying to reach the right people usually leads to overtargeting and overconfidence. It has caused more stupid mistakes, frustration, and failures than any other myth in the history of commerce

Pg 50 For every dollar spent in fitness to “feel good”, American spend $19 on cocaine to “feel good”. 2 second after you snort coke you feel like Superman, two weeks of diet and exercise just makes you hungry and sore

Pg 58 There are only 2 kinds of ads: Echoic (sound) and iconic (sight). Echoic ads are far more intrusive than iconic ads. It is because of the intrusive nature of sound that people often complain about ads on the radio, but never about those in print

Pg 79 The desire for instant gratification. The ad that creates enough urgency to cause people to respond immediately is the ad most likely to be forgotten immediately once the offer expires. Such ads are of little use in establishing the advertiser’s identity in the mind of the customer

Pg 92 Ambition is as common as dirt. People who lack initiative hesitate to do what they cannot do well. Ambition without initiative is simply daydreaming

Pg 96 It is a true but little known fact that more American citizens are killed by pigs each year than by sharks

Pg 100 No matter what selling style a salesperson may use, the odds are he’ll instantly hit it off with 3 of 10 people. 4 of 10 will be able to take him or leave him, and the final 3 arent going to like him no matter what he says. Most salespeople make their living selling the 3 out of 10 with whom they find an easy connection; the sales champion learns how to handle the 4 in the middle

Pg 133 Always negotiate the price of products. Never negotiate the price of services. The services you get for half price are not the same services you get for full price

Pg 139 When employees know that you are good at what they do, they tend to become increasingly helpless. When they know that you aren’t able to do their jobs, they learn to do those jobs themselves, and you have a much happier company

Pg 174 Any fool can see that a great deal more unexpected good happens each day than unexpected bad. Bad news is reported by the media only because it is so rare. Good news is so abundant that its rarely considered news at all

Pg 196 its not the things we’re doing that are wearing us out. Its the burden of all the things we’re not doing. Its the knowledge of things undone that causes us to wish for more hours in a day

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