One of the most quoted advertising professionals, Gossage had a way with words even when he was'nt writing ads. He was famous for making up quotes and then attributing them to other people. Here are some of his most 'quotable quotes.' Sometimes funny, sometimes poignant: his quotes makes us think long after he's gone away.
On Advertising
"Advertising being a very young thing, is as curiously innocent of the shape of evil as a ten-year-old."
"A multibillion dollar hammer pounding a ten cent thumbtack."
"Is advertising worth saving?" "From an economic point of view, I don't think that most of it is. From an aesthetic point of view, I'm damn sure it's not; it is thoughtless, boring, and there is simply too much of it."
"To explain responsibility to advertising men is like trying to convince an eight-year-old that sexual intercourse is more fun than a chocolate ice cream cone."
On Repetition in Advertising
"If you have something pertinent to say you neither have to say it to very many people -- only those who you think will be interested -- nor do you have to say it very often . . . if it is interesting, once is enough. If it is dull, once is plenty."
"You don't have to bruise an elephant all over to kill him. One shot in the right place will do."
On Ethics in Advertising
"One of the few things you can do in this business is decide whose money you wish to take."
On Advertising Control of Media
"What good is freedom of the Press if there isn't one?"
On Audience-Orientation
"Our first duty is not to the old sales curve, it is to the audience."
"I don't know how to speak to everybody, only to somebody."
"People don't read advertising per se. They read what interests them. And sometimes it's an ad."
"To ask consumers how they like ads is like asking a galley slave what he thinks of his job calisthenics-wise."
On Intelligent Advertising
Calling for more intelligent advertising, involving the consumers. Gossage
often used this quote from the work of short story master Saki
"In baiting a trap, always leave room for the mouse."
On Changing Media Habits
About changing media habits of consumers and their growing immunity to advertising
"there is some evidence that the fish don't hold still as well as they
used to and they are developing armor plate."
Other Quotes
"We're not sure who invented water, but we're pretty sure it wasn't a fish."
"If you are stuck with a lemon, make lemonade."
Often quoted Carl Ally's definition of a consultant
" A man who borrows your watch and tells you what time it is."