Newsweek’s obituary, like numerous others, was short, saying Bernbach was witty, low-key in his campaigns, but it noted how he subtly pitched products at what he called the "illogical passions" of shoppers (October 18, 1982, p. 112).

Time reported that Bernbach preached that "honesty sells," noting too his wit and incisiveness (October 18, 1982, p. 100). Current Biography added that his notable campaigns "spearheaded the creative revolution on Madison Avenue" (Moritz, ed., 1982, p. 460).

Kaufman emphasized Bernbach’s huge differences to the soul of advertising by comparing him with a great contemporary, David Ogilvy of Ogilvy and Mather. Kaufman described "the early ‘50s as fascinating years. "Both Ogilvy and Bernbach were certainly 'in their prime'; both used print brilliantly yet differently. Where Ogilvy’s humor was almost always in the copy, Bernbach’s might just as often be in the picture. Frequently, the joke was left out. Both men took themselves and their work seriously. Both were meticulously fussy in the pursuit of excellence. Ogilvy made rules, but Bernbach "ruled by the seat of his pants".

"Unlike industrial-hearted Americans such as Leo Burnett, Bernbach was melting-pot American. Regardless of how much money he made, Bernbach "never lost touch with whatever it is in this country that can take people as diverse as the Irish, Italians, Ethiopians, Slavs, Chinese, Cubans and Jews and turn them into card-carrying New York customers almost overnight" (Kaufman).

Another long-time DDB creative, Phyllis Robinson, stated: "I don’t think Bill set out to make a revolution or a fortune. The whole idea was creative freedom. His ambitions were only large in terms of room to breathe. What excited him - and us - was the idea of running our own show and doing the kind of work we loved to do without having filter it through a noncreative management."

When Bernbach was director of the Harper’s Magazine Foundation, it was noted that he "probably had a greater impact on American culture than any of the distinguished writers and artists who appeared in the pages of Harper’s during the past 133 years" (Kinsley, ed., p. 11). And today he emerges as No.1 on Advertising Age’s 20th century honor roll of advertising’s most influential people.

"He worshipped at the altar of originality, and was never tired of denouncing research as the enemy of creativity. This may have irritated some of his clients, but it made him the hero of the creative fraternity" (David Ogilvy).