Jerry Della Femina

“I ran for political office in the Hamptons once in a war I was having with the village. I came in, there were four people running, and I came in around third. It was over my food market - they arrested me. I just wanted to go for office because I thought it would be an interesting to do.”

“There's still a place for someone to come up with a strong headline, some copy in a commercial that's well written. I'm not saying it was better in the old days; it's just a totally different way of communicating.”

“The object of advertising is to get people to feel better about the product you're selling.”

“Most of the people in advertising now - mention Bill Bernbach to them, they don't know.”

“No one wants to risk a million dollars on a few laughs. The big, flashy commercials are out. The soft sell is out.”

“Humor works, and it's the best way to get attention without spending a lot of money.”

“It is now possible to target adverts to the right person at the right time in the right place. But that is not enough.”

“I have very talented art directors in my agency who start out telling me, 'Well, this is what the picture is... ' I ask, 'Well, what's the headline?' and they say, 'We haven't done that yet, but it looks this way.' But I'm still writing copy, almost every day.”

“I invented myself.”

“Let's face it: in advertising, you are paid more, but you die younger. It's not very forgiving. Like sports stars, you're in it during your better years, and then you're out looking for work.”

“In our quest to tweet, like, and trend, we have forgotten that brands can be built through advertising. Ads can generate big ideas that can never be trumped by tactics. That is the magic of an ad, and that is what is missing from many ads today.”

“The Hamptons are filled with people who are winners Monday through Friday.”

“'Mad Men' is celebrating a time that no longer exists.”

“The bad guys always fight dirty, and the good guys always fight clean.”

“Money is being wasted on adverts that go right over a consumer's head. They may win awards at Cannes, but they lose at the cash register.”

“I am a temporary amusement.”

“Today's merger makers are not ad people; they're building communications companies.”

“I came from a poor family in Coney Island. I learned to write by reading the 'Post.' This was my education.”

“If people ever talked the way advertising sounded, they would be put away.”

“My day is spent hiding from people.”