I Am One Who Believes That

From Communications of an Advertising Man (1961), a collection of Burnett's speeches and writings compiled by his agency. Burnett was arguing that the failure mode of most advertising was not dishonesty but dullness — that ads which say nothing interesting generate only resentment or indifference. This was a core principle of the "Chicago School" of advertising he championed, which favored warmth and storytelling over the harder-sell approach associated with New York agencies.