Advertising journalist Tony Koenderman just released the world’s biggest collection of quotations about advertising, published in book form, comprising 1 618 quotations from critical or admiring opinion leaders, humourists and some of the industry giants. It is titled Smoke and Mirrors: advertising in a nutshell and published by Jonathan Ball Publishers. We asked Tony for his ten favourite quotes about advertising.

Advertising is like bad breath. It is not very pleasant, but it’s a lot better than not breathing at all. ANON.

In the ad game, the days are tough, the nights are long, and the work is emotionally demanding. But it’s worth it, because the rewards are shallow, transparent and meaningless. ANON.

Corporate advertising is like urinating down your leg in the middle of a dark forest at midnight. You might get a warm feeling out of it, but nobody else notices. ANON.

In the ad biz, sincerity is a commodity bought and paid for like anything else. NEWSWEEK (1967).

The codfish lays ten thousand eggs,
The homely hen lays one.
The codfish never cackles
To tell you what she’s done–
And so we scorn the codfish
While the humble hen we prize.
It only goes to show you
That it pays to advertise. ANON.

Advertising is the most fun you can have with your clothes on. JERRY DELLA FEMINA, From Those Wonderful Folks Who Gave You Pearl Harbor (1971).

We want customers to say, “That’s a hell of a product” instead of “That’s a hell of an ad.” LEO BURNETT,

Advertising isn’t a science, it’s persuasion. And persuasion is an art. BILL BERNBACH,

“It may be December outside, ladies, but it is always August under your armpits.” (Sponsor’s slogan heard during a Toscanini radio concert in New York). EVENING STANDARD, quoted in News Review (13 Nov 1947).

Freedom! To spit in the eye and in the soul of the passerby and the passenger with advertising. ALEXANDER I. SOLZHENITSYN.