A recent email exchange made me recall one of my favorite Al Ries quotes:
“[In advertising] you can always find at least one exception to every rule. You have a choice. You can either live by the rules and accept the possibility that you might miss an opportunity because you didn’t break the rules. Or you can live a life of anarchy.”
I think about this quote every time I get into a debate about the fundamentals of DRTV, which happens often. Since I usually base my critiques on such well-founded principles as the Divine Seven and the T&T DRTV Techniques, people are often forced to attack the principles (aka rules) themselves.
Of course, as Mr. Ries so eloquently put it, you can always find an exception to every rule. But banking on those exceptions is a sure way to go bankrupt.
