"The customer is not a moron. She's your wife" is a famous quotation attributed to

advertising Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to put a product or service in the spotlight in hopes of drawing it attention from consumers. It is typically used to promote a ...

executive David Ogilvy in 1955. It subsequently appeared in his 1963 book, '' Confessions of an Advertising Man''. Ogilvy made his remark in response to typical advertising practices of the early 1950s, which featured loud and hectoring voices and blatantly exaggerated print. He believed that adverts should be delivered in a softer and more sympathetic tone, treating the customer as intelligent and capable of seeing through blatant hype. The quotation has since been used by others as a reminder that advertisers should not patronise their customers or doubt their

intelligence Intelligence has been defined in many ways: the capacity for abstraction, logic, understanding, self-awareness, learning, emotional knowledge, reasoning, planning, creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving. It can be described as the a ...

, as it may harm their business. Marketing expert Austin McGhie used the quotation to show that respecting customers and overcoming their potential cynicism to a product is essential to success. He goes on to say "the customer is you", explaining that we are all capable of spotting each other's hype and disbelieving it. Business author James Leibert has used Ogilvy's quotation, adding "if we want to understand our customers, we're going to have to understand them extremely well". In 1990,

BBC 2 BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream ...

broadcast a documentary ''Washes Whiter: She's Not a MoronShe's Your Wife'' that examined typical practices of advertising to women in the 1950s.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Customer is not a moron 1950s neologisms American advertising slogans 1955 speeches Customer experience Retail processes and techniques

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