Roger Hooks and the Advertising Values That Stuck

Roger Hooks never chased fame in the advertising world, but the way he approached the craft left a mark. He wasn’t the type to celebrate flashy taglines or gimmicks. Instead, his work circled around a few simple ideas, principles that sound obvious on paper, yet are often forgotten when brands fight for attention. Keep It Honest Hooks believes in one simple thing: do not commit to something you are unable to deliver. He would rather underplay a product than dress it up in words that wouldn’t hold. “The truth sells better than spin,” he liked to say. Customers, he believed, could forgive a clumsy ad, but they would never forgive being misled. Talk to People, Not at Them A lot of ads in his time were loud, almost shouting. Hooks took the opposite path. He wrote a copy that sounded like a conversation, not a lecture. He treated the audience as people who could make their own decisions, not as targets to be tricked. That respect made his work stand out, because people felt included instead...