To respond to that question, the term "advertising" must be defined. Apple is a great example in terms of divine design solutions, no matter if it is cables, iPods or computers. Would they have succeeded without massive advertising? Probably not. But if they would have created buzz throughout the "right" communities, and spread the word in terms of guerilla marketing, they could have come quite far. With creative planning one can accomplish great results in terms of awareness, action and hard cash - for less money spent.

Yes and no. Not advertizing the product in totality means customers wont know you have it, whereas it is in the store, merely displaying a product is an advert, a hidden product remains unknown , even word of mouth would amount a form of advert, i do not envisage a product success without any form of advert. Frm Charles Matov

The good product might not be well communicated and exposed to the public, unless advertising. When the unique selling points, image, packaging has been integrated and transformed via the smart and creative channel or media. That would rather grab a huge crowds attention. In this age, Product but images would trigger market's demand which reflected their dream.

Yes. Provided, either it generates a need or satisfies a previously unsatisfied need.

yes, it might take time but "the heavier the cream, the longer it takes to rise to the top".

Absolutely . . . but you better have your product in the hands of the "sneezers" . . . and you better have a rock-solid plan to build word-of-mouth virally. WOM leads to PR, which often leads to consumption. In today's age of social media, I would argue that investing in alternative media is much more beneficial than traditional advertising (although this would be dependent on the target market itself). There is less margin for error without a dedicated advertising budget, but it can surely be done.

Yes, but its success will depend on the audience as much as on the product. If word of the product's existence and worth spreads among consumers and they are motivated get ahold of it then they can make it successful.

A well designed product should be able to create its own buzz around the design coupled with the product itself.

This "consumer advocating" is what all brands die for and can be a key factor in determining the success of a brands product.

No, I don't think that well designed products can survive on their design alone. The products need good advertising and PR to help the end user understand the product's benefits and to give it a compelling story.

I know only two guy who are making lots of money with AdSense: Brin & Page.