Ogilvy On Advertising

14
Advertising lessons
from David Ogilvy
Excerpted from ʻThe King Of Madison Avenueʼ
by Kenneth Roman

On quality and good taste

“Always give your products a ﬁrst-
class ticket through life”

1
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On innovation and ideas

“Unless your advertisement is based on
a Big Idea, it will pass like a ship in the
night.”

2

On brands

“Every advertisement must contribute
to the complex symbol that is the
brand image.”

3

On respecting the customer

“The consumer is not a moron, she is
your wife. Donʼt lie to her. You would
not tell lies to your wife. Donʼt tell
them to mine.”

4

On compromise
“Compromise has no place in
advertising. Whatever you do, go the
whole hog”

5

On the purpose of advertising

“When I write an ad, I donʼt want you to
tell me you found it ʻCreative.ʼ I want
you to ﬁnd it so persuasive that you
buy the product – or buy it more often.”

6

On showing speculative
creative campaigns

“We donʼt make love until we are
married.”

7

On advertising that entertains
“If you spend your advertising budget
entertaining the consumer, you are a bloody fool.
Housewives don’t buy a new detergent because
the manufacturer told a joke on television last
night. They buy it because it promised a benefit.
If I could persuade the lunatics to give up their
pursuit of awards, I would die happy ”

8

On knowing vs. opining

“You direct response people know what kind of
advertising works and what doesn’t work. You
know it to the dollar. The general advertising people
don’t know. The brand advertisers and their
agencies know almost nothing for sure, because
they cannot measure the results of their advertising.
They worship at the altar of creativity. Why don’t

9
you save them from their follies?
”


On unconventional hiring
“Will any agency hire this man? (referring to himself) He
is 38 and unemployed. He dropped out of college. He
has been a cook, a salesman and a diplomatist. He
knows nothing about marketing and has never written
any copy. He professes to be interested in advertising
as a career and is ready to go to work for $5,000 a year. I
doubt if any agency will hire him.
The moral: “It sometimes pays an agency to be
imaginative and unorthodox in hiring.”

10

On recruiting people

“Hot creative people don’t come
around looking for jobs; they have to
be rooted out like truffles, by trained
pigs.”

11

On training

“Great hospitals do two things: They
look after patients, and they teach
young doctors. Ogilvy & Mather does
two things: We look after clients, and
we teach young advertising people.”

12

On morale

“When people arenʼt having any fun,
they seldom produce good advertising.
Get rid of sad dogs who spread
gloom.”

13

On high standards and treating
people well

Weʼre looking for gentlemen with ideas in their heads and
ﬁre in their bellies. If you join Ogilvy & Mather, we shall
teach you everything we know about advertising. We shall
pay you well, and do our damndest to make you succeed.
If you show promise, we shall load responsibility on you –
fast. Life in our agency can be very exciting. You will
never be bored. Itʼs tough, but itʼs fun.

14

ank you
Advertising Lessons
from David Ogilvy
Excerpted from ʻThe King Of Madison Avenueʼ
by Kenneth Roman

Ogilvy On Advertising

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