Quotations of David Ogilvy - 2

COMMITTEES

A lot of advertisements and television commercials look like minutes of o committee meeting, and that is what they are.
Advertising seems to sell most when it is written by a solitary individual. He must study the product, the research and the precedents. Then he must shut the door of his office and write the advertisements.
Confessions of an Advertising Man

Nowadays it is the fashion to pretend that no single individual is ever responsible for a successful advertising campaign. This emphasis on “teamwork” is bunkum – a conspiracy of the mediocre majority.
Confessions of an Advertising Man


LEADERSHIP

Do not summon people to your office – it frightens them. Instead go to see them in their offices.
This makes you visible throughout the agency. A Chairman who never wanders about his agency becomes a hermit, out of touch with his staff.
Principles of Management

Our offices must always be headed by the kind of men who command respect. Not phonies, zeros or bastards.
Principles of Management


CLIENTS

I always use my clients’ products. This is not toadyism but elementary good manners.
Confessions of an Advertising Man

Don’t expect your agency to pay for all the dry holes they drill on your behalf.
Confessions of an Advertising Man

The best way to get new accounts is to create for our present clients the kind of advertising that will attract prospective clients. We do not have new business departments in our offices. No first class man will take the job; no second class man can do it effectively.
Principles of Management

If you resign accounts every time you feel like doing so, you will empty your portfolio every year.
Principles of Management


CONSUMERS

You aren’t advertising to a standing army; you are advertising to a moving parade. Three million consumers get married every year. The advertisement which sold a refrigerator to those who got married last year will probably be just as successful whit those who’ll get married next year. An advertisement is just like a radar sweep, constantly hunting new prospects as they come into the market. Get a good radar and keep it sweeping.
Confessions of an Advertising Man

The consumer isn’t a moron; she is your wife. You insult her intelligence if you assume that a mere slogan and a few vapid adjectives will persuade her to buy anything. She wants all the information you can give her.
Confessions of an Advertising Man