David Ogilvy, the “Father of Advertising” was the man who pioneered the way for modern advertising success. Here are some personal reasons why I love David Ogilvy.
1. He believed that to get new clients you must first do notable work for existing clients. Although this makes perfect sense, it’s amazing how hard it is to implement and he implemented it well. It’s easy to get excited at the thought of impressing your next clients and your new clients and forgetting about your smaller existing clients. Many agencies forget this and smaller clients end up moving on. Small clients can become big clients within a short amount of time so it’s not wise to shortchange your small clients.
2. He was quoted as saying he doesn’t know grammar rules and that advertising should speak in the consumers’ vernacular, not in yours. People respond to words and phrases they understand. It’s nice to know that he didn’t know everything and admitted it!
3. “In the modern world of business, it is useless to be a creative, original thinker unless you can also sell what you create.” Ogilvy was all about the selling. He kept his focus. If you weren’t selling, you weren’t advertising.
4. He had integrity. He’s been quoted many times saying something to the effect of don’t advertise something false to him or his family and he would never try to sell something he didn’t believe in. Ogilvy believed that lying had no place in advertising. He also said people want facts and that’s what you should give them. “The consumer isn’t a moron; she’s your wife.” He believed people were smart enough to not be convinced to buy a product through a few well-chosen adjectives coupled with a tag line.
5. “What you say in advertising is more important than how you say it.” Many advertising agencies live by this famous quote. He thought content was king and he never advertised with fluff words or concepts. The vehicle of the message could change as long as the message stayed strong.
6. He came up with showing the product in use for effective advertising. That just makes sense! It’s amazing that before Ogilvy people would just show the product itself and not its uses. Ogilvy also emphasized showing the end result. It all just makes sense (I know I’m repeating myself here). We nod our heads to his rules like they are so simple and so obvious, but we forget that they weren’t obvious 30 or 40 years ago.
7. He advised to choose a short name over a long name. Short names are easier to remember and long names won’t impress anyone—they’ll just make your product’s name easier to forget.
8. His 11 commandments are still relevant today. Some argue that only a portion of the 11 commandments still ring true today, but no matter the argument, the simple fact is that people still talk about them. Agencies still have them posted on their walls. I love David Ogilvy because his ideas, his concepts and his commandments are everlasting.
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