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Mastering the Message: Ogilvy Becomes the Most Wanted Man in Advertising

Article Overview: “Don't bunt,” Ogilvy once said. “Aim out of the ball park. Aim for the company of immortals.” It was with this attitude that Ogilvy returned to New York and decided to start up his own advertising agency. With the financial backing of his former employers Mather & Crowther, the company Hewitt, Ogilvy, Benson & Mather was founded in 1948. He had never written an advertisement in his life, and had only $6,000 to his name, but it was a dream that Ogilvy wanted to see through.

Mastering the Message: Ogilvy Becomes the Most Wanted Man in Advertising

“Don't bunt,” Ogilvy once said. “Aim out of the ball park. Aim for the company of immortals.” It was with this attitude that Ogilvy returned to New York and decided to start up his own advertising agency. With the financial backing of his former employers Mather & Crowther, the company Hewitt, Ogilvy, Benson & Mather was founded in 1948. He had never written an advertisement in his life, and had only $6,000 to his name, but it was a dream that Ogilvy wanted to see through.

In the firm’s early days, Ogilvy admits it was a struggle to attract clients. Nevertheless, over time, Ogilvy’s creativity and professionalism led to a number of successful assignments, and soon after, the clients were rolling in. From Lever Brothers to General Foods to America Express, Ogilvy landed some of the most major clients on the market. Shell had given his firm its entire North American advertising account, while Sears hired them for their first ever national campaign. “I doubt whether any copywriter has ever had so many winners in such a short period of time,” Ogilvy later wrote in his autobiography. “They made Ogilvy & Mather so hot that getting clients was like shooting fish in a barrel.”

In 1965, Ogilvy created a new international company by merging with the London-based Mather & Crowther. The next year, Ogilvy & Mather became one of the first advertising agencies to go public. Soon thereafter, it had become an advertising powerhouse around the world.

In 1973, Ogilvy moved to his estate in France and resigned as Chairman of the company. However, he still kept in touch with the company – so much so that the amount of mail he received elevated the status of the nearby post office as well as the postmaster’s salary. In fact, Ogilvy found it quite difficult to stay out of the day-to-day operations of the company, and in the 1980s, came out of retirement to serve as chairman of Ogilvy & Mather in India. For one year, Ogilvy also served as temporary chairman to the German branch of the agency, for which he commuted daily from France to Frankfurt.

Ogilvy remained involved with the agency until 1989, when it was bought by the British WPP Group for $864 million. The buyout marked the only known hostile takeover in the history of the advertising business. WPP quickly became the largest marketing communications firm in the world. Ogilvy was named the company’s non-executive chairman, but was visibly upset by the takeover, personally and publicly attacking the WPP chairman, Sir Martin Sorrell.

Throughout his career, Ogilvy authored numerous books, including “Ogilvy on Advertising,” and the best-selling “Confessions of an Advertising Man,” which remains one of the definitive sources for advertising advice and strategies today.

When he was 75 years old, Ogilvy was asked if there was anything he had missed out on in life. He replied, “Knighthood. And a big family – ten children.” Knighthood might have eluded him, but Ogilvy was made a commander of the British Empire in 1967, and was also elected to the U.S. Advertising Hall of Fame.

On July 21, 1999, Ogilvy passed away on his French estate. He leaves behind him a legacy as one of the foremost thinkers and shapers of the advertising industry.

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Article Tags: advertising agency, aim, attitude, ball park, bunt, financial backing, immortals, mather, ogilvy, wanted man



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