The Father of Advertising: The Early Years of David Ogilvy
The Father of Advertising: The Early Years of David Ogilvy
That road began on June 23, 1911, when David Mackenzie Ogilvy was born in Surrey, England, to a financial broker and classics scholar. He studied at Fettes College in Edinburgh, Scotland, after which time he won a scholarship to study history at Christ Church College in Oxford, England. The scholarship was badly needed, since his father’s business was suffering the effects of the depression.
However, Ogilvy would never graduate from Christ Church, and in 1931, he left Oxford for Paris, where he became an apprentice chef at the Majestic Hotel. Although he admits to learning discipline and management working as a chef, Ogilvy says of the experience, “If I stayed at the Majestic I would have faced years of slave wages, fiendish pressure, and perpetual exhaustion.”
After one year in Paris, Ogilvy knew it was time to move on. With that, he returned to England, where he was hired by AGA to sell their cooking stoves door-to-door. For the first time, Ogilvy began to shine. His success in selling AGA stoves to everyone from nuns to drunkards made his employer take notice; Ogilvy was asked to write an instruction manual for other AGA salesmen. “The Theory and Practice of Selling the AGA cooker” is still hailed by Fortune magazine as “probably the best sales manual ever written.”
At the time the manual was published, Ogilvy’s brother, Francis Ogilvy, was working for the London-based advertising agency Mather & Crowther. Francis showed the manual to his bosses, who promptly hired Ogilvy as one of their account executives. In 1938, Ogilvy persuaded the firm to send him to the U.S. for a year; he would wind up staying much longer.
Ogilvy immigrated to New Jersey, where he went to work for George Gallup’s Audience Research Institute. He would spend the next three years traveling the world on behalf of Gallup’s clients. It was during this time that Ogilvy claims to have learned the importance of meticulous research methods and an adherence to reality.
Ogilvy’s career was climbing. But, at the onset of World War II, Ogilvy left Gallup to work with the Intelligence Service at the British Embassy in Washington. Again, Ogilvy excelled in the position, using his knowledge of human behaviour and “applying the Gallup technique to fields of secret intelligence.”
Following the war, Ogilvy purchased a farm in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, where he and his wife lived among the Amish. He enjoyed the atmosphere of “serenity, abundance, and contentment,” but after a few years of admittedly limited success as a farmer, Ogilvy moved back to New York. He had worked as a researcher, a chef, a salesman, and a farmer, and he was now ready to try something new. New York would prove to be the perfect setting for Ogilvy to flourish in.
The Father of Advertising The Early Years of David Ogilvy
Like this article? Share it with your friends
In 1975, he was called by Time Magazine “the most sought-after wizard in the advertising industry.” David Ogilvy wasn’t always the advertising wizard he later became. From serving in the army as a British Intelligence officer, to being a traveling salesman, to working as a hotel chef, Ogilvy took the long road to success.
That road began on June 23, 1911, when David Mackenzie Ogilvy was born in Surrey, England, to a financial broker and classics scholar. He studied at Fettes College in Edinburgh, Scotland, after which time he won a scholarship to study history at Christ Church College in Oxford, England. The scholarship was badly needed, since his father’s business was suffering the effects of the depression.
However, Ogilvy would never graduate from Christ Church, and in 1931, he left Oxford for Paris, where he became an apprentice chef at the Majestic Hotel. Although he admits to learning discipline and management working as a chef, Ogilvy says of the experience, “If I stayed at the Majestic I would have faced years of slave wages, fiendish pressure, and perpetual exhaustion.”
After one year in Paris, Ogilvy knew it was time to move on. With that, he returned to England, where he was hired by AGA to sell their cooking stoves door-to-door. For the first time, Ogilvy began to shine. His success in selling AGA stoves to everyone from nuns to drunkards made his employer take notice; Ogilvy was asked to write an instruction manual for other AGA salesmen. “The Theory and Practice of Selling the AGA cooker” is still hailed by Fortune magazine as “probably the best sales manual ever written.”
At the time the manual was published, Ogilvy’s brother, Francis Ogilvy, was working for the London-based advertising agency Mather & Crowther. Francis showed the manual to his bosses, who promptly hired Ogilvy as one of their account executives. In 1938, Ogilvy persuaded the firm to send him to the U.S. for a year; he would wind up staying much longer.
Ogilvy immigrated to New Jersey, where he went to work for George Gallup’s Audience Research Institute. He would spend the next three years traveling the world on behalf of Gallup’s clients. It was during this time that Ogilvy claims to have learned the importance of meticulous research methods and an adherence to reality.
Ogilvy’s career was climbing. But, at the onset of World War II, Ogilvy left Gallup to work with the Intelligence Service at the British Embassy in Washington. Again, Ogilvy excelled in the position, using his knowledge of human behaviour and “applying the Gallup technique to fields of secret intelligence.”
Following the war, Ogilvy purchased a farm in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, where he and his wife lived among the Amish. He enjoyed the atmosphere of “serenity, abundance, and contentment,” but after a few years of admittedly limited success as a farmer, Ogilvy moved back to New York. He had worked as a researcher, a chef, a salesman, and a farmer, and he was now ready to try something new. New York would prove to be the perfect setting for Ogilvy to flourish in.
The Father of Advertising The Early Years of David Ogilvy
Like this article? Share it with your friends
 | |
 |
No article feedback found. |
| |
Leave Your Feedback |
 | |
| |||
David AchesonDavid Acheson is the founder of DCJA Consultancy. DCJA Consultancy is a management consultancy business specialising in B2B sales consultancy. They offer bespoke and packaged sales consultancy including Sales Optimisation Review, Interim Sales Management, Sales & Marketing Review, 1:1 Sales & Management Staff Analysis, Management Training, Solution Sales Training, Creation of New Pay Plan, KPI's, run Customer Feedback Campaigns, assist with Recruitment, Coaching, Appraisals and set up Strategic Marketing Campaigns. David spent his early career in accountancy and then moved into sales in 1982, working in Office Equipment, IT, Advertising, Training, Outsourcing and Consultancy. He has held many Senior Positions in SMBs and Global Organisations including Head of Sales Operations & Head of Business Development. His knowledge, skills and great experience of the Sales Industry has led to David making keynote speeches and running educational sessions to key businesses through organisations including The Chamber of Commerce and Business Link. - Visit David Acheson's Website |
|||
David BarrDavid Barr is the President of Venture Opportunities, Inc. David has been a professional business broker/intermediary since 1980 focusing on General Business Brokerage and Mergers and Acquisitions representing client transaction value from $400,000 to $20,000,000. Mr. Barr has handled the sale of over four hundred and fifty companies. David earned a university degree from the State University of New York majoring in economics and business. David holds the Mergers and Acquisition Master Intermediary and the Certified Business Intermediary designations from the International Business Brokers Association. He is also a Senior Business Analyst and a Texas licensed Real Estate Agent. For more information about David and Venture Opportunities, visit www.bizdealmaker.com. - Visit David Barr's Website |
|||
Stephanie RobeyStephanie Robey is President and CoFounder of Pivot Positive, LLC - an Internet marketing business focused on helping people start work at home ventures. Previously, she was employed at The Search Agency with over 20 years experience in graphic design and 10 years experience in online marketing. She was responsible for launching the Conversion Path Optimization (CPO) unit where she and her team have conducted hundreds of optimization tests for online companies across multiple verticals. She is a successful entrepreneur having started and sold 2 companies and remains on the board of directors of the third, PhotoSpin.com Stephanie began her career in the direct marketing realm creating and producing direct mail for many of the major cable television companies and directly attributes her understanding of Internet marketing to those early offline experiences. Stephanie is a graduate of San Diego State University with a BFA in Graphic Arts and also holds an Executive MBA from the Graziadio School of Business and Management at Pepperdine University. Read Steph's Blog Meet Steph and Dave Sign up for our Free 7-Day BootCamp: Self Employed & Rich - Visit Stephanie Robey's Website |
|||
Dave KurlanDave Kurlan is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2. - Visit Dave Kurlan's Website |
|||
Kim CastleWith nearly two decades in the advertising and design business, with clients like Domino's Pizza, General Motors, Direct TV, Pedigree, Wolfgang Puck, Higher Octave Music, Hollywood Celebrity Products, Disney, and Paramount, as well as thousands of entrepreneurs around the world define, structure, communicate, and position their business for greater profits, BrandU(R) co-creators Kim Castle and W. Vito Montone discovered that entrepreneurs could experience the same power that big brands command for a fraction of the cost with the world's only process-based results-drive Integral approach to business creation. BrandU(R) is helping entrepreneurs grow with the power of extreme clarity from idea...to brand...to market(TM) and helping one million entrepreneurs become successful and whole so that they can make a difference in the world. Are you one of them? If you want to experience clarity all the way to the bank(TM), get started now at http://www.brandu.com. - Visit Kim Castle's Website |
|||
Anne BarrAnne Barr has over 26 years experience in sales and marketing, six years as a franchisee. She has assisted over 367 business owners and purchasers to achieve their goals in career change, transition and exit strategy. She holds the designation of Certified Franchise Executive from the International Franchise Association, Certified Business Intermediary from the International Business Brokers Association and Board Certified Broker from the Texas Association of Business Brokers. Anne is active in professional organizations, networking groups and volunteers for non-profit entities. As owner/operator of four successful businesses, Anne has proven people skills and enjoys helping clients find the right "fit" in business ownership. Visit www.FranchiseOpportunitySpecialist.com for more information about me and my company. - Visit Anne Barr's Website |
|||
Casey GollanCasey Gollan, Business Coaching & Mentoring Programs. Add $1 Million to $10 Million in the next 1 to 3 years. Since 1996 Casey has to added hundreds of millions of dollars to businesses. Watch a free video see client results Business Coaching website. - Visit Casey Gollan's Website |
|||
Joe DagerJoe Dager is President of Business901, a progressive coaching company providing no-nonsense direction in areas such as Lean Six Sigma Marketing and organized referral marketing. What others say: In the past 20 years, Joe and I have collaborated on many difficult issues. Joe’s ability to combine his expertise with “out of the box” thinking is unsurpassed. He has always delivered quickly, cost effectively and with ingenuity. A brilliant mind that is always a pleasure to work with.” - James R. If you want to learn more about Business901, start a conversation with us. We can be found @ Web/Blog: Business901.com Web/Blog: FundingYourNonprofit.com LinkedIn Profile Follow me on Twitter - Visit Joe Dager's Website |
|||
|
To learn more about the Evan Elite Author Program please contact us. | |||
|
 | ||
 |
||
|
||
 |
||
 | ||
 |
| Have you written articles that would be of value to entrepreneurs? Become an expert on our site by publishing them! Expose yourself to a wide audience, drive more traffic to your website and get more sales! Click Here for details. |
 |
 |
| Modeling the Masters: Learn the true secrets behind Walt Disney's business success factors & grow your company! Video produced by Phanta Media |
|
|
 |
"Learn straight from Evan how you can Make a Full Time Income (And More) from a Website"
Click Here To Learn More |
|
|
|
|
Get advice & tips from famous business owners, new articles by entrepreneur experts, my latest website updates, & special sneak peaks at what's to come!
|
|
 |
 Telemarketing Success Woman business success Leadership Style Assessment Integrity Guide Trainning Template |
|
 | ||
 |
Top 50 Blogs For Startups
Top Blogs To Watch In 2008 | |
 |
Top 50 Business Plans
Top Business Plan Blogs | |
| ||
 | ||||
| ||||
|
| ||||
| ||||
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||
|
Email us your ideas on how to make our website more valuable! Thank you Sharon from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for your suggestions to make the newsletter look like the website and profile younger entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez and Sean Combs!
|
|
|
