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The Message Behind the Man: How Ogilvy Achieved Success
Article Overview: Thirty-three years after he first began his own advertising agency, Ogilvy wrote a memo to his staff entitled “Will Any Agency Hire This Man?” In it, he wrote, “He is 38, and unemployed. He dropped out of college. He has been a cook, a salesman, a diplomatist and a farmer. He knows nothing about marketing and has never written any copy. He professes to be interested in advertising as a career (at the age of 38!) and is ready to go to work for $5,000 a year.” Fortunately, a London firm did hire him, and there was no looking back for Ogilvy. How he did someone with no advertising experience end up shaping the entire industry?
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The Message Behind the Man: How Ogilvy Achieved Success
Thirty-three years after he first began his own advertising agency, Ogilvy wrote a memo to his staff entitled “Will Any Agency Hire This Man?” In it, he wrote, “He is 38, and unemployed. He dropped out of college. He has been a cook, a salesman, a diplomatist and a farmer. He knows nothing about marketing and has never written any copy. He professes to be interested in advertising as a career (at the age of 38!) and is ready to go to work for $5,000 a year.” Fortunately, a London firm did hire him, and there was no looking back for Ogilvy. How he did someone with no advertising experience end up shaping the entire industry?
Creativity: There was nothing Ogilvy valued over the ability to think creatively. It didn’t matter where the ideas came from, be it from researchers, executives, or copy-writers, so long as they came. Indeed, after thirty years in the industry, Ogilvy had come to one conclusion: “The top man has one principle responsibility – to provide an atmosphere in which creative mavericks can do useful work.”
Results: For all his talk about creativity, Ogilvy had one sole priority and that was to create advertisements that could sell. “Ninety-nine percent of advertising doesn’t sell much of anything,” he claimed. Ogilvy wanted to be different. It was in focusing on practical and profitable ads that Ogilvy achieved the success that he did.
Integrity: “The pursuit of excellence is less profitable than the pursuit of bigness,” wrote Ogilvy, “but it can be more satisfying.” From his advertising campaigns to his treatment of others, Ogilvy prided himself on the integrity and professionalism of his actions. In doing so, Ogilvy was able to gain the respect of his staff, clients, and consumers alike.
Study: “Advertising people who ignore research are as dangerous as generals who ignore decodes of enemy signals,” said Ogilvy. While indeed his creative instinct was the driving force behind the success of his agency, Ogilvy was a practical man, and was not one to profess the virtues of simply listening to one’s instinct. He turned to testing and research to give him direction for his creations. Consumers were always given the final word, since, in the end, it was they who would determine the fate of the ad.
Workforce: “Set exorbitant standards, and give your people hell when they don't live up to them,” said Ogilvy. “There is nothing so demoralizing as a boss who tolerates second rate work.” Ogilvy was a great man to work for, if you were willing to work, and work hard. He espoused independence, creativity and effort, and by giving his workers the freedom to do their best, so too was his agency allowed to do its best.
Despite only launching his advertising career in his late 30s, he loved what he did, once remarking, “The psychiatrists say that everybody should have a hobby. The hobby I recommend is advertising.” Ogilvy passed away in 1999, but not before completely reshaping the advertising industry and leaving behind a legacy of integrity and astounding creativity.
Mastering the Message: Ogilvy Becomes the Most Wanted Man in Advertising
Lesson #4: Never Underestimate the Power of Research
Lesson #3: Promote the Principle of Professional Discipline
The Father of Advertising: The Early Years of David Ogilvy
Lesson #1: Creative Brilliance is the Bridge to Success
Article Tags: advertisements, advertising agency, advertising campaigns, copy writers, creative instinct, creativity, driving force, generals, integrity, london firm, mavericks, ogilvy, principle responsibility, professionalism, pursuit of excellence, signals, sole priority, staff clients, thirty years, top man
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Top 19 Copywriting books
- 1. Ogilvy on Advertising. David Ogilvy. Wiley.
2. Positioning: The Battle for your Mind. Al Ries and Jack Trout. Warner.
3. The New Positioning. Jack Trout. McGraw-Hill.
4. Tested Advertising Methods. John Caples. Prentice-Hall.
5. How to Make your Advertising Make Money. John Caples. Prentice-Hall.
6. Guerrilla Advertising. Jay Conrad Levinson. Houghton Mifflin.
7. Direct Mail Copy that Sells. Herschell Gordon Lewis. Prentice-Hall.
8. Sales Letters that Sizzle. Herschell Gordon Lewis. NTC Business Books.
9. Herschell Gordon Lewis on the Art of Writing Copy. Herschell Gordon Lewis. Prentice-Hall.
10. Romancing the Brand. David Martin. American Management Association.
11. The Art of Writing Advertising: Conversations with William Bernbach, Leo Burnett, George Gribbin, David Ogilvy, Rosser Reeves. NTC Business Books.
12. Confessions of an Advertising Man. David Ogilvy. NTC Business Books.
13. My Life in Advertising. Claude Hopkins. NTC Business Books.
14. Scientific Advertising. Claude Hopkins. NTC Business Books.
15. How to Become an Advertising Man. James Webb Young. NTC Business Books.
16. The Lasker Story as He Told It. NTC Business Books.
17. Advertising Concept and Copy. George Felton. Prentice Hall.
18. The Copy WorkShop Workbook. Bruce Bendinger. The Copy Workshop.
19. Hey, Whipple, Squeeze This: A Guide to Creating Great Ads. Luke Sullivan. Wiley.
This should keep you busy for at least a year.
Enjoy!
Re: Those Annoying Telemarketers
- When I was making phone calls I received 2 different messages that really stood out...
Message 1: "We can't come to the phone right now. If you're a telemarketer please remove this number from your records. All other calls...." I never bothered to hear the rest because I wasn't allowed leaving messages anyway. I had to actually talk to the person.
Message 2: "This phone number is protected by Embarq Privacy Services (something like that). Please leave your name, phone number and reason for call, and the party you're trying to reach will determine if the call is important to them." I summarized, but you get the point. Embarq is a local phone company. I don't know if it's available nationwide or not. That's a new one on me, though.
I utilize caller ID on my cell. Unless it's a local number, I don't bother to answer. If it's important enough they'll leave a message. I use my cell for online and offline business since it has these capabilities as well as voicemail. Gotta love technology.
Re: The Storm Brace a new invention
- Hi Breck,
I sent you a Private Message - please check your "new messages link"!
Re: Two hats - startup sales mentor and Message Slinger
- 1st of all, thank you for the links, I will review them all and get a pic up ASAP.
2nd, to answer your question, I have always seen working for others as a means to an end result of running my own ventures. With my consultancy at full swing, and Message Slinger in beta, I am realizing the first part of these dreams. There is more to follow, and as it comes, sharing will be a joy.
Re: Alexa Ranking Goals
- Thanks for the monthly update Evan! And congrats to everyone who has gained.
Also, not that I am worried about it, but I am showing my site as under 265,000 right now so that would put me in the Goal Achieved category instead of the gaining momentum!
I'll make my new goal 200,000 for next month.
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by: Milly Sonneman, Effective Presentation Skills Training
February 2012 Top 100 Leadership Experts to Follow on Twitter
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