Ogilvy on Advertising By David Ogilvy
Sarah Perry JOMC 170 Book Report July 18, 2006
2 About the Author David Ogilvy, born in 1911, was called by Time “the most sought after wizard in the business.” Ogilvy was one of the three key individuals in the Creative Revolution, along with Bill Bernbach and Leo Burnett. Before Ogilvy began advertising, he worked with research giant George Gallup for 3 years (David Ogilvy: History). Ogilvy came from the UK to start his agency Ogilvy & Mather. Starting with no clients in 1948, it has since grown into a worldwide enterprise (Ogilvy.com). As successful as Ogilvy was, he did it all with no college degree (Ogilvy 51). Some of Ogilvy’s most famous campaigns were the Hathaway shirts which ran for 25 years, Schweppes, and Rolls-Royce. Ogilvy wrote 3 books about advertising: Confessions of an Advertising Man (1963), Blood, Brains, and Beer: The Autobiography of David Ogilvy (1978) and Ogilvy on Advertising (1983). Ogilvy retired in 1971 and after his retirement, Ogilvy & Mather was purchased by mega agency WPP in 1989 for $864 million (Ogilvy.com). Ogilvy died in 1999 but his legacy in the advertising world will always be remembered.
3 Abstract of Ogilvy on Advertising In Ogilvy on Advertising, David Ogilvy writes about all aspects of advertising. He explains all the tips and rules he has learned about advertising through his own experience and through looking at data. He mainly writes about the aspects of advertising he knows from his own experience, particularly print advertising. In his book, he states that he does oversimplify some complicated subjects, making it easy for readers to understand. The book is broken down into 20 chapters, which all discuss different aspects related to advertising. The division of chapters makes the book easy to read. It does not read together like a whole book, but can be read just section by section depending on what you want to learn. First, Ogilvy examines how to produce
Cited: Amazon.com reviews, Accessed July 15, 2006 http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/039472903X/sr=81/qid=1153059995/ref=pd_bbs_1/002-0285501-4559209?ie=UTF8 “David Ogilvy: History.” Accessed July 15, 2006 from http://www.ciadvertising.org/studies/student/98_fall/theory/clark/two/history.html “History of David Ogilvy.” Accessed July 16, 2006 from http://www.ogilvy.com/history/ Teachout, Terry. “Books in Brief.” National Review 8 Feb 1985. Volume 37, Issue 2. pg 61. Accessed July 15, 2006 from Academic Search Premier.