David Ogilvy Quotes
19 quotes from David Ogilvy — Founder of Ogilvy & Mather and known as the 'Father of Advertising.' His campaigns for Dove, Rolls-Royce, and Schweppes.
“We sell – or else.”
“We have a divine discontent with our performance. It is an antidote to smugness.”
“If each of us hires people who are bigger than we are, we shall become a company of giants.”
“The consumer isn't a moron. She is your wife.”
“I don't know the rules of grammar. If you're trying to persuade people to do something, or buy something, it seems to me you should use their language.”
“The more informative your advertising, the more persuasive it will be.”
“A good advertisement is one which sells the product without drawing attention to itself.”
“I always tell prospective clients about the chinks in the armour. I have noticed that when an antique dealer draws my attention to flaws in a piece of furniture, he wins my confidence.”
“The best ideas come as jokes. Make your thinking as funny as possible.”
“Hard work never killed a man. Men die of boredom, psychological conflict, and disease. They do not die of hard work.”
“Whenever you can, make the product itself the hero of your advertising. If you think the product too dull, I have news for you: there are no dull products, only dull writers.”
“The consumer is not a moron. She is your wife. Don't insult her intelligence. You wouldn't lie to your wife. Don't lie to mine.”
“Search all the parks in all your cities. You'll find no statues of committees.”
“It is useless to be a creative, original thinker unless you can also sell what you create.”
“I have come to the conclusion that the top man has one principal responsibility: to provide an atmosphere in which creative mavericks can do useful work.”
“The better you write, the higher you go in Ogilvy & Mather. People who think well, write well. Woolly-minded people write woolly memos, woolly letters and woolly speeches.”
“You direct response people know what kind of advertising works and what doesn't work, you know to a dollar. The general advertising people don't know.”
“I admire people who work with gusto. If you don't enjoy what you are doing, I beg you to find another job. Remember the Scottish proverb: Be happy while you are living because you are a long time dead.”
“When Fortune published an article about me and titled it 'Is David Ogilvy a Genius?' I asked my lawyer to sue the editor for the question mark.”
