Customer Reviews

Ogilvy on Advertising

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Want to understand how to be a copywriter or an art director? You need two books, and then you need to start making ads. Ogilvy's is one of them. Although it's now 20 years old, the examples may seem out of date and some of his imperial pronoucements ("No reverse type") may seem fusty, don't be fooled. You will learn all you need to know about the classical art of making smart ads that make a strong, memorable point here. You will gain a grounding in the history and development of the profession which will serve you well. Then, when you've finished it, read "Hey Whipple, Squeeze This" by Luke Sullivan to bring your perspective a little more up to date (always important in trend-crazed ad agencies). But don't kid yourself that Ogilvy won't be the foundation of your work.

If you're in the profession of advertising, and this book isn't on your bookshelf, dog-eared, stained and well-worn, you've been ripping off your clients.

The entire premise of Ogilvy on Advertising boils down to one simple statement (coined by Claude Hopkins nearly 80 years ago in his book Scientific Advertising): "Advertising is salesmanship."

Sadly, the advertising world has drifted from that solid mooring. And now those who profess it are considered anachronistic at best. And kooky at worst.

Ogilvy, a staunch admirer of Hopkins, firmly embraced that tenet -- and it propelled him and his agency (Ogilvy and Mather) to the Mount Olympus of the advertising world. Most importantly, it made his clients rich beyond the dreams of avarice.

Ogilvy's writing is captivating. His work, legendary. His ideas, timeless. The information in this book is easily work 10 times the cover price.

I've been in the profession of advertising for nearly 15 years. I'm also an adjunct professor at a nearby university. I wholeheartedly recommend Ogilvy On Advertising to my students. I firmly embrace its principles in my profession.

And I, without hesitation, urge you to read it as well.

I heard David Ogilvy interviewed on the radio when this book first came out. He was one tough character. The book is filled with all kinds of knowledge drawn from his experience.
One piece of advice was 'Never hire the children of your best customer, you have everything to loose and nothing to gain'. I worked for a company that did just that, I advised against it and even quoted Ogilvy. The company hired him and it turned into a disaster beyond comprehension.

Ogilvy was an icon in print advertising. Great to see his insight and views, but also gives basic pointeers in developing print ads. Although, Im not sure how some of his views may fit today in entering a new world that involves social media and online advertising. Regardless, its a great read for anyone that wants to learn more about Ogilvy's thoughts and views on advertising.

... I was VERY impressed with this book. Not only did it have plenty of pictures to base its point, but the author himself is somewhat of a character (that's a good thing!). It makes a very good and interesting read and is hard to put down! I am taking an advertising class this semester and it just so happens that one of our required textbooks is "Ogilvy in Advertising", so that tells you what a popular and highly-recommended book it is. I highly recommend it to all, especially those with an interest in advertising and/or is in the graphic design field.

I think this was a great book and even though Mr. Ogilvy may toot his own horn a bit that's fine, he deserves to! I think that the people who should really read this book are the people who are going to walk into an advertising company and get some work done. Advertisers may know all these principles but they have to please their clients first. Some advertising agencies just don't care, the only person they really want to please is the client, not the client's clients. I've seem more business owners micromanage their advertising campaigns into a big disasterous flop than you can imagine. I doubt they will ever want to give up the right to micromanage the campaign, but if they are going to do it they should read this book first. I believe most advertisers have already read it.

The late, great advertising man David Ogilvy left a wealth of proven sales techniques for those wise enough to own his book OGILVY ON ADVERTISING. If you work in the ad industry, buy two copies - one for you, the other for your client.

David Ogilvy's book will make you realize how short so much advertising falls of its true potential. In the name of "creativity," advertisers diminish the impact of their message every day. I'd like to test the results of these bad ads against Ogilvy's methods.

Order OGILVY ON ADVERTISING today. Long live the words of David Ogilvy!

I have owned three copies of this book. I wore out the first one; it fell apart. The second one was stolen. The third one sits on the shelf of my office. And when I need a little inspiration, even a little reassurance that what I'm doing as an ad writer has a purpose, I go to this book. I equate it as the advertising equivalent to EB White's "Elements of Style."

Granted, Ogilivy was a bleeding egomaniac, one of those eccentric types who believed what he believed and God forbid you should prove him different. But in this book, he does admit some mistakes he had made in his career regarding approaches and ideas.

Still, a lot has changed in advertising since this book was published and I find myself looking at the ads inside for inspiration now, more than Ogilvy's somewhat self-serving commentary. Which is probably as it should be.

Oh, that Bill Bernbach had written a book like this before he died!

I've owned the same doggeared, underlined, highlighted and notated copy of Ogilvy on Advertising for 15 years and it never ceases to amaze me that while I continue to buy and read advertising and marketing books at a steady clip I keep coming back to the most pleasurable and sensible book on the subject I've ever read.

I could break the book down and give my opinion on this or that but the book is such a delightful read you should just dive in.

Granted, some may say that the book is out of date but I counter that (oops, with my opinion) Ogilvy understood people and tapped into the fact that regardless of the passage of time and all of our new mellinnium brilliance, we're all basically the same under the surface and basically the same as people 100 years ago.

Enjoy it.

I understand and agree with Ogilvy's philosophy and he definitely was a man with a vision.

Please, if you are thinking of getting into Advertising do not take this book as anything more than Theory. The Practice of the ad biz is a whole 'nother scary animal.