It's the lack of ambition that cripples most people, and makes them so pedestrian in the advertising/creative business — David Ogilvy Copy Share Image
Advertising reflects the mores of society, but it does not influence them. — David Ogilvy Copy Share Image
The headline is the 'ticket on the meat.' Use it to flag down readers who are prospects for the kind of product… — David Ogilvy Copy Share Image
Some manufacturers illustrate their advertisements with abstract paintings. I would only do this if I wished to conceal from the reader what… — David Ogilvy Copy Share Image
Most agencies run scared, most of the time. . . .Frightened people are powerless to produce good advertising. . . . If… — David Ogilvy Copy Share Image
A good advertisement is one which sells the product without drawing attention to itself. — David Ogilvy Copy Share Image
There isn’t any significant difference between the various brands of whiskey, or cigarettes or beer. They are all about the same. And… — David Ogilvy Copy Share Image
What really decides consumers to buy or not to buy is the content of your advertising, not its form. — David Ogilvy Copy Share Image
Never write an advertisement which you wouldn't want your family to read. You wouldn't tell lies to your own wife. Don't tell… — David Ogilvy Copy Share Image
I do not regard advertising as entertainment or an art form, but as a medium of information. — David Ogilvy Copy Share Image
Few of the great creators have bland personalities. They are cantankerous egotists, the kind of men who are unwelcome in the modern… — David Ogilvy Copy Share Image
To advertisers: "Do not compete with your agency in the creative area. Why keep a dog and bark yourself?" — David Ogilvy Copy Share Image
Like a midwife, I make my living bringing new babies into the world, except that mine are new advertising campaigns. — David Ogilvy Copy Share Image
“I don't know the rules of grammar. If you're trying to persuade people to do something, or buy something, it seems to… — David Ogilvy Copy Share Image
Advertising is a business of words, but advertising agencies are infested with men and women who cannot write. They cannot write advertisements,… — David Ogilvy Copy Share Image
Nobody should be allowed to create general advertising until he has served his apprenticeship in direct-response — David Ogilvy Copy Share Image
You aren’t advertising to a standing army; you are advertising to a moving parade. — David Ogilvy Copy Share Image
While you are responsible to your clients for sales results, you are responsible to consumers for the kind of advertising you bring… — David Ogilvy Copy Share Image
The manufacturer who finds himself up the creek is the short-sighted opportunist who siphons off all his advertising dollars for short-term promotions. — David Ogilvy Copy Share Image
I have noticed that agencies which are full of fun and ferment seem to create the best advertising. If you are not… — David Ogilvy Copy Share Image
I avoid clients for whom advertising is only a marginal factor in their marketing mix. They have an awkward tendency to raid… — David Ogilvy Copy Share Image
I figure that my staff will be less reluctant to work overtime if I work longer hours than they do. — David Ogilvy Copy Share Image
In most agencies, account executives outnumber the copywriters two to one. If you were a dairy farmer, would you employ twice as many milkers… — David Ogilvy Copy Share Image
“Your alcoholics may include some of your brightest stars. The problem is to identify them, protected as they always are by their secretaries and… — David Ogilvy Copy Share Image
It takes a big idea to attract the attention of consumers and get them to buy your product. Unless your advertising contains a big… — David Ogilvy Copy Share Image
Many manufacturers secretly question whether advertising really sells their product, but are vaguely afraid that their competitors might steal a march on them if… — David Ogilvy Copy Share Image
Once upon a time I was riding on the top of a First Avenue bus, when I heard a mythical housewife say to another,… — David Ogilvy Copy Share Image
In the modern world of business, it is useless to be a creative, original thinker unless you can also sell what you create. — David Ogilvy Copy Share Image
Consumers don't think how they feel. They don't say what they think and they don't do what they say. — David Ogilvy Copy Share Image
The worst fault a salesman can commit is to be a bore. Foster any attempt to talk about other things; the longer you stay… — David Ogilvy Copy Share Image
