--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Never write an advertisement which you…" description: "\"Never write an advertisement which you wouldn't want your own family to read. You wouldn't tell lies to your own wife. Don't tell them to mine. Do as y..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b3/david-ogilvy-1326_advertisements_never-write-an-advertisement-which-you-w_2710652.png" --- # Never write an advertisement which you wouldn't want your… ![“Never write an advertisement which you wouldn't want your own family to read. You wouldn't tell lies to your own wife. Don't tell them to mine. Do as you would be done by.” quote by David Ogilvy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b3/david-ogilvy-1326_advertisements_never-write-an-advertisement-which-you-w_2710652.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b3/david-ogilvy-1326_advertisements_never-write-an-advertisement-which-you-w_2710652.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b3/david-ogilvy-1326_advertisements_never-write-an-advertisement-which-you-w_2710652.png) > “Never write an advertisement which you wouldn't want your own family to read. You wouldn't tell lies to your own wife. Don't tell them to mine. Do as you would be done by.” [David Ogilvy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ogilvy/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Never create ads you wouldn’t want your family to see; be honest and respectful. **In simple terms:** Write ads you’d be comfortable sharing with family. Key Takeaway Prioritize honesty and respect in advertising. Themes ethics advertising trust family values Mood professional thoughtful serious Type business ethical When to use this quote - marketing campaigns - product launches - social media ads - public service announcements Key Concepts consumer psychology brand integrity Questions to Reflect On - What values guide your creative decisions? - How do you balance honesty with persuasion? A Different Perspective Overly cautious ads may lack boldness. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Advertising](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/advertising/) [Business](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/business/) [Buying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/buying/) [Consumers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consumers/) [Government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/government/) [Honest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/honest/) [Lying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lying/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Wife](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wife/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [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 them to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ogilvy/never-write-an-advertisement-which-you-wouldn-t-want-your-family-to/) [David Ogilvy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ogilvy/) > [Never write an advertisement which you wouldn't want your own family to read. You wouldn't tell lies to your own wife. Don't tell them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ogilvy/never-write-an-advertisement-which-you-wouldn-t-want-your-own-family/) [David Ogilvy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ogilvy/) > [I do not regard advertising as entertainment or an art form, but as a medium of information. When I write an advertisement, I don’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ogilvy/i-do-not-regard-advertising-as-entertainment-or-an-art-form-but-as-a-2/) [David Ogilvy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ogilvy/) > [Claude Hopkins.. maintained that nobody with a college education could write an advertisement addressed to the mass millions. That's absolute poppycock.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ogilvy/claude-hopkins-maintained-that-nobody-with-a-college-education-could/) [David Ogilvy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ogilvy/) > [Here lies my wife: here let her lie! Now she's at rest, and so am I.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/here-lies-my-wife-here-let-her-lie-now-she-s-at-rest-and-so-am-i/) [John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/) > [“Don’t tell lies, or even exaggerate. At all. Ever. 3.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-h-maister/don-t-tell-lies-or-even-exaggerate-at-all-ever-3/) [David H. Maister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-h-maister/) > [“If I told you I don’t tell lies, that itself would be a lie.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/if-i-told-you-i-don-t-tell-lies-that-itself-would-be-a-lie/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [I don't tell lies. I don't need to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-froch/i-don-t-tell-lies-i-don-t-need-to/) [Carl Froch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-froch/) > [“I never tell you lies, imp. But sometimes I don’t tell everybody all the truth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-duncan/i-never-tell-you-lies-imp-but-sometimes-i-don-t-tell-everybody-all/) [Dave Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-duncan/) > [If you tell lies about a product, you will be found out - either by the Government, which will prosecute you, or by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ogilvy/if-you-tell-lies-about-a-product-you-will-be-found-out-either-by-the/) [David Ogilvy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ogilvy/) > [Some manufacturers illustrate their advertisements with abstract paintings. I would only do this if I wished to conceal from the reader what I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ogilvy/some-manufacturers-illustrate-their-advertisements-with-abstract/) [David Ogilvy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ogilvy/) > [What is a good advertisement? An advertisement which pleases you because of its style, or an advertisement which sells the most? They are seldom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ogilvy/what-is-a-good-advertisement-an-advertisement-which-pleases-you/) [David Ogilvy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ogilvy/) > [The business community wants remarkable advertising, but turns a cold shoulder to the kind of people who can produce it. That is why most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ogilvy/the-business-community-wants-remarkable-advertising-but-turns-a-cold/) [David Ogilvy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ogilvy/) > [The headline is the most important element in most advertisements. It is the telegram which decides the reader whether to read the copy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ogilvy/the-headline-is-the-most-important-element-in-most-advertisements-it/) [David Ogilvy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ogilvy/) > [It strikes me as bad manners for a magazine to accept one of my advertisements and then attack it editorially - like inviting a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ogilvy/it-strikes-me-as-bad-manners-for-a-magazine-to-accept-one-of-my/) [David Ogilvy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ogilvy/) ## More by David Ogilvy > [I figure that my staff will be less reluctant to work overtime if I work longer hours than they do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ogilvy/i-figure-that-my-staff-will-be-less-reluctant-to-work-overtime-if-i/) [David Ogilvy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ogilvy/) > [In most agencies, account executives outnumber the copywriters two to one. If you were a dairy farmer, would you employ twice as many milkers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ogilvy/in-most-agencies-account-executives-outnumber-the-copywriters-two-to/) [David Ogilvy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ogilvy/) > [“Your alcoholics may include some of your brightest stars. The problem is to identify them, protected as they always are by their secretaries and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ogilvy/your-alcoholics-may-include-some-of-your-brightest-stars-the-problem/) [David Ogilvy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ogilvy/) > [It takes a big idea to attract the attention of consumers and get them to buy your product. Unless your advertising contains a big…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ogilvy/it-takes-a-big-idea-to-attract-the-attention-of-consumers-and-get/) [David Ogilvy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ogilvy/) > [Many manufacturers secretly question whether advertising really sells their product, but are vaguely afraid that their competitors might steal a march on them if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ogilvy/many-manufacturers-secretly-question-whether-advertising-really-sells/) [David Ogilvy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ogilvy/) > [Once upon a time I was riding on the top of a First Avenue bus, when I heard a mythical housewife say to another,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ogilvy/once-upon-a-time-i-was-riding-on-the-top-of-a-first-avenue-bus-when-i/) [David Ogilvy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ogilvy/) > [You can't save souls in an empty church.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ogilvy/you-can-t-save-souls-in-an-empty-church/) [David Ogilvy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ogilvy/) > [In the modern world of business, it is useless to be a creative, original thinker unless you can also sell what you create.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ogilvy/in-the-modern-world-of-business-it-is-useless-to-be-a-creative/) [David Ogilvy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ogilvy/) > [Consumers don't think how they feel. They don't say what they think and they don't do what they say.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ogilvy/consumers-don-t-think-how-they-feel-they-don-t-say-what-they-think/) [David Ogilvy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ogilvy/) > [Compete with the immortals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ogilvy/compete-with-the-immortals/) [David Ogilvy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ogilvy/) > [You will never win fame and fortune unless you invent big ideas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ogilvy/you-will-never-win-fame-and-fortune-unless-you-invent-big-ideas/) [David Ogilvy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ogilvy/) > [The worst fault a salesman can commit is to be a bore. Foster any attempt to talk about other things; the longer you stay…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ogilvy/the-worst-fault-a-salesman-can-commit-is-to-be-a-bore-foster-any/) [David Ogilvy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ogilvy/) > [I don't believe in tricky advertising, I don't believe in cute advertising, I don't believe in comic advertising. The people who perpetrate that kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ogilvy/i-don-t-believe-in-tricky-advertising-i-don-t-believe-in-cute/) [David Ogilvy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ogilvy/) > [I never assign a product to a writer unless I know that he is personally interested in it. Every time I have written a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ogilvy/i-never-assign-a-product-to-a-writer-unless-i-know-that-he-is/) [David Ogilvy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ogilvy/) > [Talent, I believe, is most likely to be found among nonconformists, dissenters, and rebels.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ogilvy/talent-i-believe-is-most-likely-to-be-found-among-nonconformists/) [David Ogilvy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ogilvy/) [Explore all 255 David Ogilvy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ogilvy/) ## More Advertisements quotes > [There's a subterranean impetus towards pornography so powerful that half the business world is juiced by the sort of half sex that one finds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/there-s-a-subterranean-impetus-towards-pornography-so-powerful-that/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [In advertisements for your favorite products, are women denigrated or objectified in some way? All of that is important. I would rewrite my kids'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geena-davis/in-advertisements-for-your-favorite-products-are-women-denigrated-or/) [Geena Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geena-davis/) > [ There's a fantastic, thousand-page book by David Thomson about \[David O. Selznick\]. Again, it's not the best argument or the best advertisement for his… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karina-longworth/there-s-a-fantastic-thousand-page-book-by-david-thomson-about-david-o/) [Karina Longworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karina-longworth/) > [Google has - at least at this point - maintained the line where it keeps organic results separate from the advertisements. But over time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-wu/google-has-at-least-at-this-point-maintained-the-line-where-it-keeps/) [Tim Wu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-wu/) > [Freedom! To fill people's mailboxes, eyes, ears and brains with commercial rubbish against their will, television programs that are impossible to watch with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/freedom-to-fill-people-s-mailboxes-eyes-ears-and-brains-with/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I think if you can create a meaningful thing that is also an advertisement that's a pretty cool option for brands.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doug-walters/i-think-if-you-can-create-a-meaningful-thing-that-is-also-an/) [Doug Walters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doug-walters/) > [I believe in advertisement and media completely. My art and my personal life are based in it. I think that the art world would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-koons/i-believe-in-advertisement-and-media-completely-my-art-and-my/) [Jeff Koons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-koons/) > [To measure your needs by that which is projected via mass media is a mistake that has no mercy. The average person views a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haki-r-madhubuti/to-measure-your-needs-by-that-which-is-projected-via-mass-media-is-a/) [Haki R. Madhubuti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haki-r-madhubuti/) > [It is futile to assume that an initially ineffective advertisement still needs to wear in; wear-in either happens quickly or it does not happen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerard-j-tellis/it-is-futile-to-assume-that-an-initially-ineffective-advertisement/) Gerard J Tellis > [Basically, art should remain something that is complex, that has many layers, so there's always a possibility to reconsider things and have a different…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-henrot/basically-art-should-remain-something-that-is-complex-that-has-many/) [Camille Henrot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-henrot/) > [No, no; 'tis all men's office to speak patience To those that wring under the load of sorrow, But no man's virtue nor sufficiency…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/no-no-tis-all-men-s-office-to-speak-patience-to-those-that-wring/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Unlucky people miss chance opportunities because they are too focused on looking for something else. They go to parties intent on finding their perfect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-wiseman/unlucky-people-miss-chance-opportunities-because-they-are-too-focused/) [Richard Wiseman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-wiseman/) > [I think that the best approach would be if the American people ever insist that we cut down on the massive amounts of money…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-carter/i-think-that-the-best-approach-would-be-if-the-american-people-ever/) [Jimmy Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-carter/) > [On the Bowery, in the ornate carcass of a formerly grand vaudeville theater, a dance marathon limps along. The contestants, young girls and their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/libba-bray/on-the-bowery-in-the-ornate-carcass-of-a-formerly-grand-vaudeville/) [Libba Bray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/libba-bray/) > [Today, our attention is less than the television advertisement. We're looking at six or seven problems constantly. We're living in the disturbed societies of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-abramovic/today-our-attention-is-less-than-the-television-advertisement-we-re/) [Marina Abramovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-abramovic/) Browse all 239 Advertisements quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Never write an advertisement which you wouldn't want your own family to read. You wouldn't tell lies to your own wife. Don't tell them to mine. Do as you would be done by.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "David Ogilvy" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ogilvy/never-write-an-advertisement-which-you-wouldn-t-want-your-own-family-2/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Advertisements" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ogilvy/never-write-an-advertisement-which-you-wouldn-t-want-your-own-family-2/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b3/david-ogilvy-1326_advertisements_never-write-an-advertisement-which-you-w_2710652.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b3/david-ogilvy-1326_advertisements_never-write-an-advertisement-which-you-w_2710652.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b3/david-ogilvy-1326_advertisements_never-write-an-advertisement-which-you-w_2710652.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Never write an advertisement which you wouldn't want your own family to read. You wouldn't tell lies to your…” — David Ogilvy", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "David Ogilvy", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ogilvy/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Never write an advertisement which you...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ogilvy/never-write-an-advertisement-which-you-wouldn-t-want-your-own-family-2/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ogilvy/never-write-an-advertisement-which-you-wouldn-t-want-your-own-family-2/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```