Advertising Lessons from David Ogilvy

David Ogilvy is a legend in the advertising world, and someone well worth paying attention to.

Over the years, he has gifted us with a number of memorable quotes and by pulling out a few select ones and thinking about them, we can tease out a number of important advertising lessons.  Here are just a few:

“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.”

― David Ogilvy

A simple statement, but incredibly profound.  Don’t obsess over perfect grammar.  Far more important is speaking to your customers in their own language.  Yes, every word must be chosen with care, but just as important as the message itself is choosing words that are relatable to your target audience.  Many an ad campaign has been utterly ruined by not heeding this advice.

“Where people aren’t having any fun, they seldom produce good work.”

― David Ogilvy, from the book, “Confessions of an Advertising Man”

Your next ad campaign isn’t going to be born in a vacuum.  It’s going to come from your creative team and the culture of your firm has everything to do with the quality of the work they’ll ultimately produce.

If you’re not designing your ad campaign in-house, then you’ll definitely want to pay a visit to whatever firm you’re working with to get a feel for their company’s culture.  It can and will have a tremendous impact on whatever they produce on your behalf.

“Much of the messy advertising you see on television today is the product of committees. Committees can criticize advertisements, but they should never be allowed to create them.”

― David Ogilvy, again, from the book “Confessions of an Advertising Man”

This is a universal truth.  It doesn’t just apply to advertising, but to designing any product or service imaginable. 

Design by committee simply doesn’t work.  It’s fine to get everyone together to evaluate the thing that has been created (whether it’s an advertising campaign or a product), but the actual design work should be left to an inspired, engaged, deeply excited team of talented individuals.

If you’re struggling to come up with a showstopper of an idea for your next ad campaign, we can help with that.  We won’t design it via committee, and our team of seasoned advertising warriors is committed, engaged and excited to put their skills to work for you. 

Give our office a call at 1-866-257-6025, or visit us on the web.  Let’s make advertising magic together!

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