Confessions of an Advertising Man
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‘We admire people who work hard, who are objective and thorough. We detest office politicians, toadies, bullies, and pompous asses. We abhor ruthlessness. The way up our ladder is open to everybody. In promoting people to top jobs, we are influenced as much by their character as anything else.’ – David Ogilvy
David Ogilvy was considered the ‘father of advertising’ and a creative genius by many of the biggest global brands. First published in 1963, this seminal book revolutionised the world of advertising and became a bible for the 1960s ad generation. It also became an international bestseller, translated into 14 languages. Fizzing with Ogilvy’s pioneering ideas and inspirational philosophy, it covers not only advertising, but also people management, corporate ethics, and office politics, and forms an essential blueprint for good practice in business.
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Additional information
| Publisher | REV ed. edition (1 Sept. 2011), Southbank Publishing |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Paperback | 192 pages |
| ISBN-10 | 9781904915379 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-1904915379 |
| Dimensions | 15.24 x 1.52 x 24.13 cm |
by ELENI CHRISTOPOULOU
Wonderful read for anyone, but especially so for people kn the industry. One of the greatest professional books I have read, truly offers food for thought.
by Marisa Bell
I quite enjoyed this book, but only quite. Personally speaking I felt I perhaps already knew a great deal of his work, so much of it wasn’t new to me. The edits over time that have been made in the foreword were appreciated as the book is very indicative of attitudes of that time – i.e. male dominated advertising industry. I think for those who have no idea what to expect in the agency advertising world this is a must read and offers some cultural insights to, in terms of attitudes and styles of thinking-so of which are undoubtedly timeless!
by MinimalMaximum
Don’t turn up to any advertising / copywriting interview without having read this book. I would pay + £1,000 for the contents of this book, Luckily you can get it much cheaper than that
by AK
In my opinion Ogilvy managed to write a classic with this one. The book is a good combination of advice about an advertising agency, running a professional services firm, the advertising business overall, as well as a really entertaining read.
In terms of the content, some of it has dated (the limited insight on TV advertising, for instance), but most is as fresh and relevant as ever. Everything from how to motivate people in a high intensity, creative and competitive work environment, to some basic tennets of how advertising works (and how it does not) still makes a very useful, and relatively timeless read.
The shameless self promotion and the colour of the author himself, which come through quite starkly are perhaps a throwback to the 60s, when the book was first written but they are all the more refreshing and entertaining for that. If you are looking for a good quick guide on some basics of running a professional service firm, and do not quite have the stomach for something like
Managing the Professional Service Firm
(which I very highly recommend), this is quite a good place to start.
by N. Entwistle
A great read. Well written and very interested. The father of marketing
by Mark Marling
Bought on a whim after hearing it mentioned in ‘Mad Men’. I don’t work in advertising or business in general but found it a fascinating read nonetheless.
by Nick Shanagher
Who could not love a book that starts: “As a child I lived in Lewis Carroll’s house in Guildford. My father, whom I adored, was a Gaelic-speaking Highlander, a classical scholar and a bigoted agnostic. One day he discovered that I had started going to church secretly.
“My dear old son, how can you swallow that mumbo-jumbo? It is all very well for servants but not for educated people. You don’t have to be a Christian to behave like a gentleman!
“My mother was a beautiful and eccentric Irishwoman. She disinherited me on the ground that I was likely to acquire more money than was good for me without any help from her. I could not disagree.”
Written more than 50 years ago, David Ogilvy’s Confessions of an Advertising Man has two strengths. First, it tells you how to be successful in business. Second, he shows how great brands are created by selling the big idea to as many people as possible.
In 1988 Ogilvy added a preface to explain why he wrote the book. First, to attract new clients to his advertising agency. Second, to help sell shares in his company. Third, to make himself better known in the business world. It achieved all three.
He also had to make three corrections as the world had changed from 1962 when the book was written. The world has changed even more since 1988 but Ogilvy’s ideas are still fresh and still easy to use.
He opens with a chapter on how to manage an advertising agency that can be used for any business. While Ogilvy came from a privileged background, he failed at university and had to work his way as a salesman, as a market researcher and as a chef at the Hotel Majestic in Paris.
“There were 37 chefs in our brigade. We worked like dervishes 63 hours a week. From morning to night we sweated and shouted and curses and cooked. Every man jack was inspired by one ambition: to cook better than any chef had cooked before.”
Ogilvy describes how Monsieur Pitard, the head chef, inspired his kitchen while ruling with a rod of iron (“we were terrified of him”).
Pitard believed in exorbitant standards of service and in keeping his kitchen clean. While all his cooks were badly paid M Pitard lived in a chateau.
“Far from concealing his wealth from the rest of us he drove to work in a taxi, carried a cane with a gold head and dressed when off-duty like an international banker. This flaunting of privilege stimulated our ambition to follow in his footsteps.”
Pitard, he recalled, worked 77 hours a week and only took one free day a fortnight.
Ogilvy shows how his experience in the kitchen shaped his rules for running his business and he provides two lists on who to hire as staff and who to hire as customers. One of the books strengths is its many useful lists that you can apply to solve almost any problem.
Oddly for a book selling the idea of investing in his company, Ogilvy consistently complains of how thin his margins are. I am sure this is a salesman’s trick. “Once a salesman, always a salesman,” he says.
Ogilvy is always keen to show us the money. This is a strength. “At the end of a concert at Carnegie Hall, Walter Damrosch asked Rachmaninoff what sublime thoughts had passed through his head as he stared out into the audience during the playing of his concerto. “I was counting the house,” said Rachmaninoff.”
Ogilvy’s book has sold more than one million copies. It can only inspire you to run your business better.
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by MIA
A lot of Ogilvy blowing his own trumpet for the first 100 pages but, that makes for an entertaining read. His lessons on Ad Copy are still relevant all these years later and his approach to business in general is second to non. A man to be admired!