Advice for great writing from the original "Mad Man"

For over half of the 20th century David Ogilvy was widely hailed as the father of advertising for his ability to communicate a clear vision and a deeper passion at the highest level of achievement. In many years as an advertising executive and copywriter, Ogilvy produced some of the world's most iconic marketing campaigns. These include the legendary "Man in the Hathaway Shirt," plus notable efforts for Rolls Royce, Schweppes and the island of Puerto Rico, among many others. It was no surprise when, in 1962, Time called him "the most sought-after wizard in the advertising industry." He was truly the original mad man.

Ogilvy & Mather was built on David Ogilvy's principles; in particular, that the function of advertising is to sell and that successful advertising for any product is based on information about its consumer. He disliked advertisements that had loud patronizing voices, and believed a customer should be treated as intelligent. In 1955, he coined the phrase, "The customer is not a moron, she's your wife" based on these values.

Ogilvy's advertising philosophy followed these four basic principles:

• Creative brilliance: had a strong emphasis on the "BIG IDEA".
• Research: coming, as he did, from a background in research, he never underestimated its importance in advertising. In fact, in 1952, when he opened his own agency, he billed himself as research director.
• Actual results for clients: "In the modern world of business, it is useless to be a creative, original thinker unless you can also sell what you create."
• Professional discipline: "I prefer the discipline of knowledge to the anarchy of ignorance." He codified knowledge into slide and film presentations he called Magic Lanterns. He also instituted several training programs for young advertising professionals.

Content marketers can learn a lot from the legendary Ogilvy. He was a pioneer of information-rich, soft-sell ads that didn't insult people's intelligence. For example, he produced "The Guinness Guide to Oysters," an early form of what youngsters call "native advertising," in 1951. Today we study Ogilvy's successful advertising campaigns to learn how to persuade prospective customers, influence readers and create memorable, evergreen content. But the "father of advertising" also has plenty to teach us about productivity, branding, research, ambition—and writing.

In 1982, Ogilvy sent the following internal memo, titled "How to Write," to his employees:

"The better you write, the higher you go in Ogilvy & Mather. People who think well, write well. Woolly-minded people write woolly memos, woolly letters and woolly speeches. Good writing is not a natural gift. You have to learn to write well. Here are 10 hints:

1. Read the Roman-Raphaelson book on writing. Read it three times.< /br> 2. Write the way you talk. Naturally.< /br> 3. Use short words, short sentences and short paragraphs.< /br> 4. Never use jargon words like 'reconceptualize,' 'demassification,' 'attitudinally,' 'judgmentally.' They are hallmarks of pretense.< /br> 5. Never write more than two pages on any subject.< /br> 6. Check your quotations.< /br> 7. Never send a letter or a memo on the day you write it. Read it aloud the next morning—and then edit it.< /br> 8. If it is something important, get a colleague to improve it.< /br> 9. Before you send your letter or your memo, make sure it is crystal-clear what you want the recipient to do.< /br> 10. If you want ACTION, don't write. Go and tell the guy what you want."< /br>

His book Ogilvy on Advertising is a general commentary on advertising and not all the ads shown in the book are his. In early 2004, Adweek magazine asked people in the business "Which individuals - alive or dead - made you consider pursuing a career in advertising?", and Ogilvy topped the list. The same result came when students of advertising were surveyed. His best-selling book Confessions of an Advertising Man is one of the most popular and famous books on advertising. Based on this book, there is a strong suspicion that Ogilvy is the inspiration for Don Draper in the popular series Mad Men. We can draw plenty of inspiration from the creative thinkers who came before us. Who inspires you?

Sources:
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