Confessions of an Advertising Man

book: Confessions of An Advertising Man
author: David Ogilvy

3 key takeaways include:

• only marketing things you believe in
• advertising is meant to sell, not to entertain
• use facts, mystery and research to create good advertisements

Oglivy talks about how marketing has a sleazy and negative connotation, but if marketers lived by the mantra “only sell stuff you believe in” then people would never have that negative outlook on marketing.

one of Oglivy’s most famous quotes is:

“the customer is not a moron. she’s your wife.”

he believed in soft-spoken advertisements, delivering the facts, not the fiction and never lying to people. that alone means that you have to stand 100% behind the product or service that you’re marketing.

the definition of an ad is that it’s made to sell something, which seems obvious but is often forgotten easily over all the creative work that good advertising agencies put into their campaigns.

Ogilvy used a 3-pronged approach to get people’s attention and hold onto it. it’s still relevant today, just as much as it was in 1963 (when the book was released):

• give people the facts, even if they’re not special
• use mysterious and intriguing images
• integrate research findings into your ads

creative imagery can be a great way to open curiosity gaps.