I always read the ads in the newspaper. They are a great indication of the strategies being used by various companies, the health of the economy and occasionally – if you concentrate on the “businesses for sale” ads – which companies are heading for the exit.
I was very interested to see full-page ads taken out by advertising firm Ogilvy Australia to mark the 100th birthday of David Ogilvy, the father of modern advertising and the author of the extraordinarily influential book, Confessions of An Advertising Man.
The ad is basically an open letter from Ogilvy Australia executive chairman Tom Moult, who says that 12 years after his death there is still a lot the advertising sector can learn from the man known as the King of Madison Avenue.
You can check out the ad for yourself, but Moult’s letter and the anniversary of Ogilvy’s birth provide a great platform to look at 10 great quotes from Ogilvy on advertising, business and image.
“The most important word in the vocabulary of advertising is TEST. If you pre-test your product with consumers, and pre-test your advertising, you will do well in the marketplace.”
Ogilvy might have developed a reputation as a creative genius, but he was a huge believer in research and testing – there’s no better way to stay successful than weeding out dud products and ideas before they hit the market.
“If you ever have the good fortune to create a great advertising campaign, you will soon see another agency steal it. This is irritating, but don’t let it worry you; nobody has ever built a brand by imitating somebody else’s advertising.”
It’s a great warning. Copying the ideas of competitors will only get you so far.
“Can advertising foist an inferior product on the consumer? Bitter experience has taught me that it cannot. On those rare occasions when I have advertised products which consumer tests have found inferior to other products in the same field, the results have been disastrous. “
Translated – it’s hard to flog a dud product in a competitive market.
“Leaders grasp nettles.”
Ogilvy was brilliant at conjuring up an image and this quote is no exception. Leaders cannot and should not dodge tough decisions and difficult problems.
“If each of us hires people who are smaller than we are, we shall become a company of dwarfs. But if each of us hires people who are bigger than we are, we shall become a company of giants.”
Some of Ogilvy’s management quotes sound decidedly clichéd now, but his general point – hire people smarter than you – is well made.
“On the average, five times as many people read the headline as read the body copy. When you have written your headline, you have spent eighty cents out of your dollar.”
Advertising’s version of the 80/20 rule. It also speaks to the importance of initial impressions in business.
“Never stop testing, and your advertising will never stop improving.”
A good rule for anyone in business. Too often entrepreneurs strike on a successful formula and never change it. But Ogilvy argues this is a path to trouble.
“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 mine.”
This strikes me as a great quote about ethics in general – don’t do anything you’d be embarrassed to tell your family about.
“Develop your eccentricities while you are young. That way, when you get old, people won’t think you’re going gaga.”
I see this as a lovely gem about personal brand management over the span of a career.
“Many people – and I think I am one of them – are more productive when they’ve had a little to drink. I find if I drink two or three brandies, I’m far better able to write.”
If you listen carefully, you can almost hear a few entrepreneurs nodding…
James was the editor and publisher of SmartCompany and LeadingCompany for five years. He is now the Australian Financial Review‘s companies & markets editor, and a former BRW editor.
