- September 19, 2018 -
If I believed in reincarnation, the 1960's would suit me just fine.
The "Mad Men" era.
When advertising was clever and elegant.
And the mastery of words was an art form. True craft.
When Madison Ave ad men like the fictional Don Draper wore great suits.
When David Ogilvy, the Father of Advertising, reigned with quotes that make me smile like this one in particular:
"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."
Now you know my secret LOL
If you've never read his Confessions of an Advertising Man (which many ad guys consider their bible) buy it. Today! And read it.
So who was the man behind the witty Ogilvy-isms like:
..."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."
..."The consumer isn't a moron; she is your wife."
And my personal favorite seeing that I'll be turning the BIG 6-0 in a week or so:
..."The secret of long life is double careers. One to about age 60, then another for the next 30 years."
He loved making lists.
...Was he a yellow legal pad hoarder, too? (If so, we'd have been buds.)
He was well-read, cultured and never stopped learning.
...He could hold a conversation on music and art and had a room lined with books -- and read them all.
He worried constantly about money. No matter how famous or celebrated he became he never lost his fear of poverty.
...I read that when he was in Paris doing a video with someone, he kept bumming cigarettes off the cameraman.
He had a sense of humor, was quick-witted and enjoyed a good time.
He was polite but had no false modesty.
...When asked once to speak about the things he got wrong in his career, he started with this: "We have an hour. It will take me three and half minutes to deal with the mistakes. The rest of the time I will talk about what I got right."
He worked long hours and never gave up if an idea he was working on didn't pan out right away.
He didn't suffer fools.
...The story goes that while attending a conference, there was a break in the meetings. When the conference resumed, the attendees were to share what their offices were doing in the way of marketing/advertising.
A man from Switzerland stood up and did a rambling presentation that showed his offices and explained who the people were but didn’t really mention much about what the business was doing.
In a very loud voice which must have been pretty darn embarrassing for this man, Ogilvy said: “I can’t stand another word of this,” stood up and walked out.
He never stopped thinking about business. As far as he was concerned, every day was a working day.
Quite the man, wouldn't you say?
I've never met him. I'm fairly sure I'd have like him.
But to say that Ogilvy has influenced me in almost 40 years of business would be a bit like saying that Armenians are slightly influenced by lamb...or Scotsmen are occasionally influenced by whiskey.
I'm sure I'll be back with more on Ogilvy and his witticisms that you can take to the bank.
In the meantime, who has influenced you the most in your career?
Ready to talk yet about scaling your business?
I'll be back tomorrow.
[leadpages_leadbox leadbox_id=1421f2146639c5] [/leadpages_leadbox]
