Ogilvy on Advertising

Though appearing to be dated, there is gold in what he says even in 2014; I just discovered it. No matter the era, I believe people still respond to the art of well written and laid out advertising material in written form. To qualify, he wrote the most successful auto sales copy of all times for Rolls-Royce's in the 50's during hard times. On line material is not covered in the book, of course, but, except for long copy, the same concepts still apply. Along with some other famous copywriting authors, this book should be on a copywriters bookshelf and re-read every year.

This book isn't just about learning how to advertise. Ogilvy'll tell you how to run an advertising firm and survive in the tough world of being a copywriter. He doesn't talk about design. This is all about concept and copy. If you're looking for design, look elsewhere. If you're looking to learn about successful, pragmatic writing, this is the place to start.

A classic. Up there with Hopkins, Kennedy, Collier, Schwab, and Caples. If one studied the collected works of these giants, I have no doubt that they could have a successful copywriting career. In particular, the standards Ogilvy called for are as valid today as they were in his day. Then again, I am reminded of the old saying by Caples, "Times change, people don't."

An outstanding book for those who want to learn copy writing. Many examples. Written as if he is tutoring a student. Easy to understand and implement. I strongly recommend this to any entrepreneur who needs to be their own advertising agency.

Maybe I had big expectations over this classic reading, at the end, and as anticipated, some of the concepts and discussions are now outdated.
The part I enjoyed most was where Mr. Ogilvy gives a small biography and story behind those who he believes are the pillars of modern advertising. A good source to have in a snapshot interesting background of some of the biggest names in advertising.
Also, it was fun to read, at the end Mr. Ogilvy's prediction of changes to come in the future and compare them to what we know today it actually happen.
Enjoy the reading.

This is good information to know, but this type of advertising is disappearing. "Growth Hacker Marketing" by Ryan Holiday, "All Marketers Tell Stories" by Seth Godin, or even "Contagious: Why Things Catch On" by Jonah Berger are all better at showing the modern marketing landscape.

Though this book is outdated in the presented materials I think that the principles hold true in advertising. Most of the examples are for long form adverts in magazines, which as we all know, is a dieing breed. But the points remain the same for any media — Facts & Truth about the product from a certain vantage point will always be a better seller than just fluff.

Unfortunately this wasn't the in-depth piece I was expecting from an advertising legend. Dare I say it - it seemed lazy at times. I guess it would be a good read if you had absolutely no understanding of the ad world and we were still living in the '80s. I'd argue much of the content is now irrelevant.

Ogilvy is pompous throughout the book. In fact the book is a celebration of his successes, his reasoning for how he achieved success in advertising. However I can't think of a better classic memoir about advertising, and his advise on campaigns stands up in the digital age. I was engrossed in the material throughout, never feeling his advise was outdated. Worth a read for anyone considering a career in advertising, marketing, copywriting, and or brand strategy.

I really enjoy Ogilvy, his confessions of an ad man was good. This was much more how to, great insight. I will say that there are multiple spelling and grammatical errors that should be fixed, which is the reason it only received 4 stars.

Inspiring storytelling.

Lovely, measured, rhythmic prose.

We can learn much just by absorbing his non-nonsense style.

Required reading for anyone contemplating a career in the field, or just wondering how it is done.

Obviously written by someone who can sell, it's not surprise that Ogilvy maintains a witty and informative tone throughout. I would recommend this book to anyone interested/already in advertising. It has biographical references from David's life as well as tips and tricks of the trade. I used the kindle version and found it very well integrated with the images and example advertisements. Definitely one for the bookshelf - digital or not!

Some information and examples may be a little outdated, but most of the basic principles are still relevant for advertising on print and television.
Outdated for advertising in the digital age, but pretty sure core principles will be useable for the reader to adapt for themselves.

Upon graduation from school I was unsure about what career path I wanted to pursue. I had a strong interest in marketing/advertising, but didn't really no where to begin. This is an excellent and very informative book for anyone who wants an inside look at the marketing agency business, the different roles, case studies and proven strategies in the advertising business. I have learned a great deal from David Ogilvy's incredible knowledge in the advertising industry

This kindlebook of Ogilvy on Advertising by David Ogilvy covers information such as the top of jobs in advertising and some of the people he hired into advertising. For instance, he recalls hiring a 40 year old copywriter who changed jobs eleven times. Creative directors, researchers, account executives, brand managers, directors, and copywriters are some of the jobs mentioned in his book. Ogilvy also mentioned about his job assignment where he advised Omega, a watch company in Switzerland, about their advertising (and of course much more is included in this kindlebook).

This is a classic marketing book that is very relevant for today and beyond. It is actually humorous to read all these years later due to the terminology and case studies on products from the era, but the thought process and wisdom is timeless.

If you are marketing online or offline, you need this close at hand.

Enjoy.