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David Ogilvy

David Ogilvy Quotes

Businessman

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Famous David Ogilvy Quotes

“When someone is made the head of an office in the Ogilvy & Mather chain, I send him a Matrioshka doll from Gorky. If he has the curiosity to open it, and keep opening it until he comes to the inside of the smallest doll, he finds this message: 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.”

PeopleIfsMadeCompanyOfficeMessagesBiggerCuriosityOpeningChainsGiantsSmallestDollsDwarfs
Author:David Ogilvy
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“Most readers look at the photograph first. If you put it in the middle of the page, the reader will start by looking in the middle. Then her eye must go up to read the headline; this doesn't work, because people have a habit of scanning downwards. However, suppose a few readers do read the headline after seeing the photograph below it. After that, you require them to jump down past the photograph which they have already seen. Not bloody likely.”

PeopleIfsFirstsLooksEyePastSeeingMiddleReaderHabitPagesPhotographBloodyHer EyesHeadlinesScanning
Author:David Ogilvy
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“Once upon a time I was riding on the top of a First Avenue bus, when I heard a mythical housewife say to another, "Molly, my dear, I would have bought that new brand of toilet soap if only they hadn't set the body copy in ten point Garamond." Don't you believe it. What really decides consumers to buy or not to buy is the content of your advertising, not its form.”

IfsFirstsBelieveBodyFormHeardTenDearAdvertisingBrandsConsumersCopiesBusRidingToiletsSoapAvenuesHousewifeOnce Upon A Time
Author:David Ogilvy
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“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.”

IfsBusinessWorryEconomyBuiltFortuneCampaignsStealingAdvertisingBrandsAgencyGood FortuneIrritatingIrritatedImitatingAdvertising AgenciesGreat AdvertisingAdvertisement Negative
Book:Confessions of an advertising man
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“I don't know the rules of grammar... If you're trying to persuade people to do something, or buy something, it seems to me you should use their language, the language they use every day, the language in which they think. We try to write in the vernacular.”

PeopleIfsThinkingKnowsShouldWritingTryingUseSeemsLanguageBusinessMarketingAdvertisingGrammarVernacularGreat AdvertisingAdvertising And MarketingBuying SomethingOnline AdvertisingNever Stop Improving
Author:David Ogilvy
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“It has taken more than a hundred scientists two years to find out how to make the product in question; I have been given thirty days to create its personality and plan its launching. If I do my job well, I shall contribute as much as the hundred scientists to the success of this product.”

IfsYearsWellsHas BeensTwoJobsGivenBusinessTakenPlansProductsPersonalityHundredScientistAdvertisingThirtyTwo YearsLaunching
Book:Confessions of an advertising man
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“Big ideas come from the unconscious. This is true in art, in science, and in advertising. But your unconscious has to be well informed, or your idea will be irrelevant. Stuff your conscious mind with information, then unhook your rational thought process. You can help this process by going for a long walk, or taking a hot bath, or drinking half a pint of claret. Suddenly, if the telephone line from your unconscious is open, a big idea wells up within you.”

IfsMindWellsLongArtIdeasHelpingBigsStuffProcessLinesWalksBusinessHalfInformationConsciousHotDrinkingRationalAdvertisingUnconsciousWithin YouIrrelevantTelephonesBathsOne LineThought ProcessBig IdeasConscious MindPintsLong WalksRational ThoughtClaretHot Baths
Author:David Ogilvy
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