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David Ogilvy Quotes (1911-1999)
About David Ogilvy
David Mackenzie Ogilvy (June 23, 1911 β July 21, 1999) executive who was widely hailed as "The Father of Advertising". In 1962, Time called him "the most sought-after wizard in today's advertising industry". He founded Ogilvy & Mather.
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Explore our curated collection of the most famous and impactful David Ogilvy quotes.
βAt 60 miles an hour the loudest noise in this Rolls-Royce comes from the electric clock.β
ββ¦ there are now unmistakeable signs of a trend in favor of superior products at premium prices. The consumer is not a moron, she is your wife.β
βThe consumer isn't a moron; she is your wife. You insult her intelligence if you assume that a mere slogan and a few vapid adjectives will persuade her to buy anything. She wants all the information you can give her.β
βAlways hold your sales meetings in rooms too small for the audience, even if it means holding them in the WC. 'Standing room only' creates an atmosphere of success, as in theatres and restaurants, while a half-empty auditorium smells of failure.β
βWhen I write an advertisement, I donβt want you to tell me that you find it "creative". I want you to find it so interesting that you buy the product. When Aeschines spoke, they said, "How well he speaks". When Demosthenes spoke, they said, "Let us march against Philip."β
βViewers have a way of remembering the celebrity while forgetting the product. I did not know this when I paid Eleanor Roosevelt $35,000 to make a commercial for margarine. She reported that her mail was equally divided. "One half was sad because I had damaged my reputation. The other half was happy because I had damaged my reputation." Not one of my proudest memories.β
βWhen 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.β
David Ogilvy Quotes by Topic
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David Ogilvy on Despise
βWe despise toadies who suck up to their bosses; they are generally the same people who bully their subordinates.β
David Ogilvy on Starvation
βI did not feel 'evil' when I wrote advertisements for Puerto Rico. They helped attract industry and tourists to a country which had been living on the edge of starvation for 400 years.β
About David Ogilvy
David Mackenzie Ogilvy (June 23, 1911 β July 21, 1999) executive who was widely hailed as "The Father of Advertising". In 1962, Time called him "the most sought-after wizard in today's advertising industry". He founded Ogilvy & Mather.