David Ogilvy
Overview
 
David Mackenzie Ogilvy, CBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...

, (June 23, 1911–July 21, 1999), was an advertising executive. He has often been called "The Father of Advertising." In 1962, Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...

called him "the most sought-after wizard in today's advertising industry." He was known for a career of expanding the bounds of both creativity and morality.
David Mackenzie Ogilvy was born on June 23, 1911 at West Horsley
West Horsley
West Horsley is a small village between Guildford and Leatherhead in Surrey, England. Neighbouring villages include East Horsley, Ockham, West Clandon and East Clandon. It lies on the A246, and south of the M25 and the A3. The Sheepleas Woods are located in the extreme south of the village, and...

, Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...

 in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. His mother was Irish.
Quotations

"... 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."

Ogilvy on Advertising, p. 170

"Always 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."

Ogilvy on Advertising, p. 172

"Viewers 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."

Ogilvy on Advertising, p. 109

"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."

Ogilvy on Advertising, p. 47

"Never Write an Advertisement Which You Wouldn't Want Your Own Family To Read. You wouldn't tell lies to your own wife. Don't tell them to mine. Do as you would be done by."

Confessions of an Advertising Man, p. 87 (Ballantine Books)

 
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