Ogilvy on advertising

National Review, Feb 8, 1985 by Terry Teachout

DAVID OGILVY, the man behind the man in the Hathaway shirt, has bundled up another lavish package of shop talk and trade secrets for the delectation of the general public. His first book, Confessions of an Advertising Man (1963), was heavy on autobiography and stingy with illustrations; Ogilvy on Advertising redresses this imbalance, providing the reader with no fewer than 185 ads (some by Ogilvy & Mather, some not) tied together by Mr.

Ogilvy's assured, trenchant explanations of why they worked--or didn't work. The author's now-familiar priorities are restated with admirable vigor: "I do not regard advertising as entertainment or an art form, but as a medium of information. When I write an advertisement, I don't want you to tell me that you find it 'creative.' I want you to find it so interesting that you buy the product." Professionals will greedily snap up Ogilvy on Advertising in search of sage counsel; rabid foes of commercial advertising will read it with the reluctant compulsion of Father Brown pursuing a village embezzler. Everybody in between should simply relax and enjoy this intelligent--and elegantly designed--exposition of what Madison Avenue is all about.