“Ogilvy on Advertising” is one of the most influential advertising books ever. Below is a thread with 20 of the most interesting ideas from the book.
The book was first published in 1983. Ogilvy was already a legend in the industry and had already retired from his role as chairman of Ogilvy & Mather. The book captures most of the wisdom he used during his career to produce exceptional adverts.
1) "I don't regard advertising as art, but as a medium of information. When I write an ad, I don’t want you to find it creative. I want you to buy the product. When Aeschines spoke, they said ‘How well he speaks’. When Demosthenes spoke, they said, ‘Let us march against Philip’."
Mary Wells Lawrence changed advertising forever. This is a thread about her story and how she became an ad industry legend in the 1960s.
1) Some say that Mary (92) was the real-life Peggy Olsen from Mad Men; a brilliant copywriter and a vocal copy chief. Mary was much more than that. She revolutionised the advertising industry and opened one of the trendiest agencies of the 60s/70s.
2) "The best advertising should make you nervous about what you're not buying." Mary Wells Lawrence
David Abbott was one of the best copywriters the ad industry ever had. Here are 20 of his most interesting thoughts on advertising and on what it takes to create great work. (A thread)
1) "I spend a lot of time fact-finding and I don’t start writing until I have too much to say. I don’t believe you can write fluent copy if you have to interrupt yourself with research. Dig first, then write."
2) "Directness has its place in advertising but so do subtlety and obliqueness. Things you can’t say literally can often be said laterally."
20 adverts that made the “Axe/Lynx Effect” famous. A thread.
The values are clearly outdated, however it’s undeniable that the “Lynx Effect” was a powerful long term comms platform for Axe/Lynx in the 90s & 2000s
(Lowe Brussels/2003)
The “Axe/Lynx Effect” was born when Unilever realised that the brand's men's body spray had lost their appeal. In 1995, a decision was made to move the account to BBH London.
(BBH London/1999)