5 Revolutionary Writing Tips from An Advertising Guru
David Ogilvy, the father of advertising
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David Ogilvy is perhaps one of the utmost influential individuals in the history of advertising. He is also one of the most quoted. His ideologies and advertising methods have stood the test of time. 50 years to be exact.
The Netflix production “Mad Men” portrays the character of the advertising genius David Ogilvy. John Hamm plays Don Draper who plays David Ogilvy. Mad Men is the story of a New York advertising company in the 1960’s that focuses on the personal lives of its employees.
As writers, we are all in the business of advertising. We have a product. It is our thoughts, words and stories. We write for the shear joy of writing. We write because we want people to read our writing. We all desire to improve our writing so that our audience will grow.
Advertising and marketing is about creating a brand. We want to identify ourselves with our unique style, quality, information and wit. We want to sell our words.
David Ogilvy was responsible for developing a list of high powered advertising words. If you are interested please see:
How do WE become experts?
5 Revolutionary Lessons From the Master of Advertising:
The Headline is the Ticket:
Ogilvy states that at least 5 times as many read the headline as read the body of the story.
This is one of his most famous headlines:
At 60 miles and hour the loudest noise in the New Rolls-Royce comes from the electric clock.
Take Time to Produce Your Best Work:
Ogilvy states that you should never accept your writing after only a couple of attempts. Write as many variations as possible. Talk to a lot of people to ensure your final product will be exceptional. And search for variations.
Ogilvy says: I’m terrified of producing a lousy…
