David Ogilvy

In the modern world of business, it is useless to be a creative, original thinker unless you can also sell what you create.

Many people – and I think I am one of them – are more productive when they’ve had a little to drink. I find if I drink two or three brandies, I’m far better able to write.

I have a theory that the best advertisements come from personal experience. Some of the good ones I have done have really come out of the real experience of my life, and somehow this has come over as true and valid and persuasive.

I 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.

The advertisers who believe in the selling power of jingles have never had to sell anything.

Political advertising ought to be stopped. It’s the only really dishonest kind of advertising that’s left. It’s totally dishonest.

If hard work were such a wonderful thing, surely the rich would have kept it all to themselves.

Without a customer, you don’t have a business, all you have is a hobby.

Advertising is only evil when it advertises evil things.

We pay attention to every demographic in every country, so we’re going to focus on building things that teens are going to like, and we’re also going to focus on building things that other folks are going to like.

We’’ve designed swimming pools that turn into ballrooms, and fitted security devices that fill a garage with gas if someone is stealing your car.

Investors have very short memories.

No company can afford not to move forward. It may be at the top of the heap today but at the bottom of the heap tomorrow, if it doesn’t.

I’ve been making deals all my life.

Behind every successful man stands a surprised mother-in-law.

For a long time now, I have believed that industry and agriculture are natural partners and that they should begin to recognize and practice their partnership. Each of them is suffering from ailments which the other can cure. Agriculture needs a wider andsteadier market; industrial workers need more steadier jobs. Can each be made to supply what the other needs? I think so. The link between is Chemistry. In the vicinity of Dearborn we are farming twenty thousand acres for everything from sunflowers to soy beans. We pass the crops through our laboratory to learn how they may be used in the manufacture of motor cars and, thus provide an industrial market for the farmers’ products.

I think everybody thought I was crazy that I quit my job and started a management company in which I was managing one client – Laura Nyro.

Your business, and your brand must first let people know what you care about and that you care about them.

I think I’ve got the best staff in television.

Should I give up my career at this point in my life… and put all my marbles in Laura’s [Nyro] basket?

Many manufacturers secretly question whether advertising really sells their product, but are vaguely afraid that their competitors might steal a march on them if they stopped.