David Ogilvy

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. If you tell lies about a product, you will be found out — either by the Government, which will prosecute you, or by the consumer, who will punish you by not buying your product a second time. Good products can be sold by honest advertising. If you don’t think the product is good, you have no business to be advertising it.

It takes a big idea to attract the attention of consumers and get them to buy your product. Unless your advertising contains a big idea, it will pass like a ship in the night. I doubt if more than one campaign in a hundred contains a big idea.

Advertising people who ignore research are as dangerous as generals who ignore decodes of enemy signals.

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.

First, make yourself a reputation for being a creative genius. Second, surround yourself with partners who are better than you are. Third, leave them to go get on with it.

Does advertising corrupt editors? Yes it does, but fewer editors than you may suppose… the vast majority of editors are incorruptible.

The art of effective listening is essential to clear communication, and clear communication is necessary to management success.

If it doesn’t sell, it isn’t creative.

If you love what you do, if you love going to the office, if you really like it – not just say it, but really like it – it keeps you young and energised. I really love what I do.

It’s all too easy to miss out on the important moments in life because you’re too busy staring at your phone.

If the boss stands in the way of men getting what they earn, he is not fit to be boss.

As members of the Ford Motor organization we are engaged in the production of an article of use for the people of all countries. Our principle is to make our work as profitable for the buyer as for the seller.

The more informative your advertising, the more persuasive it will be.

I avoid clients for whom advertising is only a marginal factor in their marketing mix. They have an awkward tendency to raid their advertising appropriations whenever they need cash for other purposes.

If your dreams don’t scare you they are too small.

Getting permanent value out of a job means purpose and fitting means to ends.

People in the beauty community don’t like copycats, so I think it’s important to stay true to who you are and people will stay your customer.

Nobody’s ever called me Sir Richard. Occasionally in America, I hear people saying Sir Richard and think there’s some Shakespearean play taking place. But nowhere else anyway.

Listen – it makes you sound smarter.

Listen more than you talk. Nobody learned anything by hearing themselves speak.

I was never involved in arms trading. In the Russian Federation, arms trading is the prerogative of the state.