Was Ogilvy Scotland"s Best Copywriter?
Scotland has been home to some of literature's great writers, such as Arthur Conan Doyle and Sir Walter Scott. So why has Scotland not produced any great copywriters? Or perhaps it has?
David Ogilvy was undoubtedly the Father of Advertising. He was part of the advertising revolution of middle of the last century and was an incredibly gifted copywriter. He sold his agency, Ogilvy and Mather, for a cool $875m and his book, Confessions of an Advertising Man, is seen as an advertising Bible.
Although Ogilvy was born in London and spent much of his life in the US and France, few people know that he was born to an Irish mother and Scottish father, making him half Scots (and half Irish).
He was born in 1911 and went up to Oxford, where he roundly failed. He then worked as a chef in Paris, a youth worker in Edinburgh and a farmer with an American Amish community.
When he eventually wound up in New York, he worked as a copywriter before establishing his agency. Throughout his career, his philosophy was that the purpose of advertising was to sell, not merely to provide enjoyment.
He carried this out admirably ‚¬€ especially so with Dove soap. He made it America's top-selling brand by selling it as a moisturiser as well as a soap.
He always felt that copywriters should know and believe in each brand they wrote about and he insisted on using every product he promoted. In his book, he wrote, 'At breakfast, I drink Maxwell House coffee or Tetley tea, and eat two slices of Pepperidge Farm toast. I wash with Dove, deodorise with Ban, and light my pipe with a Zippo lighter'.
Ogilvy was the copywriting genius behind some of advertising's finest moments. Students of the genre will recall 'The Man in the Hathaway Shirt', with Baron George Wrangell wearing an eyepatch, 'Schweppervesence' (for Schweppes), and the classic line, 'At 60 miles an hour, the loudest noise in this new Rolls Royce comes from the electric clock'.
Asked which was his personal favourite, Ogilvy plumped for the 'Pablo Casals is coming home ‚¬€ to Peurto Rico' campaign, which helped change the image of the country and which Ogilvy described as his greatest achievement.
Ogilvy was never granted a knighthood, perhaps because he was largely an expat. However, he did win a CBE in 1967. Just before the millennium, he died at his home in France, leaving behind one son and a legacy as Scotland's finest ever copywriter.
David Ogilvy was undoubtedly the Father of Advertising. He was part of the advertising revolution of middle of the last century and was an incredibly gifted copywriter. He sold his agency, Ogilvy and Mather, for a cool $875m and his book, Confessions of an Advertising Man, is seen as an advertising Bible.
Although Ogilvy was born in London and spent much of his life in the US and France, few people know that he was born to an Irish mother and Scottish father, making him half Scots (and half Irish).
He was born in 1911 and went up to Oxford, where he roundly failed. He then worked as a chef in Paris, a youth worker in Edinburgh and a farmer with an American Amish community.
When he eventually wound up in New York, he worked as a copywriter before establishing his agency. Throughout his career, his philosophy was that the purpose of advertising was to sell, not merely to provide enjoyment.
He carried this out admirably ‚¬€ especially so with Dove soap. He made it America's top-selling brand by selling it as a moisturiser as well as a soap.
He always felt that copywriters should know and believe in each brand they wrote about and he insisted on using every product he promoted. In his book, he wrote, 'At breakfast, I drink Maxwell House coffee or Tetley tea, and eat two slices of Pepperidge Farm toast. I wash with Dove, deodorise with Ban, and light my pipe with a Zippo lighter'.
Ogilvy was the copywriting genius behind some of advertising's finest moments. Students of the genre will recall 'The Man in the Hathaway Shirt', with Baron George Wrangell wearing an eyepatch, 'Schweppervesence' (for Schweppes), and the classic line, 'At 60 miles an hour, the loudest noise in this new Rolls Royce comes from the electric clock'.
Asked which was his personal favourite, Ogilvy plumped for the 'Pablo Casals is coming home ‚¬€ to Peurto Rico' campaign, which helped change the image of the country and which Ogilvy described as his greatest achievement.
Ogilvy was never granted a knighthood, perhaps because he was largely an expat. However, he did win a CBE in 1967. Just before the millennium, he died at his home in France, leaving behind one son and a legacy as Scotland's finest ever copywriter.
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