Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Compelling and lucid, 10 Feb 2009
Ken Roman's biography on David Ogilvy is attracting a clutch of reviews in the media - which are on the whole very positive - and I think that The Financial Times has got it about right.
What can I add to any review? Not much - except a personal tale, which I daresay mirrors that of thousands.
Quite by chance, in 1983 I bought a book called Ogilvy on Advertising. And the first chapter started off with the words, `I do not regard advertising as entertainment or an art-form. When I write an advertisement, I don't want you to tell me you find it creative. I want you to find it so interesting you buy the product.' This clear statement of the process and purpose of advertising - not well understood by today's advertising fraternity whose work is either largely characterised by vacuous imagery or defies comprehension - electrified me because I had an interest in writing, print layouts, typography and graphic design. This was something I could do. (And ultimately, it helped when it came to producing my own book.)
Thus inspired, in 1987 I moved to Cambridge and set up my own small ad agency.
Following a letter I sent him asking for permission to quote from his book, David Ogilvy and I corresponded regularly. He and two others, Bill Bernbach and Leo Burnett, had led the creative revolution in American advertising in the sixties. Thirty years later during his semi-retirement, David's principles became the industry's bedrock whenever it went through turbulent times and periods of self-doubt. And because he was indisputably one of the greatest admen of the twentieth century, I was not unnaturally greatly flattered by his interest in what I was doing - especially when he invited me over to France to his home, an estimable chateau in Touffou, a tiny little village near Poitiers. Always kind, warm and encouraging, none of which prevented him from being either didactic or terrifyingly blunt, I came to admire him more than anyone else I have ever known - and for reasons not just connected to advertising.
What is the point of this story? Ask yourself which other major player in advertising would have taken interest in someone like me. No one. It says a lot about him. It `differentiates' him. It's part of his brand. The new biography explains this thoroughly along with the stories about David's prowess at making ads.
Ken Roman also gets across David's paternalism - paternalism in the best sense - extremely well. And much else. There's lots of new stuff here. One learns, or I did, that David Ogilvy's influence went far beyond the creative aspects of early ad campaigns. His vision was cosmic.
A truly compelling biography, which eschews trivial tittle-tattle, written by someone who is no slouch when it comes to writing. Do read it.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
The original Mad Man of Madison Avenue, 1 Aug 2009
Ironically it was Ogilvy, a Scotsman who wrote the rules for American advertising in the 50's and 60's and with the exception of his views on TV commercials, I think many of his seminal works and `rules' are still as valid today.
But what of the man himself?
This book is a comprehensive bio by a former colleague. There is no doubt Ogilvy was an eccentric and cultivated his eccentricities. He used a bulldog paper clip on his tie, frequently wore a kilt for dramatic effect, was known for behaving appallingly in restaurants, smoked other people's cigarettes and cigars, wore bow ties with tweed suits and a black cape with a scarlet lining when arriving at the office. He created himself as a brand, and was a pretty successful one at that.
But he was also a brilliant copywriter and brand strategist. He hated the use of the term `creativity' in advertising and believed that `Unless your advertisement is based on a BIG IDEA it will pass like a ship in the night'. David also believed in the `dogmatism of brevity' and the combination of this and the `big idea' created powerful and unforgettable ads that have become landmarks in American advertising.
There is no doubt he was a `big ideas' man rather than a businessman -his brother Francis fulfilled that role and it is evident reading this book that he also had a big influence on David.
This book not only charts his success on Madison Avenue but also his early years and jobs outside advertising, including his time in British Intelligence in New York during WW2. It covers his personal and business relationships, his time as a researcher, love of the Amish lifestyle and his latter years as the figurehead of a massively successful global business that struggled to embrace his paternalistic business values and commercial ethos. The finale is the takeover led by Martin Sorrell, which reads like `Barbarians at the gate'.
A comprehensive and complimentary read to Ogilvy's own publications, and a fascinating insight into the original Mad Man of Madison Avenue.
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4.0 out of 5 stars
Original Mad Man- Inspirational, 19 May 2009
This book allows you to follow the man behind the legend. If you want to get into the world of advertising or already in it, I recommend this book to inspire you. To trigger that spark.
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