Was Ogilvy Ireland"s Best Copywriter?
Ireland has produced some of the world's great writers, such as James Joyce, Bram Stoker and Oscar Wilde. So it seems strange that the Emerald Isle hasn't turned out any fine copywriters. Or has it?
David Ogilvy was called the Father of Advertising. He was a pioneer in the field of advertising and was undeniably a genius as a copywriter. So esteemed was his expertise that his agency, Ogilvy and Mather, sold for about $870m. His Bible, Confessions of an Advertising Man, has sold millions of copies.
While Ogilvy was born in London and spent the bulk of his days in New York and France, it's a little-known fact that Ogilvy's mother was Irish (and his father Scottish), which makes him half-Irish.
Born in June 1911, Ogilvy failed at Oxford before taking on roles as a chef in Paris, a social worker in Scotland and an Amish farmer in America.
Finally, he ended up in New York, where he cut his teeth as a copywriter before starting up his own agency. His philosophy at this time, which remained with him, was that advertising's purpose was to sell, not merely to entertain.
He did this in spades with Dove soap, making it the US's biggest-selling brand. His advertising isolated the USP of the soap, by showing how it could be used as a moisturiser.
Ogilvy felt strongly that if a copywriter was writing about a product, he must believe in it. He ensured that he used every product he advertised. 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's hand was behind some of the biggest ideas in advertising. His creations included 'The Man in the Hathaway Shirt', which featured an eyepatch-wearing Baron George Wrangell. There was the idea of 'Schweppervesence' for Schweppes, and he sold Rolls Royces with the immortal line, 'At 60 miles an hour, the loudest noise in this new Rolls Royce comes from the electric clock'.
Ogilvy's favourite campaign, though, announced that 'Pablo Casals is coming home - to Peurto Rico'. His campaign helped alter the country's image, which he claimed as his greatest achievement.
Although Ogilvy never won a knighthood, perhaps because he spent much of his working life overseas, he did claim a CBE in 1967. In 1999, he passed away at his French country home, leaving behind a legacy as the finest copywriter Ireland ever produced.
David Ogilvy was called the Father of Advertising. He was a pioneer in the field of advertising and was undeniably a genius as a copywriter. So esteemed was his expertise that his agency, Ogilvy and Mather, sold for about $870m. His Bible, Confessions of an Advertising Man, has sold millions of copies.
While Ogilvy was born in London and spent the bulk of his days in New York and France, it's a little-known fact that Ogilvy's mother was Irish (and his father Scottish), which makes him half-Irish.
Born in June 1911, Ogilvy failed at Oxford before taking on roles as a chef in Paris, a social worker in Scotland and an Amish farmer in America.
Finally, he ended up in New York, where he cut his teeth as a copywriter before starting up his own agency. His philosophy at this time, which remained with him, was that advertising's purpose was to sell, not merely to entertain.
He did this in spades with Dove soap, making it the US's biggest-selling brand. His advertising isolated the USP of the soap, by showing how it could be used as a moisturiser.
Ogilvy felt strongly that if a copywriter was writing about a product, he must believe in it. He ensured that he used every product he advertised. 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's hand was behind some of the biggest ideas in advertising. His creations included 'The Man in the Hathaway Shirt', which featured an eyepatch-wearing Baron George Wrangell. There was the idea of 'Schweppervesence' for Schweppes, and he sold Rolls Royces with the immortal line, 'At 60 miles an hour, the loudest noise in this new Rolls Royce comes from the electric clock'.
Ogilvy's favourite campaign, though, announced that 'Pablo Casals is coming home - to Peurto Rico'. His campaign helped alter the country's image, which he claimed as his greatest achievement.
Although Ogilvy never won a knighthood, perhaps because he spent much of his working life overseas, he did claim a CBE in 1967. In 1999, he passed away at his French country home, leaving behind a legacy as the finest copywriter Ireland ever produced.
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