David Ogilvy founded Ogilvy & Mather in 1948 having never worked as a copywriter, and fifteen years later wrote the book that defined the craft for several generations.
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Published in 1963 by the founder of Ogilvy & Mather, this is probably the most widely read advertising book of the twentieth century. Ogilvy writes about running an agency, winning clients and writing an ad that sells, from a conviction he held throughout his career: advertising is a research discipline, not a game of hunches. The media he describes have vanished, but his principles on headlines, clarity and respect for the reader's intelligence remain applicable.
David Ogilvy founded Ogilvy & Mather in 1948 having never worked as a copywriter, and fifteen years later wrote the book that defined the craft for several generations. «Confessions of an Advertising Man» is organised as a series of practical chapters — how to run an agency, how to win clients, how to write an ad that sells, how to build a campaign — and its tone is that of a professional giving instructions, not a theorist. Beneath that surface lies a conviction Ogilvy held throughout his career, and it remains the living part of the book: advertising is a research discipline, not a contest of bright ideas. Ogilvy measured, compared headlines, studied which formats people read and which they skipped, and had contempt for creativity that did not sell. The media he describes — full-page press ads, direct mail, radio spots — have vanished or changed beyond recognition. His principles on headline clarity, copy length and respect for the reader's intelligence aged far better. It reads today as a historical document with a still-applicable methodological core.
For readers writing commercial copy or running a brand who want the craft's foundation; less suited if you want digital advertising tactics.
FactFirst published in 1963; the most recent Spanish edition is from Profit Editorial. Ogilvy founded Ogilvy & Mather in 1948.
