What Would David Do?

March 23, 2012
Temecula, CA

I was searching the internet today and
I ran across this article that someone else
mentioned and since it has a lot of value,
I thought I'd copy and paste it and let you
read it.

It's not too long, but it's only for people
that want to make money with their advertising
and marketing dollars.

Here it is. I'll make some comments throughout
the post, so be looking for my comments.

Okay here we go.

British-born David Ogilvy was one of the
original, and greatest, "ad men."

In 1948, he started what would eventually be known
as Ogilvy & Mather, the Manhattan-based advertising agency
that has since been responsible for some of the
world's most iconic ad campaigns, and in 1963 he
even wrote Confessions of an Advertising Man, the
best-selling book that is still to this day
considered essential reading for all who enter the
industry. I have the book but I've never read it
completely.

Time magazine called him "the most
sought-after wizard in today's advertising
industry" in the early-'60s; his name, and that of
his agency, have been mentioned more than once in
Mad Men for good reason.

And with my background you would think I would
have watched the show, but sadly I have not.

With all that in mind, being able to learn of his
routine when producing the very ads that made his
name is an invaluable opportunity.

You see, and invaluable opportunity that you and I
are both missing out on.

The fascinating letter below, written by Ogilvy in
1955 to a Mr. Ray Calt, offers exactly that.

(Source: The Unpublished David Ogilvy: A
Selection of His Writings from the Files of His
Partners; Image: David Ogilvy, courtesy of Ads of
the World.)

April 19, 1955

Dear Mr. Calt:

On March 22nd you wrote to me asking for some
notes on my work habits as a copywriter. They are
appalling, as you are about to see:

1. I have never written an advertisement in
the office. Too many interruptions. I do all my
writing at home.

2. I spend a long time studying the
precedents. I look at every advertisement which
has appeared for competing products during the
past 20 years.

3. I am helpless without research
material—and the more "motivational" the better.

4. I write out a definition of the problem
and a statement of the purpose which I wish the
campaign to achieve. Then I go no further until
the statement and its principles have been
accepted by the client.

5. Before actually writing the copy, I write
down every conceivable fact and selling idea. Then
I get them organized and relate them to research
and the copy platform.

6. Then I write the headline. As a matter of
fact I try to write 20 alternative headlines for
every advertisement. And I never select the final
headline without asking the opinion of other
people in the agency. In some cases I seek the
help of the research department and get them to do
a split-run on a battery of headlines.

7. At this point I can no longer postpone the
actual copy. So I go home and sit down at my desk.
I find myself entirely without ideas. I get
bad-tempered. If my wife comes into the room I
growl at her. (This has gotten worse since I gave
up smoking.)

8. I am terrified of producing a lousy
advertisement. This causes me to throw away the
first 20 attempts.

9. If all else fails, I drink half a bottle
of rum and play a Handel oratorio on the
gramophone. This generally produces an
uncontrollable gush of copy.

10. The next morning I get up early and edit
the gush.

11. Then I take the train to New York and my
secretary types a draft. (I cannot type, which is
very inconvenient.)

12. I am a lousy copywriter, but I am a good
editor. So I go to work editing my own draft.
After four or five editings, it looks good enough
to show to the client. If the client changes the
copy, I get angry—because I took a lot of trouble
writing it, and what I wrote I wrote on purpose.

Altogether it is a slow and laborious
business. I understand that some copywriters have
much greater facility.

Yours sincerely,

D.O.
As you can tell, he WORKED at being a good writer
and a great advertising man.

Writing copy is not easy.

I sit at my computer for hours, and sometimes I see
the sun come up and then see it leave the mountains
whince it came.

Boring is not the word for me.

Passion is.

I am always searching for the one magical item or thing
that will make ME standout above my peers. I sometimes
am like David. I am a recluse to a certain extent and I
hate being bothered because of interruptions that send me
through the roof. No one understands a copywriter, and no
one understands me.

When I play I play. When I don't play, I don't.

Simple as that.

Enjoy your day and I hope you've learned something.

Dr. Carney