David Ogilvy Quotes

What really decides consumers to buy or not to buy is the content of your advertising, not its form.

The susceptibility of the average modern to pictorial suggestion enables advertising to exploit his lessened power of judgment.

I wish all consumers were as gullible as advertising's biggest critics. Anyone who believes advertising is that powerful will believe almost anything.

One thing that hasn't changed, though, is that we still have to hear the new ad 2 or 3 times before it begins to affect us, even when we're already familiar with the advertiser in question and have a positive opinion of them.

We're writing movies that people buy without thinking about it.

I do not regard advertising as entertainment or an art form, but as a medium of information. When I write an advertisement, I don’t want you to tell me that you find it ‘creative.’ I want you to find it so interesting that you buy the product.

I don't believe in asking people to spend $15 on something they've never heard before. That's just unreasonable.

Consumers do not buy products. They buy product benefits.

... I have always fallen for ads. The sweetheart of J. Walter Thompson, I have a peasant-like belief in whatever miracle they profess to effect.

To be a success in advertising you must want to fill other people with a passion for possession.

Advertising is prima facie evidence that the man who pays believes that advertising is good. It has brought great results to others, it must be good for him. So he takes it like some secret tonic which others have endorsed. If the business thrives, the tonic gets the credit. Otherwise, the failure is due to fate.

Consumers will purchase high quality products even if they are expensive, or in other words, even if there are slightly reasonable discount offers, consumers will not purchase products unless they truly understand and are satisfied with the quality. Also, product appeal must be properly communicated to consumers, but advertisements that are pushed on consumers are gradually losing their effect, and we have to take the approach that encourages consumers to retrieve information at their own will.

We either put out 6 different flavors of jam or 24 different flavors of jam and we looked at 2 things. First, in what case were people more likely to buy a jar of jam?

I was always curious why certain marketing worked and some marketing did not.

The television commercial is not at all about the character of products to be consumed. It is about the character of the consumers of products. (128)

The more a prospective customer clicks on you and your stuff, the easier it is for them to make a buying decision in your favor.

What the advertiser needs to know is not what is right about the product but what is wrong about the buyer.

Without a specific reason for the consumer to behave, without a reward or benefit, the overwhelmed consumer will refuse.

Sound an alarm! Advertising, not deals, builds brands.

The Old Spice ads - women love it. The guys find it annoying. It always causes a great conversation. And it makes it more fun. You know, we've been testing those visuals to see what attracts attention.

Most people buy not because they believe, but because the sales person believes.

It seems to me probable that of all our economic life the element on which we are inclined to place too low an estimate is advertising.

If the culture doesn't work, don't buy it.

Good marketing offers us a view of the world. Bad marketing offers us a product to buy.

Advertising is utterly unprofitable, and I could prove it to you in one week. End an ad with an offer to pay five dollars to anyone who writes you that he read the ad through. The scarcity of replies will amaze you.