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Confessions of an Advertising Man Paperback – 1 Sept. 2011

by David Ogilvy (Author)
4.6 out of 5 stars 844 ratings
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A new edition of the timeless business classic featured on Mad Men as fresh and relevant now as the day it was written.

'We admire people who work hard, who are objective and thorough. We detest office politicians, toadies, bullies, and pompous asses. We abhor ruthlessness. The way up our ladder is open to everybody. In promoting people to top jobs, we are influenced as much by their character as anything else.' - David Ogilvy

David Ogilvy was considered the 'father of advertising' and a creative genius by many of the biggest global brands. First published in 1963, this seminal book revolutionised the world of advertising and became a bible for the 1960s ad generation. It also became an international bestseller, translated into 14 languages. Fizzing with Ogilvy's pioneering ideas and inspirational philosophy, it covers not only advertising, but also people management, corporate ethics, and office politics, and forms an essential blueprint for good practice in business.
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  1. Print length
    192 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Southbank Publishing
  4. Publication date
    1 Sept. 2011
  5. Dimensions
    15.24 x 1.52 x 24.13 cm
  6. ISBN-10
    9781904915379
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1904915379
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Review

The fact that the principles of this book are still so very relevant to today's marketer is simply amazing. The world's greatest ad man provides eternal wisdom for all marketers. This could be my all time favorite business book. --Marketo's 10 Essential Reads

The fact that the principles of this book are still so very relevant to today's marketer is simply amazing. The world's greatest ad man provides eternal wisdom for all marketers. This could be my all time favorite business book. --Marketo's 10 Essential Reads

About the Author

David Ogilvy was an advertising genius. At the age of 37, he founded the New York based agency that later merged to form the international company known as Ogilvy & Mather. Regarded as the father of modern advertising, Ogilvy was responsible for some of the most memorable advertising campaigns ever created. Confessions of an Advertising Man is the distillation of all the Ogilvy concepts, tactics, and techniques that made this international best seller a blueprint for sound business practice. If you aspire to be a good manager in any business, this seminal work is a must read.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ 190491537X
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Southbank Publishing; REV ed. edition (1 Sept. 2011)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 192 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9781904915379
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1904915379
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 15.24 x 1.52 x 24.13 cm
  • Customer reviews:
    4.6 out of 5 stars 844 ratings

About the author

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David Ogilvy

David Ogilvy

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David Mackenzie Ogilvy CBE (/ˈoʊɡəlviː/; 23 June 1911 – 21 July 1999) was an advertising executive who was widely hailed as "The Father of Advertising". In 1962, Time called him "the most sought-after wizard in today's advertising industry".

Bio from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Photo by Advertising Hall of fame (Advertising Hall of fame) [Copyrighted free use], via Wikimedia Commons.

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4.6 out of 5 stars
844 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book provides insightful and entertaining content about the advertising industry. They describe it as a well-written, easy read that is relevant today. Readers mention it's a classic advertising book and a lighthearted brief of the business.

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17 customers mention ‘Insight’17 positive0 negative

Customers find the book insightful and interesting. They appreciate its collection of wisdom from an ad man's experience. The book provides valuable lessons and philosophies for everyday living. Readers describe the author as engaging and an interesting business guru.

"...Really good insights and titbits from the golden age of advertising and perfect for dipping in and out of!" Read more

"Great read for all , some really amazing lessons here and philosophies for everyday living and of you into marketing sales advertising or just plain..." Read more

"...One of the books strengths is its many useful lists that you can apply to solve almost any problem...." Read more

"...in the agency advertising world this is a must read and offers some cultural insights to, in terms of attitudes and styles of thinking-so of which..." Read more

6 customers mention ‘Entertainment value’6 positive0 negative

Customers enjoyed the book. They found it an entertaining read and a great holiday read.

"...bought this as it's reference frequently in Mad Men, and it's a really fun and easy read!..." Read more

"Great read for all , some really amazing lessons here and philosophies for everyday living and of you into marketing sales advertising or just plain..." Read more

"I quite enjoyed this book, but only quite...." Read more

"...the book was first written but they are all the more refreshing and entertaining for that...." Read more

5 customers mention ‘Readability’5 positive0 negative

Customers find the book well-written and easy to read. They say it's a must-read for aspiring copywriters and still relevant today.

"...as it's reference frequently in Mad Men, and it's a really fun and easy read!..." Read more

"A great read. Well written and very interested. The father of marketing" Read more

"...have any interest in working in the ad business, Ogilvy was a brilliant prose writer and an engaging business guru." Read more

"Still relevant today, great read" Read more

4 customers mention ‘Advertising industry’4 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the book's insights into the advertising industry. They find it an entertaining read with good tidbits from the golden age of advertising.

"...Really good insights and titbits from the golden age of advertising and perfect for dipping in and out of!" Read more

"...agency, running a professional services firm, the advertising business overall, as well as a really entertaining read...." Read more

"This was a great light hearted brief of the advertising industry. Some very memorable quotes many are now classics." Read more

"classic advertising book..." Read more

Top reviews from United Kingdom

  • Mike S
    5.0 out of 5 stars Great holiday read!
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 1 October 2024
    Verified Purchase
    Actually bought this as it's reference frequently in Mad Men, and it's a really fun and easy read! Really good insights and titbits from the golden age of advertising and perfect for dipping in and out of!
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  • Niko
    5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 30 October 2024
    Verified Purchase
    Great read for all , some really amazing lessons here and philosophies for everyday living and of you into marketing sales advertising or just plain business this is a bible for you
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  • Nick Shanagher
    5.0 out of 5 stars The big idea is still brilliant
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 16 May 2014
    Verified Purchase
    Who could not love a book that starts: “As a child I lived in Lewis Carroll’s house in Guildford. My father, whom I adored, was a Gaelic-speaking Highlander, a classical scholar and a bigoted agnostic. One day he discovered that I had started going to church secretly.

    “My dear old son, how can you swallow that mumbo-jumbo? It is all very well for servants but not for educated people. You don’t have to be a Christian to behave like a gentleman!

    “My mother was a beautiful and eccentric Irishwoman. She disinherited me on the ground that I was likely to acquire more money than was good for me without any help from her. I could not disagree.”

    Written more than 50 years ago, David Ogilvy’s Confessions of an Advertising Man has two strengths. First, it tells you how to be successful in business. Second, he shows how great brands are created by selling the big idea to as many people as possible.

    In 1988 Ogilvy added a preface to explain why he wrote the book. First, to attract new clients to his advertising agency. Second, to help sell shares in his company. Third, to make himself better known in the business world. It achieved all three.

    He also had to make three corrections as the world had changed from 1962 when the book was written. The world has changed even more since 1988 but Ogilvy’s ideas are still fresh and still easy to use.

    He opens with a chapter on how to manage an advertising agency that can be used for any business. While Ogilvy came from a privileged background, he failed at university and had to work his way as a salesman, as a market researcher and as a chef at the Hotel Majestic in Paris.

    “There were 37 chefs in our brigade. We worked like dervishes 63 hours a week. From morning to night we sweated and shouted and curses and cooked. Every man jack was inspired by one ambition: to cook better than any chef had cooked before.”

    Ogilvy describes how Monsieur Pitard, the head chef, inspired his kitchen while ruling with a rod of iron (“we were terrified of him”).

    Pitard believed in exorbitant standards of service and in keeping his kitchen clean. While all his cooks were badly paid M Pitard lived in a chateau.

    “Far from concealing his wealth from the rest of us he drove to work in a taxi, carried a cane with a gold head and dressed when off-duty like an international banker. This flaunting of privilege stimulated our ambition to follow in his footsteps.”

    Pitard, he recalled, worked 77 hours a week and only took one free day a fortnight.

    Ogilvy shows how his experience in the kitchen shaped his rules for running his business and he provides two lists on who to hire as staff and who to hire as customers. One of the books strengths is its many useful lists that you can apply to solve almost any problem.

    Oddly for a book selling the idea of investing in his company, Ogilvy consistently complains of how thin his margins are. I am sure this is a salesman’s trick. “Once a salesman, always a salesman,” he says.

    Ogilvy is always keen to show us the money. This is a strength. “At the end of a concert at Carnegie Hall, Walter Damrosch asked Rachmaninoff what sublime thoughts had passed through his head as he stared out into the audience during the playing of his concerto. “I was counting the house,” said Rachmaninoff.”

    Ogilvy’s book has sold more than one million copies. It can only inspire you to run your business better.
    For more see [...].
    26 people found this helpful
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  • Marisa Bell
    4.0 out of 5 stars Industry knowledge from the 'founding father'
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 9 November 2018
    Verified Purchase
    I quite enjoyed this book, but only quite. Personally speaking I felt I perhaps already knew a great deal of his work, so much of it wasn't new to me. The edits over time that have been made in the foreword were appreciated as the book is very indicative of attitudes of that time - i.e. male dominated advertising industry. I think for those who have no idea what to expect in the agency advertising world this is a must read and offers some cultural insights to, in terms of attitudes and styles of thinking-so of which are undoubtedly timeless!
    2 people found this helpful
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  • AK
    5.0 out of 5 stars Still inspirational after all those years
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 18 February 2010
    Verified Purchase
    In my opinion Ogilvy managed to write a classic with this one. The book is a good combination of advice about an advertising agency, running a professional services firm, the advertising business overall, as well as a really entertaining read.

    In terms of the content, some of it has dated (the limited insight on TV advertising, for instance), but most is as fresh and relevant as ever. Everything from how to motivate people in a high intensity, creative and competitive work environment, to some basic tennets of how advertising works (and how it does not) still makes a very useful, and relatively timeless read.

    The shameless self promotion and the colour of the author himself, which come through quite starkly are perhaps a throwback to the 60s, when the book was first written but they are all the more refreshing and entertaining for that. If you are looking for a good quick guide on some basics of running a professional service firm, and do not quite have the stomach for something like Managing the Professional Service Firm (which I very highly recommend), this is quite a good place to start.
    6 people found this helpful
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  • N. Entwistle
    5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 30 August 2020
    Verified Purchase
    A great read. Well written and very interested. The father of marketing
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  • HJ Waters
    3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting in parts.
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 7 April 2016
    Verified Purchase
    Interesting in parts. Bit too much bombast for my taste. But plenty of useful things to learn from someone who was clearly an expert.
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  • MinimalMaximum
    5.0 out of 5 stars A must read for any aspiring copywriter
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 10 October 2016
    Verified Purchase
    Don't turn up to any advertising / copywriting interview without having read this book. I would pay + £1,000 for the contents of this book, Luckily you can get it much cheaper than that
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Rick Baumann
    5.0 out of 5 stars gutes Buch
    Reviewed in Germany on 1 July 2024
    Verified Purchase
    "Confessions of an Advertising Man" von David Ogilvy ist ein echter Augenöffner, wenn du dich für Werbung interessierst. Obwohl das Buch aus den 60ern stammt, sind die Ratschläge immer noch super relevant.

    Ogilvy teilt in dem Buch seine Erfahrungen – von seinen größten Erfolgen bis zu den Fehlern. Es geht um alles, von der Bedeutung der Forschung bis hin zu Tipps für das Schreiben von Texten und den Einsatz von Bildern.

    Besonders gut gefällt mir, dass Ogilvy Wert auf ethisches Handeln legt. In einer Zeit, in der alles schnelllebig und digital ist, sind solche Prinzipien wichtiger denn je.

    Das Buch ist definitiv lesenswert, egal ob du neu in der Branche bist oder schon länger dabei. Es bietet wertvolle Einblicke und praktische Tipps.
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  • Herve Kabla
    5.0 out of 5 stars A lire si bossez dans la comm'
    Reviewed in France on 14 December 2016
    Verified Purchase
    Un livre passionnant, qui regorge de conseils. Même si certains sont adaptés à l'époque et au milieu dans lequel Ogilvy évolua, époque et milieu qui ont peut être connu quelques changements, nombre de ses conseils sont intemporels et méritent toute votre attention, ici et maintenant. A lire, donc. Impérativement. Pour vous faire réfléchir.
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  • Pratik
    5.0 out of 5 stars Enriching
    Reviewed in India on 12 July 2024
    Verified Purchase
    This book takes you through the lives of advertising men and their journey to the top.
    It revolves around the life of David Ogilvy, as he talks about various principles that a new copywriter should follow to pave his way in the industry. Ogilvy's principles hold merit and do not lose relevance. They are being followed even today. A must read for anyone, looking to set foot in the copywriting industry.
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  • ines
    5.0 out of 5 stars quick and new
    Reviewed in Spain on 3 September 2024
    Verified Purchase
    arrived on time
    Report
  • Amazon Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars Advertising staple
    Reviewed in Australia on 21 April 2019
    Verified Purchase
    Great book, brand new.
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