The headline is the 'ticket on the meat.' Use it to flag down readers who are prospects for the kind of product you are advertising.
David OgilvyRead
There is no need for advertisements to look like advertisements. If you make them look like editorial pages, you will attract about 50 per cent more readers.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Advertisements should resemble content rather than traditional marketing to engage more readers.
David Ogilvy's quote emphasizes the importance of blending advertisements into the fabric of traditional content, making them less obtrusive and more appealing to readers. By adopting an editorial style, advertisers can significantly increase engagement and connection with their audience, thereby enhancing the effectiveness of their marketing efforts.
Themes
AdvertisingMarketingContentReader EngagementEditorial
In practice
Example use cases
A marketing class discussing advertising strategies could use this quote to illustrate effective advertisement design.
More from David Ogilvy
All quotes βOur business is infested with idiots who try to impress by using pretentious jargon.
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Some manufacturers illustrate their advertisements with abstract paintings. I would only do this if I wished to conceal from the reader what I was advertising.
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Much of the messy advertising you see on television today is the product of committees. Committees can criticize advertisements, but they should never be allowed to create them.
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The best ideas come as jokes. Make your thinking as funny as possible.
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Experience has taught me that advertisers get the best results when they pay their agency a flat fee. It is unrealistic to expect your agency to be impartial when its vested interest lies wholly in the direction of increasing your commissionable advertising.
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