Famous Advertisers in History: David Ogilvy
If you’re in advertising, you’ve no doubt heard the name David Ogilvy, the “Father of Advertising.” Some people believe he was the inspiration for the character Don Draper from the TV hit Madmen.
Regardless, his ads in the 50’s and 60’s made quite a splash, because they were remarkably different from the day’s normal ads. Even today’s advertisers can look back and admire the creativity of his work and the genius of his advertising philosophies.
David Ogilvy’s Life Before Advertising
To see a brief background of Ogilvy’s life, we must transport back to England in the early 1900’s. His family couldn’t afford college tuition, so he attended Christ Church in Oxford on a scholarship. But he dropped out before graduating. For a short time, he was a cook for the Hotel Majestic in Paris but was unsatisfied with the job and returned to England.
Becoming a Salesman
Back in his homeland, he became a salesman for Aga stoves. He was such a successful salesman that he ended up writing a guide for other Aga salesmen in 1935. It was so well-done that Fortune later called it “probably the best sales manual ever written.” However, it didn’t propel him into fame or even convince him to go into advertising just yet.
