David Mackenzie Ogilvy (The Father od Advertising)

David Mackenzie Ogilvy was a businessman and an advertising executive. For his brilliant skills in the field, he is often known as the ‘Father of Advertising’. His life is very interesting as well as inspirational because he established himself as the owner of one of the most famous and largest advertising agencies in the world. Not only is Ogilvy today one of the most famous names in advertising, but he was also one of the handfuls of thinkers who had shaped the advertising business in the post-World War II period. His book ‘Confessions of an Advertising Man’ still remains one of the most popular and famous books on the subject, and is a requirement in many advertising classes in the United States. He wrote several other books as well, which are considered must reads for people who want to step into the advertising world. Not only almost all his books became bestsellers, but they have also been translated to various languages and have reached over millions globally. He retired as Chairman of Ogilvy & Mather, a company built by him with the backing of two friends Mather and Crowther. He passed away in 1999.

Major Works

• His first work, which was just an instruction manual named ‘The Theory and Practice of Selling the AGA cooker’, proved to be the turning point in his career, as it landed him a job as an account executive from a mere door-to-door salesman.
  
• ’Confessions of an Advertising Man’ (1963), which is a general commentary on advertising, can be regarded as the best work of David Ogilvy. It is also considered to be one of the best books for people who are aspiring to work in this field. By 2008, it had over a million copies published worldwide. It provided detailed instructions on managing an ad agency, getting and managing clients, building great campaigns, making good television commercials, etc.
  

Awards & Achievements

• Though Ogilvy had wanted to achieve knighthood, he couldn’t. However in 1967, he was made a Commander of the Order of British Empire. In 1968, he was appointed as a Chairman of the United Negro College Fund.
• In 1975, the Executive Council of the World Wildlife Fund appointed him as a Trustee. In 1977, he was elected to the US Advertising Hall of Fame. In 1979, he was inducted into the Junior Achievement U.S Business Hall of Fame.
  
• In 1990, he was elected to France’s Order of Arts and Letters.
  
• He had also served as a member of the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s 100th Anniversary Committee.