One of the most successful ads of all time by David Ogilvy

David Mackenzie Ogilvy was a tycoon of advertisement and a very cool dude. The Rolls-Royce advertisement above is one of his most well-known creations.

The one Ogilvy rule I procured for selling texts (and it inspires me indefinitely) is from ‘Ogilvy on Advertising.’

It’s quite simple, like all advice from the 60s:

Draw your reader a relevant picture.

Texts that sell have a picture at the core. It’s detailed, material, and relates to a certain type of audience.

Not just any picture

It’s not just any picture, but a picture that answers the reader’s pains.

In a business context, a pain point refers to a problem the customer has.

— the first search result for ‘pains in marketing’ on Google

I get nauseous just hearing the word ‘pains’ in marketing. As a writer, you are expected to create a problem-solving picture to the reader’s question/need.

But how the hell are you supposed to know what the reader’s question/need is?

Super easy—just point out the type of your reader. There are 3 of them:

Three types of people who read ads

1. Readers who buy things to save themselves from pain and discomfort.
2. Readers who buy things to experience joy.
3. Readers who analyse ads to write better ads (writers).

The recipe for a perfect picture

To draw a picture= to create text that solves the reader’s question. This text must be written in great detail and with great care.

This is the way to create an Ogilvy-worthy text.

Here are some of Ogilvy’s examples:

Romanticizing soap

What does every woman want? To be beautiful and young forever. How can soap help? It can make your skin soft and moisturized. Ogilvy researched Dove’s ingredients and was the first one to claim that this soap is ‘almost’ like a cream for your skin.

Dove’s ad by David Ogilvy

Don’t think of the tiger

It’s impossible not to think of a tiger when someone tells you specifically not to think of a tiger. Tiger is a bright and expressive image, and it sticks to your brain like glue.

Esso ad by David Ogilvy

I can imagine Ogilvy having a conversation like this:

—So, what’s unique about your petrol?

—It has more energy than others, 33.7 megajoules/litre versus 33.6 megajoules/liter in other brands…

Then Ogilvy lights up a cigar, bearly listening, and asks only this one question at the end of a technical report:

—So, does that mean your petrol’s more powerful?

—Well, it has high octane…

—Like a tiger?

—I’m sorry…?

—Like a tiger. — Ogilvy stubs out the cigaretteand reaches for his coat.

The next morning, the big orange tiger ad comes out with lively illustrations.

This is an example of a very flashy one-image message that’s easy to remember. Who wouldn’t want a freaking tiger power in their petrol?

Influence people through personal benefits

To make the picture more relevant, don’t write about the products’ advantages. Write about personal benefits for the person that buys the product.

Example 1:

You’re an artist, and you sell portraits.

Advantage: your canvases are stretched on an oak frame and are very durable.

Personal benefit: the canvas will last forever, and so will the memories of you.

Example 2:

You sell blenders.

Advantage: your blenders are super powerful and will… blend through anything but steel.

Personal benefit: crush ice for healthy hand-made ice creams. Add as many nuts as you want—you can make gallons of almond milk with this thing every day.

Readers glance through advantages (if you’re lucky), but only providing them with a picture of personal benefits will make them stop and read.

The only way I can get you to do anything is by giving you what you want.

—Dale Carnegie