Will I love Ogilvy on Advertising?

What’s it like to climb inside the mind of one of advertising’s most iconic legends? Reading this book is probably the closest thing to it. You’re sure to come out with a dramatically changed view on how the industry works, and doesn’t. I’ve quoted him often in Cashvertising because his no-bull approach to advertising resonates strongly with everything I’ve been teaching for nearly four decades. Make his words your own and then--when you speak to others about advertising--you’ll be speaking with the voice of unquestionable authority.

Ogilvy was the original “mad man” (to cite the 2007–2015 TV show), the foremost advertising executive of the mid-20th century. Although his book is about advertising, you’ll be able to see a theme here that runs through all my top 5 choices: Design should be based first on customer-focused communications research, not on how the designer feels. One of the ads Ogilvy cites was extraordinarily successful—and a graphic atrocity. How could that be? Ogilvy spills the beans.