David Ogilvy

Sir Alan Parker

Confessions of an Advertising Man is the distillation of all the successful Ogilvy concepts, tactics and techniques that made this book an international bestseller. Regarded as the father of modern advertising, David Ogilvy created some of the most memorable advertising campaigns that set the standard for others to follow. Anyone aspiring to be a good manager in any kind of business should read this.

Confessions of an Advertising Man

Hannah Yang

Ogilvy's writing is delightful—although the majority of the book reads as practical advice for those who want to hire an advertising agency or for those who want to work for one, I think it would be an enjoyable read for anyone. The whole book ends up being a very persuasive, informative advertisement for Ogilvy.

I do think some of the advice here is dated; there were a couple of revisions mentioned at the beginning, but this still uses a very different male-female power dynamic and doesn't take into account social media, an important chunk of advertising nowadays. Plus, most marketing courses now emphasize how puny the human attention span is, which seems to disqualify some of Ogilvy's advice. Nevertheless, I think there is something to be gained in reading about Ogilvy's very interesting and unique experiences and reading his reflections upon them. At worst you can take it as a historical memoir about advertising.

I particularly appreciated the last section, where Ogilvy addresses some of the common complaints about the industry and advocates for the virtues of advertising. This defense remains relevant today.

Overall, Confessions of an Advertising Man is an entertaining and quick read for anyone who simply wants to learn more about advertising.

Joana da Silva

11th book of my Covid-19 isolation, and 30th book of 2020! 
It reads like "Mad Men - The Novel". I loveeeed Mad Men and I work with advertising, so it's a win-win situation. Do read this book if you're fascinated by the advertising world, otherwise it can get quite boring.

Mumluk

Ogilvy said that this book's goal was to attract people to work for him, and I readily believe that this goal was well reached, considering the impact this book had. A primer of advertising and a window on the office life in the 60s, delightfully written.

Christina

Great insights that hold true even today, especially for someone in the field. 
1 star less because I cannot forego the occasional sexist remarks that took me by surprise. 
But a great read otherwise.

Confessions of an Advertising Man

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