PS – My only complaint might be that, if one insists on lambasting the readability of type when set in reverse (a light colour printed on a dark background) in a book it might be an idea to not set the type on the cover using exactly that technique.

Rory Sutherland makes the daring assertion that a change in perceived value can be just as satisfying as what we consider real value - and his conclusion has interesting consequences for how we look at life. Now, I’m off to the House of Lords to see if I can bag a few more clients… A new edition of the timeless business classic featured on Mad Men-as fresh and relevant now as the day it was written We. Advertising adds value to a product by changing our perception, rather than the product itself. So, in summary, Confessions of advertising man may not be new but it’s still worth a plane ride or two of anyone’s time. We abhor ruthlessness.” In terms of setting the standard for an agency culture he isn’t far short of the mark here. He writes, “We detest office politicians, toadies, bullies and pompous asses. Ignoring the fact that, due to being written by an ad exec in the sixties, they are rigidly male orientated, many of the tips in the book are still useful.įor instance, Ogilvy believes that you get nowhere in business without manners. In terms of running an agency, or indeed a business of any kind, Ogilvy’s thoughts on creating a company culture are still important. I won’t reproduce these guidelines here in full but, let’s just say, fans of headlines that are little more than clever if irrelevant puns will not be delighted. The section on headline writing is particularly pertinent. Actually it’s quite relevant to anyone running any business of any size.įirstly though, its significance for PRs lies not only in its insights on positioning but also in its wonderful chapter on copy writing. What’s more, this book about advertising is relevant to the PR industry and to anyone running a small business. It’s a great insight into a bygone era of advertising, in which almost all of Ogilvy’s clients were peers of the realm, but, despite this, still relevant. Continuing my series of book reviews about books that haven’t been published recently (see also Martin Lukes who moved my Blackberry?) I’ve been reading David Ogilvy’s seminal Confessions of an advertising man of late.