David MacKenzie Ogilvy was born in the family of a classic scholar and financial broker on June 23, 1911 at West Horsley, Surrey. At age 13, he attended Fettes College, in Edinburgh, and won a scholarship in History to Christ Church College, Oxford, six years later in 1929.
At the time (which is in mid twenties), the depression had severally affected his father’s business, meaning he would not have been in the position to attend university if not for the scholarship. In 1931, he left Oxford for Paris without graduating. In Paris, he became an apprentice chef in a hotel. One year later, he returned to England and started selling cooking stoves door-to-door.
He was so successful in his sales that his employer asked him to write an instruction manual, “The Theory and Practice of Selling the AGA Cooker,” for the other salesmen. The manual, which is being referred to as the finest sales instruction manual, became so successful that Fortune magazine editors are still reading it. His elder brother, Francis Ogilvy, who was working for the London advertising agency, Mather and Crowther, showed this manual to the agency management, who offered David a position as an account executive.
In 1938, he went to America and three years later participated in the war as a British Intelligence officer. In 1948, after a disastrous effort as a tobacco farmer, he moved his wife and son to New York City where he decided to start his own agency. With $6000 in his account, he started Ogilvy, Mather and Crowther, along with Mather and Crowther as partners.
With his strong belief to make the best use of whatever came his way, he nurtured his company to success. His idea of the best way to get new clients is to do great works for existing clients. This idea helped him to get big clients like Rolls Royce and Shell. He built Ogilvy and Mather to a great company before he retired in 1973. In 1989, The Ogilvy Group was bought by WPP Group, a British holding company, for US$864 million.
His best-selling books, Confessions of an Advertising Man and Ogilvy on Advertising, are two of the most popular and famous books on advertising. According to a survey conducted by Adweek magazine in early 2004, people in the business were asked, “Which individuals – alive or dead – made you consider pursuing a career in advertising?” David Ogilvy topped the list. The same result came when students of advertising were surveyed. Though deceased, David Ogilvy still remains one of the greatest minds in advertising.
Dear reader, time without number, I have mentioned in several ways that what we need is not money, but ideas to actualize our dreams and change the world. Ogilvy is a legend now, but remember, he started with only $6000. We all have dreams and also we all have what it takes to start turning our dreams into reality.
The key is in your hands. Use it!
NB: First published April 2014