Ogilvy on Advertising in the Digital Age

October 23, 2017
In this stylish textbook for students of advertising, Ogilvy & Mather nonexecutive chairman Young offers a smart take on the current state of advertising and how his storied firm has evolved as society has been transformed by the internet. The book takes its title from 1983’s Ogilvy in Advertising by the late David Ogilvy, who was both the author’s mentor and the founder of the venerable agency. This sequel is its own exercise in brand extension, reflecting on Ogilvy’s maverick career while trumpeting the firm’s forward-thinking current incarnation. However, the case studies of campaigns for brands such as Dove, Old Spice, and Coke combined with a discussion of advertising philosophy and tactics make this book more than an extended sales pitch. As would be expected, the text is well designed, replete with pretty infographics such as a “map” where Alphabet, Amazon, and Apple are “countries” in the mode of a game of Risk. Writers can read the content chapter, analysts can peruse the analytics chapter, and creatives can indulge in the idea chapter, and they’d all benefit from reading everything else. Ogilvy would be proud, with Young achieving his stated goal of convincing a new generation to look back at Ogilvy’s classic work, while also adding his own canny take on the contemporary advertising game.

November 1, 2017
"The vast majority of content produced on the internet remains unread, unwatched, unseen, and unheard." So writes adman Young in this richly illustrated, well-argued manual on how to get the word out.The 1980s-era bible of the ad industry, Ogilvy on Advertising, writes current Ogilvy & Mather chairman Young, was "a most elegant rant against what [founder David Ogilvy] believed to be a legion of misconceptions about our business," as well as a primer, if sometimes dogmatic, of how that business works. Young's book picks up for the new age, with its attention to media that behave in the same way crack does: "instant hits are everything--and it is addictive." The author sometimes turns to the gimmicky, as with a "content matrix" with aspirational terms such as "magnetic" and "immersive" to describe a subject--content, that is--that the original Ogilvy would have mistrusted. Of great interest to global trend-watchers, though, is the abundance of material Young pulls from the Asian and European markets, such as a brand-building campaign for Nescafe, which may now be the best-known coffee firm in the world. Yet, he adds, global markets are less important in some aspects than saturating local ones, since research indicates that consumers prefer local brands to international ones by a wide margin, though they may continue to buy both. Of interest to anyone seeking to understand how advertisers seek to capture hearts and minds are Young's concluding predictions for the near-term future: politicians will always lie in political advertising; "the Indian ad market will be the most attractive in the world"; and virtual reality will introduce interesting multimedia possibilities but will not rule the planet. Creative-writing majors wondering how to retire their student loans may take heart, too, in the author's assurances that "top-notch writing skills will carry a huge premium as they decrease in supply."A new bible for a new generation of pitchmen and -women. Young's treatise makes a fine modern marketing 101 textbook--and at far below textbook prices, too.

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December 1, 2017
This follow-up to David Ogilvy's classic Ogilvy on Advertising (1983) is presented by current nonexecutive chairman Young. Instead of diving into today's digital scene, Young chronicles the digital revolution, from internet development to today's multichannel digital brand strategy. As broadly ponderous as the topic, Young dives deep into many areas, from the digital ecosystem and millennials to culture and courage. There are obvious focuses, such as social media and mobility, and some that give pause, like creativity and politics. The book is peppered with six case studies he considers the Hall of Fame in digital advertising, including the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. Many other campaigns are examined through color photos and illustrations with insightful commentary. In addition, he touches on all media types, such as radio, blogs, phone campaigns, and more. To wrap up, Young, in true Ogilvy fashion, offers his 13 predictions for the future of advertising in the digital age. This guide is a must-have for those in the advertising profession, including marketers, public-relations experts, entrepreneurs, and anyone who wants to be competitive in today's business world.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)