What comes after 'Ogilvy on advertising'?

May 24, 2009 8:50 AM

I just read 'Ogilvy on advertising' and I'm looking for facts and research about advertising.

I just finished re-reading 'Ogilvy on advertising'. In it, David Ogilvy talks about a few topics that interest me greatly.

1. He claims to know of 96 factors that make advertising effective (effective as in: boosting sales), but he doesn't list them. I'm interested in reading more about (good, solid) research on advertising. I'm not interested in reading about methodology however, because I don't understand statistics. Where can I find books about advertising effectiveness?

2. He speaks lovingly of direct mailing and its effectiveness. Again: kindly point me to books (based on hard evidence) on the subject.

3. I would be interested in other good memoirs from the ad industry.

4. I'm also looking for something like "Ogilvy on advertising" for the present day (post niche television stations, the internet, social media).

posted by NekulturnY to society & culture (6 comments total)

Terry O'Reilly's The Age of Persuasion radio series from the CBC is an omnivorous look at advertising and marketing. Most of the episodes are available for streaming online, although the indexing at the CBC site is a bit frustrating and there are no podcasts available yet.
posted by maudlin at 9:15 AM on May 24 [2 favorites has favorites]

And Terry recommends these books on advertising.
posted by maudlin at 9:18 AM on May 24

I have found George Parker's books (MadScam and the Ubiquitous Persuaders) to be entertaining and informative. Check out his blog, though for the most part it's just advertising gossip, so not sure if non-ad folks enjoy it.
posted by anthropoid at 2:36 PM on May 24

Check out the book Ogivly recommends himself - Scientific Advertising by Claude Hopkins. Though it is a bit theoretical. You can get it bound together with My Life in Advertising, which is the story of the beginning of advertising told from the point of view of the man who invented it. Doesn't he say he makes each of his employees read this book at least twice before they begin working for him? Why did you not go out & buy it immediately after reading that?

John Caples' books are full of practical advice - your ad should appear on the righthand page because people look at that page twice as much as the lefthand page.

1. When they turn to that spread.
2. When they turn to the next spread.

The lefthand page is looked at only once - when the spread is fully open.

(just one example)

etc. etc. Caples has two books you may be interested in. Tested Advertising Methods and the much harder to find, How to Make Your Advertising Make Money.

Al Reis and Jack Trout wrote the famous 22 Immutable Laws of Advertising, which should be pretty eye opening if you haven't read it yet.

Alvin Eicoff is the man who invented late night infomercials. Or Your Money Back is his book.

When you look at these books, look at the copyright dates.

The Marketing Gurus is a good, quick, overview of a number of influential books, but also utterly forgettable (abbreviations have a habit of robbing you of emotional impact).

The list goes on & on - there are plenty of advertising classics I haven't read yet (and some I have read), but these are the books I have read & can recommend and would be a good starting point for anyone who's read Ogilvy & nothing else.
posted by MesoFilter at 12:58 AM on May 25

Why did you not go out & buy it immediately after reading that?

Caught me - I was not quite finished with the book and had missed the "further reading" page. Thanks for your recommendations, they look very interesting.
posted by NekulturnY at 3:18 AM on May 25

The best book I've read on advertising is Where the Suckers Moon, an inside account of a Subaru campaign.
posted by Wet Spot at 5:49 PM on May 25