“Don’t bunt. Aim out of the ballpark. Aim for the company of the immortals.”
―David Ogilvy
This is a beautiful clear message, especially in honor of our quirky, beloved Giants, about a clear focus. A focus that aims for the best, drives for excellence, and holds the highest standards in mind. Mr. Ogilvy did that with his advertising firm, and so we can choose to aim out of the ballpark in our chosen endeavor, too.
David Mackenzie Ogilvy (23 June 1911 – 21 July 1999) was an advertising executive, widely hailed as “The Father of Advertising,” and the author of the book Ogilvy on Advertising, a general commentary on advertising. He was born in West Horsley, Surrey in England and his parents were Dorothy Blow Fairfield and Francis John Longley Ogilvy, the latter a classics scholar and a financial broker. David attended St Cyprian’s School, Eastbourne; Fettes College in Edinburgh; and Christ Church, Oxford. While working as an AGA salesman he wrote The Theory and Practice of Selling the AGA Cooker, considered by Fortune magazine as the finest sales instruction manual written. The manual led to his next job as account executive at London advertising agency Mather & Crowther, run by his older brother Francis. After WWII and having worked as a chef, researcher, and farmer Ogilvy started his own advertising agency in New York called Ogilvy, Benson, and Mather, where David was its Chairman until he retired in 1973. In the 1980s he returned as Chairman of the company’s India office, then as temporary Chairman of the agency’s German office, and visited and represented the company’s branches around the world.
Ogilvy married three times, the first two marriages ending in divorce: first to Melinda Street, where they had one child, David Fairfield Ogilvy; then to Anne Cabot; and later on, Herta Lans until his passing in 1999 at his home in Bonnes, France. In 1967, he was made a Commander of the Order of British Empire (CBE), adding to his many honors and achievements. In his lifetime and onwards he established his advertising philosophy’s four basic principles: creative brilliance, research, actual results for clients, and professional discipline.
Bio Source: Wikipedia Fig¹. Photo by ogilvywashington on flickr