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On the average, five times as many people read the headlines as read the body copy.
David Ogilvy
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Interpretation

What this quote means

Most people only pay attention to headlines rather than the detailed content.

This quote by David Ogilvy emphasizes the importance of crafting engaging headlines because they capture the attention of a larger audience compared to the body of the text. It suggests that marketers, writers, and communicators must focus on creating compelling headlines to draw readers in, as the majority will not delve deeper into the content unless the headlines pique their interest.

Themes

HeadlinesReadingContentAttentionEngagement

In practice

Example use cases

In a marketing seminar, you could use this quote to highlight the significance of headlines in advertising.

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The headline is the 'ticket on the meat.' Use it to flag down readers who are prospects for the kind of product you are advertising.
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Experience has taught me that advertisers get the best results when they pay their agency a flat fee. It is unrealistic to expect your agency to be impartial when its vested interest lies wholly in the direction of increasing your commissionable advertising.
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