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.
David OgilvyRead
On the average, five times as many people read the headlines as read the body copy.
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.
More from David Ogilvy
All quotes βOur business is infested with idiots who try to impress by using pretentious jargon.
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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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