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
Why should a manufacturer bet his money, perhaps the future of his company, on your instinct?
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote emphasizes the importance of data and evidence over intuition in business decision-making.
David Ogilvy highlights the necessity for manufacturers and business leaders to rely on solid evidence and data rather than mere instinct when making critical financial decisions. The statement reflects a fundamental principle in the business world: reliance on instincts can be risky, especially when the future of a company is at stake, and thus, decisions should be backed by research and proven insights.
Themes
BusinessDataEvidenceDecision-MakingRisk
In practice
Example use cases
In a business presentation discussing the importance of analytics, you could quote this to stress the need for data-driven decisions.
More from David Ogilvy
All quotes βOur business is infested with idiots who try to impress by using pretentious jargon.
David OgilvyRead
Some manufacturers illustrate their advertisements with abstract paintings. I would only do this if I wished to conceal from the reader what I was advertising.
David OgilvyRead
Much of the messy advertising you see on television today is the product of committees. Committees can criticize advertisements, but they should never be allowed to create them.
David OgilvyRead
The best ideas come as jokes. Make your thinking as funny as possible.
David OgilvyRead
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.
David OgilvyRead
Similar quotes
I'll tell you why I like the cigarette business. It cost a penny to make. Sell it for a dollar. It's addictive. And there's a fantastic brand loyalty.
Warren BuffettRead
You can't live if you don't eat, but you don't live to eat. And neither does business exist primarily to make a profit. It exists to fulfill its purpose, whatever that might be.
John MackeyRead
Customers don't always know what they want. The decline in coffee-drinking was due to the fact that most of the coffee people bought was stale and they weren't enjoying it. Once they tasted ours and experienced what we call "the third place" ... a gathering place between home and work where they were treated with respect.. they found we were filling a need they didn't know they had.
Howard SchultzRead
Companies, in fact, are specifically organized to under-invest in disruptive innovations! This is one reason why we often suggest that companies set up separate teams or groups to commercialize disruptive innovations. When disruptive innovations have to fight with other innovations for resources, they tend to lose out.
Clayton M. ChristensenRead
I think that, too many times, business has been seen as acting in its narrow self-interest rather than, essentially, contributing more broadly to society. I think a lot of that is unintentional; I don't think that many managers are deliberately trying to be unethical or are not trying to be sensitive to social needs.
Michael PorterRead
In the long run managements stressing accounting appearance over economic substance usually achieve little of either.
Warren BuffettRead