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
If you have all the research, all the ground rules, all the directives, all the data - it doesn't mean the ad is written. Then you've got to close the door and write something - that is the moment of truth which we all try to postpone as long as possible.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Research and preparation are important, but the actual writing is a critical and often procrastinated step in the creative process.
In this quote, David Ogilvy emphasizes that while collecting data, setting rules, and preparing thoroughly are essential parts of any creative endeavor, the real challenge lies in the act of writing itself. It is often easy to get lost in preparation, but true progress requires overcoming the fear of putting words on the page, which is a moment of truth that many creators tend to delay.
Themes
WritingCreativityProcrastinationPreparationData
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be shared during a creative writing workshop to inspire participants to start writing sooner.
More from David Ogilvy
All quotes →Our 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 think that in order to struggle you have to be creative. In my life, creativity has been something that has sustained me; it awoke my spiritual struggle.
Assata ShakurRead
One very important aspect of motivation is the willingness to stop and to look at things that no one else has bothered to look at. This simple process of focusing on things that are normally taken for granted is a powerful source of creativity.
Edward De BonoRead
Usually when I start a new project there's a fear of the unknown; maybe it's a band I've never been in the studio with before. People are so different. It's almost like you need to go through the process, discover and unlock what it is that makes that band that band. And a lot of times they don't know it.
Rick RubinRead
Curiosity about life in all of its aspects, I think, is still the secret of great creative people.
Leo BurnettRead
(Talking about his first computer) Like all kids we not only fooled around with our toys, we changed them. If you've ever watched a child with a cardboard carton and a box of crayons create a spaceship with cool control panels, or listened to their improvised rules, such as "Red cars can jump all others," then you know that this impulse to make a toy do more is at the heart of innovative childhood play. It is also the essence of creativity.
Bill GatesRead
Creativity is generating ideas that are novel and useful. I define originals as people who go beyond dreaming up the ideas and take initiative to make their visions a reality.
Adam GrantRead