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Master David Ogilvy's timeless advertising principles from "Confessions of an Advertising Man" (1963). The Father of Advertising's rules for copy that sells. Use when: Writing advertising copy (print, digital, video); Crafting headlines that stop the scroll; Creating long-form sales copy; Reviewing and improving existing marketing copy; Building brand campaigns that sell AND build equity
npx skill4agent add guia-matthieu/clawfu-skills copywriting-classicMaster David Ogilvy's timeless advertising principles from "Confessions of an Advertising Man" (1963). The Father of Advertising's rules for copy that sells.
| Claude Does | You Decide |
|---|---|
| Structures production workflow | Final creative direction |
| Suggests technical approaches | Equipment and tool choices |
| Creates templates and checklists | Quality standards |
| Identifies best practices | Brand/voice decisions |
| Generates script outlines | Final script approval |
Write 10 Ogilvy-style headlines for:
Product: [description]
Key fact/claim: [specific proof point]Review this copy against Ogilvy's 7 principles:
[paste copy]Write Ogilvy-style body copy for:
Product: [description]
Key facts: [list of facts]
Audience: [who]Define brand voice using Ogilvy's personality framework for:
Brand: [description]
Values: [list]
Audience: [who]## Principle 1: GIVE THE FACTS
**The Rule**: Present all relevant facts about your product. Facts sell.
**Ogilvy**: "The more facts you tell, the more you sell. An advertisement's chance for success invariably increases as the number of pertinent merchandise facts included in the advertisement increases."
**Application**:
- Don't be vague—be specific
- Include specifications, data, details
- Don't assume "boring" facts aren't interesting
- Benefits matter, but FACTS prove them
**Bad**: "Our software is fast"
**Good**: "Our software processes 10,000 transactions per second—4x faster than the industry average"
**Bad**: "High-quality ingredients"
**Good**: "Made with 100% Arabica beans from the Cerrado region of Brazil, roasted within 72 hours of shipping"
---
## Principle 2: BE TRUTHFUL
**The Rule**: Never lie. Ever.
**Ogilvy**: "Never write an advertisement which you wouldn't want your own family to read. You wouldn't tell lies to your own wife. Don't tell them to mine."
**Application**:
- Avoid superlatives you can't prove
- Never exaggerate results
- If you have to hedge, hedge honestly
- Good products CAN be sold honestly
**Words to Avoid** (unless provable):
- "Best"
- "Revolutionary"
- "World's first"
- "Guaranteed" (unless it actually is)
- "Unique" (rarely true)
**Words That Work**:
- Specific numbers
- Verifiable claims
- Honest comparisons
- Real customer quotes
---
## Principle 3: BE HELPFUL
**The Rule**: Give value. Help the reader solve problems.
**Ogilvy**: "Another profitable gambit is to give the reader helpful advice, or service. It hooks about 75 per cent more readers than copy which deals entirely with the product."
**Application**:
- Lead with useful information
- Teach something before selling
- Position product as helper, not hero
- Content marketing before content marketing existed
**Structure Template**:
1. Open with helpful insight
2. Explain the principle
3. Show how product applies the principle
4. CTA
---
## Principle 4: HAVE A BIG IDEA
**The Rule**: Center everything around one powerful concept.
**Ogilvy**: "Unless your campaign contains a Big Idea, it will pass like a ship in the night."
**Warning**: "Most campaigns are too complicated. They reflect a long list of objectives, and try to reconcile the divergent views of too many executives. By attempting to cover too many things, they achieve nothing."
**Big Idea Criteria**:
- Simple enough for a child to understand
- Memorable after one exposure
- Can sustain years of campaigning
- Differentiates meaningfully
**Examples**:
- Snickers: "You're not you when you're hungry"
- Avis: "We try harder" (because we're #2)
- Rolls-Royce: "At 60 mph, the loudest noise comes from the electric clock"
---
## Principle 5: DON'T BE BORING
**The Rule**: Be interesting. But interesting that SELLS.
**Ogilvy**: "You cannot bore people into buying your product; you can only interest them in buying it."
**How to Be Interesting**:
- Know your customer deeply
- Find the fascinating angle in every fact
- Use storytelling when appropriate
- Write like a human, not a corporation
**Warning**: Don't confuse entertaining with effective.
**Ogilvy**: "Good copywriters have always resisted the temptation to entertain."
The goal is INTERESTING, not merely entertaining. Everything should drive toward the sale.
---
## Principle 6: UNDERSTAND YOUR CUSTOMER
**The Rule**: Know who you're talking to. Respect them.
**Ogilvy**: "The consumer is not a moron. She is your wife. Don't insult her intelligence."
**Application**:
- Write in their language
- Address their real concerns
- Never condescend
- Never use jargon they don't use
- Men shouldn't write ads for women's products (without research)
**Before Writing, Know**:
- What keeps them up at night?
- What language do they use?
- What do they already know?
- What would make them feel understood?
---
## Principle 7: STAY TRUE TO YOUR BRAND
**The Rule**: Build consistent personality over time.
**Ogilvy**: "Every advertisement should be thought of as a contribution to the complex symbol which is the brand image."
**Warning**: "Most manufacturers are reluctant to accept any limitation on the image of their brand. They want it to be all things to all people … They generally end up with a brand which has no personality of any kind, a wishy-washy neuter."
**Application**:
- Define brand personality clearly
- Apply it consistently across all touchpoints
- Accept limitations—you can't be everything
- Build equity over years, not campaigns
**Ogilvy on Originality**: "Nobody has ever built a brand by imitating somebody else's advertising."## Headlines: 80% of Your Ad's Success
**Ogilvy**: "On the average, five times as many people read the headline as read the body copy. When you have written your headline, you have spent eighty cents out of your dollar."
### The Rules
1. **Include your selling promise**
Bad: "Introducing the new XR-7"
Good: "At 60 mph, the loudest noise in this Rolls-Royce comes from the electric clock"
2. **Appeal to self-interest**
Bad: "Our award-winning formula"
Good: "How to win friends and influence people"
3. **Announce news when possible**
Bad: "Quality you can trust"
Good: "New formula removes stains in half the time"
4. **Avoid blind headlines**
Bad: "Think different" (needs body copy to make sense)
Good: "Do you make these mistakes in English?" (complete idea)
5. **Use specifics over generalities**
Bad: "Save money on car insurance"
Good: "Save $423 on car insurance in 12 minutes"
6. **Never use negatives**
Bad: "Don't miss this opportunity"
Good: "Seize this opportunity today"
7. **Avoid puns and literary allusions**
Bad: "A tale of two cities... and two prices"
Good: "Same product. Half the price."
8. **Include the brand name**
If people only read the headline, they should know who's talking.
### Ogilvy Headline Formulas
**The How-To**:
"How to [achieve desired outcome]"
"How I [achieved result] in [timeframe]"
**The Specific Number**:
"[Number] ways to [achieve outcome]"
"[Specific result] in [specific timeframe]"
**The News Angle**:
"Introducing: [new thing]"
"Announcing: [improvement]"
"Now you can [do something previously impossible]"
**The Question**:
"Do you [have common problem]?"
"What would you do with [benefit]?"
**The Command**:
"[Action verb] your way to [benefit]"
"Stop [bad thing]. Start [good thing]."## Long Copy That Sells
**Ogilvy on Copy Length**: "All my experience says that for a great many products, long copy sells more than short."
**Why Long Copy Works**:
- Gives facts that build conviction
- Answers objections before they arise
- Demonstrates expertise
- The interested reader wants more
### The Ogilvy Style
**Conversational but Expert**:
- Write like talking to a friend
- But a friend who's done their research
- Use "you" liberally
- Avoid corporate-speak
**Factual but Fascinating**:
- Every paragraph should teach something
- Numbers, percentages, specifics
- But presented in engaging way
**Structured for Scanning**:
- Use subheads generously
- First line of each paragraph must compel
- Key points should be skimmable
### Body Copy Template (Ogilvy Style)
undefined| Principle | How It's Applied |
|---|---|
| Facts | Specific claim about noise at specific speed |
| Truthful | Verifiable, based on real testing |
| Big Idea | One memorable image that says "quiet = quality" |
| Not Boring | Unexpected, makes you think |
| Respects Customer | Assumes intelligence, no hyperbole |
| Brand True | Consistent with Rolls-Royce prestige |
| Before | After |
|---|---|
| "Revolutionary new software" | "Software that reduced deployment time from 4 hours to 4 minutes" |
| "Best coffee in town" | "Roasted this morning. Shipped this afternoon. In your cup by tomorrow." |
| "Quality you can trust" | "47 inspections before it leaves the factory" |
| "Affordable prices" | "Same ingredients as the $80 cream. $24." |
| "Customer-focused service" | "We answer the phone in 42 seconds (we've timed it)" |
## Before Publishing, Ask:
### Facts
- [ ] Does the copy contain specific, verifiable facts?
- [ ] Are claims backed by numbers or evidence?
- [ ] Would my claims survive scrutiny?
### Truth
- [ ] Is every statement truthful?
- [ ] Have I avoided unprovable superlatives?
- [ ] Would I show this to my family?
### Helpfulness
- [ ] Does the reader learn something useful?
- [ ] Is there value even if they don't buy?
### Big Idea
- [ ] Is there one clear, memorable concept?
- [ ] Can I explain it in one sentence?
- [ ] Does everything support this one idea?
### Interest
- [ ] Would I read this if I saw it?
- [ ] Is there anything boring that should be cut?
- [ ] Is it interesting in a way that sells (not just entertains)?
### Customer Understanding
- [ ] Am I speaking their language?
- [ ] Am I respecting their intelligence?
- [ ] Do I understand what they actually want?
### Brand Consistency
- [ ] Does this sound like our brand?
- [ ] Is it consistent with other communications?
- [ ] Are we adding to brand equity or depleting it?## Rate Each Headline 1-5
| Criteria | Score |
|----------|-------|
| Contains specific benefit | /5 |
| Appeals to self-interest | /5 |
| Avoids empty adjectives | /5 |
| Understandable without body copy | /5 |
| Includes news/specificity | /5 |
| Brand name included | /5 |
| No puns or cleverness | /5 |
| **TOTAL** | /35 |
30+: Strong Ogilvy-style headline
20-29: Needs work on specifics
<20: Start over with facts first## USE THESE ## AVOID THESE
- Specific numbers - Revolutionary
- Exact measurements - World-class
- Verifiable claims - Best-in-class
- Customer quotes - Unique
- Before/after data - Game-changing
- Time saved/earned - Cutting-edge
- Money saved/earned - Synergy
- Comparisons with proof - Leverage
- "You" language - Premium quality
- Active verbs - Industry-leading