David Mackenzie Ogilvy was born on June 23, 1911 in Surrey, England. He became one of the
most prolific Ad men of our time. As a copy writer and research director Olgilvey is noted as the
“godfather” of modern advertising. He was educated at Fettes College in Edinburgh and at Christ
Church, Oxford. He did not graduate from Oxford . From Oxford, David went to Paris where he
worked in the kitchen of the Hotel Majestic. Pitard, the head chef, made an everlasting impression on
him and helped form his principles of management. After only working in Paris for a year he returned
to England and worked as a door to door salesman for Aga selling cooking stoves. Many believe this is
where his career really took off. In 1935 he wrote a guide for Aga salesmen which Fortune has called
"probably the best sales manual ever written." and still uses today as a tool in training new executives.
His older brother who was working for the London advertising agency Mather & Crowther, showed
this manual to the agency management, who offered Ogilvy a position as an account executive. David
immigrated to the United States in 1938. He worked for George Gallup, Associate Director of the
Audience Research Institute in Princeton. He counts Gallup as one of the major influences on his
thinking. Gallup's meticulous research methods, and devotion to reality. David took each one of these
practices and applied them in his future advertising campaigns At the age of 38 Ogilvy started his
agency with the backing of two London agencies: S. H. Benson and Mather and Crowther, which was
at that time being run by his elder brother Francis. The agency was called Ogilvy, Benson and Mather.
Ogilvy had just $6000 in his account when he started the agency. David as a copywriter is personally
responsible for many of advertising's most famously sophisticated campaigns. These include: The Man
in the Hathaway Shirt, the series of advertisements for Schweppes featuring...