Ogilvy (agency) facts for kids
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| Private | |
| Industry | Advertising, marketing, public relations |
| Founded | 1948 |
| Founder | David Ogilvy |
| Headquarters | |
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Key people
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Devika Bulchandani (Global chief executive officer) |
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Number of employees
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17,500 (2022) |
| Parent | WPP plc |
Ogilvy is a well-known company based in New York City that helps other businesses with their advertising, marketing, and public relations. It started in London way back in 1850 as an advertising agency. Later, in 1964, it joined forces with a New York agency founded by David Ogilvy in 1948, and that's when it became known as Ogilvy & Mather.
Today, Ogilvy is part of a big global network called the WPP Group. It offers many services, including helping companies grow, creating ads and content, managing public relations, improving customer experiences, and even working in healthcare marketing. They also have a special team called Ogilvy Consulting that helps with business strategies.
Contents
A Look Back: Ogilvy's History
How It All Began
The company's story started in London in 1850. A man named Edmund Charles Mather opened an advertising agency. By the 1860s, Mather had a branch in New York City. After Mather passed away in 1886, his son, Harley Lawrence Mather, teamed up with Herbert Oakes Crowther, and the agency became Mather & Crowther.
This agency was a pioneer in newspaper advertising, which was quite new at the time. They taught manufacturers how useful advertising could be and even wrote "how-to" guides for the growing advertising industry. The company became very famous in the 1920s for creating well-known ad campaigns like "an apple a day keeps the doctor away" and "Drinka Pinta Milka Day".
In 1921, Mather and Crowther hired Francis Ogilvy as a copywriter, someone who writes ad text. Francis eventually became the first person outside the Mather family to lead the agency. He even helped his younger brother, David Ogilvy, get a job selling a Swedish stove called the AGA cooker. David was so good at selling it that he wrote a sales manual in 1935. Fortune magazine later called it "probably the best sales manual ever written."
David Ogilvy then worked in research and for British Intelligence during World War II. After that, he spent a few years farming with the Amish community in Pennsylvania.
Starting in New York
In 1948, David Ogilvy suggested that Mather & Crowther and another UK agency should create an American advertising agency in New York City. They each invested money, but wanted David to find someone more experienced to run it. David Ogilvy teamed up with Anderson Hewitt, and they opened their New York agency on September 23, 1948. It was called Hewitt, Ogilvy, Benson, & Mather.
Their first clients were smaller companies like Wedgwood China and Guinness. One of their first successful ads was "The Guinness Guide to Oysters," which helped people learn about pairing Guinness with food. Their first big client was Sunoco in 1949.
A major success came in 1951 with the "The man in the Hathaway shirt" campaign for a shirt company. The ad showed a fancy man wearing an eyepatch, which David Ogilvy bought on the way to the photo shoot to make the ad more interesting. This campaign made the company's sales jump by 160 percent and became a popular cultural trope.
Becoming Ogilvy, Benson & Mather
Because of disagreements, Anderson Hewitt left the agency in 1953. David Ogilvy took over, and the agency reopened as Ogilvy, Benson & Mather in 1954.
During the 1950s, Ogilvy, Benson & Mather became known for its successful campaigns, which David Ogilvy called "big ideas." The agency gained a reputation for "quality" advertising. This meant using well-researched, longer text, big photos, and clear designs. David Ogilvy believed that advertising should inform and persuade people to buy, not just entertain them.
In 1956, the agency almost doubled in size after winning the Shell Oil account. They agreed to work for Shell based on a fee, which was a new way of doing business for major advertising agencies at the time.
The Birth of Ogilvy & Mather
As advertising became more global, Ogilvy, Benson & Mather joined forces with Mather & Crowther in November 1964. They became sister companies under a new main company called Ogilvy & Mather, based in New York. In January 1965, both agencies officially changed their names to Ogilvy & Mather.
Throughout the 1970s, Ogilvy & Mather grew by adding many other agencies. They also started new services, like Ogilvy & Mather Direct in 1976, which focused on direct marketing. David Ogilvy was careful about these changes, wanting to make sure the company's core beliefs stayed strong. In 1973, he moved to his French castle and stepped down as chairman, focusing instead on creative work.
The 1980s and WPP
In 1980, the agency started its public relations division, Ogilvy & Mather Public Relations. The next year, they became one of the first major agencies to offer interactive services.
In 1989, WPP plc, a large British advertising company, bought the Ogilvy Group for a record-breaking amount of money. David Ogilvy wasn't happy about the sale at first, but he eventually accepted an honorary role with WPP.
The 1990s: New Leadership and IBM
In 1992, Charlotte Beers became the chairman and CEO of Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide. She was the first "outsider" and the first woman to lead such a big international agency. She introduced the idea of "brand stewardship," which means carefully building a brand over time.
In 1994, Ogilvy & Mather won the huge global account for the technology company IBM. This was the biggest account change in advertising history at the time.
After Charlotte Beers, Shelly Lazarus became CEO in 1996 and chairman in 1997. She was the first woman to succeed another woman in a major agency leadership role. She developed the idea of "360-degree branding," which means making sure a brand's message is consistent everywhere it connects with people.
David Ogilvy passed away in July 1999 at the age of 88.
The 2000s and Beyond
In 2005, Ogilvy bought a lobbying firm, which was renamed Ogilvy Government Relations.
Miles Young became the Worldwide CEO in January 2009. He focused on making ads that were both creative and effective. Under his leadership, Ogilvy was named "Network of the Year" at the Cannes Lions from 2011 to 2015, which is a big award in the advertising world.
In the 2010s, Ogilvy continued to adapt. They created OgilvyRED, a special consulting group, and merged some of their units to form new companies like Geometry Global and Hogarth & Ogilvy. They kept winning major awards, including "Network of the Year" at the Cannes Lions and CLIO Awards for several years.
By 2018, Ogilvy had many different specialized units. To make things simpler, CEO John Seifert launched a "re-founding" of the company. They changed their name from Ogilvy & Mather back to just Ogilvy and brought most of their smaller brands under one main name. They kept their strategy division, renaming it Ogilvy Consulting.
In June 2020, Andy Main became the new CEO. He organized Ogilvy's services into five main areas: Advertising, Experience, Public Relations, Health, and Consulting. In September 2022, Devika Bulchandani took over as CEO.
Ogilvy has continued to work with many famous clients, including Absolut vodka, Enterprise Holdings, The New York Philharmonic, TD Bank Group, World of Hyatt, and Coca-Cola. In 2022, they also started working with Audi of America.
Famous Advertising Campaigns
Early Successes
One of Ogilvy's first jobs was to introduce Guinness beer to Americans. In 1950, they ran a magazine ad called "The Guinness Guide to Oysters," which listed different types of oysters. It was very successful, and they followed it with other guides.
In 1951, "The Man in the Hathaway Shirt" ad was published. It showed a man with a mustache and an eye patch. This ad quickly boosted sales for the company and became very famous.
To help Americans get to know Schweppes drinks, Ogilvy created a spokesman named Commander Whitehead in 1952. He was the company's president and was shown arriving in New York with a briefcase full of "secrets of Schweppes." This campaign made Schweppes a very popular tonic drink in the country.
Ogilvy also helped Puerto Rico attract more businesses and tourists in the 1950s. They created ads that showed the island as a beautiful paradise.
In 1952, Ogilvy & Mather launched the "Come to Britain" campaign to encourage tourism to the UK. They used photographs of the countryside instead of drawings, and this helped triple the number of tourists visiting the UK.
When the agency got the Rolls-Royce car account in 1959, David Ogilvy spent weeks researching the car. The famous ad headline was "At 60 miles an hour the loudest noise in this new Rolls-Royce comes from the electric clock." This ad became one of Ogilvy's most well-known.
Later Big Campaigns
American Express
Ogilvy & Mather worked with American Express since the 1960s. In 1974, they launched the "Do You Know Me" campaign, which showed famous people using their American Express cards. The idea was that even if you didn't recognize the person, their American Express card would be recognized.
Later, the "Portraits" campaign featured celebrities like Ella Fitzgerald in their free time. This campaign was named "Print Campaign of the Decade" in 1990. In 2004, Ogilvy launched the slogan "My Life. My Card." with ads featuring stars like Ellen DeGeneres.
Merrill Lynch
In the late 1960s, Ogilvy & Mather started working with Merrill Lynch, a financial company. In 1971, the agency suggested using a bull as the company's symbol, which then became their famous logo.
IBM
In 1994, Ogilvy & Mather became the only agency handling all of IBM's marketing worldwide. They launched the "Solutions for a Small Planet" campaign to help refresh the company's image.
Incredible India
Ogilvy & Mather created the slogan "Incredible India" in 2002 for India's Ministry of Tourism. This campaign aimed to attract more international tourists to the country.
Dove
Dove has been an Ogilvy & Mather client since the 1950s. In 2004, the agency launched the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty. This campaign focused on showing different kinds of beauty, challenging traditional ideas. A short film called Sketches became incredibly popular online, with over 114 million views.
BP
In 2005, Ogilvy helped BP create the idea of a "carbon footprint" in an ad. This campaign suggested that individuals are responsible for climate change.
Inspiration for Mad Men
Ogilvy has been mentioned as a big inspiration for the fictional advertising agency in the TV show Mad Men. A long-time Ogilvy employee, Jane Maas, was even said to be the inspiration for the character Peggy Olson.
Awards and Recognition
Ogilvy has won many awards for its work. In September 2020, it was named Network of the Year by Design and Art Direction (D&AD). They also won a top award for the "Moldy Whopper" campaign for Burger King.
In June 2022, Ogilvy was again named Network of the Year by the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, one of the most important awards in the advertising world.
Images for kids
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Ogilvy's current logo.
See also
