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Ogilvy vs Bernbach...Prelude to the Rumble... Featured

Written by AKMG Alerts Thursday, 12 August 2010 01:26

Just as Jackie had Marilyn  Tupac had Biggie and Smax has  Ruckles, so too  David Ogilvy had Bill Bernbach.  

Ogilvy and Bernbach, the original Madmen, left very distinct impacts on the industry.  As you all already know by one such Thunder From Down Under and his fellow sidekick Boom Boom Pow, Ogilvy believed the ultimate success of campaigns depended on research and rules. To rival Bernbach, running his own shop just a few blocks down Madison Avenue, creative intuition was the underlying force. A few minor points of contention:

David "Oh No He Didn’t" Ogivly: News or benefit-centric concepts – spoon feed the reader the reasons they should buy the product.  Long copy with consumer research. Bottom line: Tell the people what you want them to do to the very last detail to make it as simple as possible for them to say yes.

"Bad Boy" Bill Bernbach: Short, offbeat, unexpected concepts that leave the reader with an "ah ha" moment, making them figure out the connection. Valued inspiration over research. Bottom line: Tell the people what you want them to do, but let them think they thought of it, then pat them on the back for being so darn clever.

Personally, I think of Ogilvy as the father of modern day Direct Response, and Bernbach as the father of the creative revolution.  Digest the contrasts between the two original Mad Men, as in their own words...

Ogilvy: "A good advertisement is one which sells the product without drawing attention to itself."
Bernbach: "If your advertising goes unnoticed, everything else is academic."

Ogilvy: "What you say in advertising is more important than how you say it."
Bernbach: "Because an appeal makes logical sense is no guarantee that it will work."
 


Without a doubt, both gentlemen impacted the word of communications and business forever, perhaps as  two ends of the same marketing coin. But how do their different methodologies stack up in the affiliate space – could that same two-sided coin even make some dime these days?

Stay tuned my affilifriends, as fellow firecracker Lorenzomg Green digs into this clash of the copy writers with real case studies....dum dum dummm!

E to the Weezy.

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Last modified on Friday, 03 September 2010 22:54
AKMG Alerts

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3 comments

  • Comment Link Josh Todd Friday, 13 August 2010 13:36 posted by Josh Todd

    Lorenzomg? I've been spelling his name wrong all these years... Nice post, looking forward to the case-studied conclusion!

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  • Comment Link jason Friday, 13 August 2010 04:57 posted by jason

    "I think of Ogilvy as the father of modern day Direct Response"

    Except he studied Caples and Hopkins who were the pioneers of DR. He credits their work for his success in each of his books.

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  • Comment Link Riley Pool Friday, 13 August 2010 04:50 posted by Riley Pool

    Another great post. Keep it coming.

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