# David Ogilvy

## Contribution

A decision card for the Direct Response & Scientific Advertising school. Use the principles, not the personality.

## Principles

- clarity and research precede cleverness.
- specific proof strengthens persuasion.
- the advertisement must sell the product truth.

## Apply when

- The current decision matches this figure's documented area of contribution.
- The principle can be tied to evidence, a mechanism, or a testable assumption.

## Do not infer

- The figure's name does not settle a disagreement.
- Historical work is not evidence that a current market fact is true.
- Do not mimic personal voice, mannerisms, or biography.

## Connected theories

- `proof-led-advertising`

## Counterweights

- Compare with `bill-bernbach` when the principle would otherwise become a universal rule.

## Sources

- `source:ogilvy-advertising`