CHAPTER 9

BUDDIES WITH BRAINS

In his classic book Confessions of an Advertising Man, David Ogilvy outlines his philosophy of recruiting ‘gentlemen with brains’. The reasoning behind the principle was that given the nature of the advertising business, success in the field demanded social skills (maintaining and developing relationships) and a talent for producing creative advertising that sells. Therefore, an advertising agency was looking for people who were clever and creative, but also diplomatic and personable – gentlemanly. And yes, in the early days of the advertising industry, most of the copywriters and art directors were indeed men. In the TV series Mad Men, set in a New York advertising agency in the 1960s, advertising is very much a ...

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