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Ogilvy is a
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
-based British
advertising Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to put a product or service in the spotlight in hopes of drawing it attention from consumers. It is typically used to promote a ...
,
marketing Marketing is the process of exploring, creating, and delivering value to meet the needs of a target market in terms of goods and services; potentially including selection of a target audience; selection of certain attributes or themes to empha ...
, and
public relations Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. Pu ...
agency. It was founded in 1850 by Edmund Mather as a London-based agency. In 1964, the firm became known as Ogilvy & Mather after merging with a New York City agency that was founded in 1948 by David Ogilvy. The agency is part of the
WPP Group WPP plc is a British multinational communications, advertising, public relations, technology, and commerce holding company headquartered in London, England. It was the world's largest advertising company, as of 2019. WPP plc owns many compa ...
global agency network. It provides services in five areas: growth and innovation; advertising, brand and content; public relations and influence; experience; and health. It also operates a strategy division Ogilvy Consulting.


History


Foundation

The agency was founded in
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major s ...
in 1850, when Edmund Charles Mather began an advertising agency on
Fleet Street Fleet Street is a major street mostly in the City of London. It runs west to east from Temple Bar at the boundary with the City of Westminster to Ludgate Circus at the site of the London Wall and the River Fleet from which the street was n ...
. By the 1860s, Mather had a U.S. branch called Mather & Abbott at 335 Broadway, New York City. After Mather's death in 1886, his son, Harley Lawrence Mather, partnered with Herbert Oakes Crowther, and the London agency became known as Mather & Crowther. The agency pioneered newspaper advertising, which was in its infancy, due to a loosening of tax restrictions; and educated manufacturers about the efficacy of advertising while producing "how-to" manuals for the nascent advertising industry. The company grew in prominence in the 1920s after creating leading non-branded
advertising campaign An advertising campaign is a series of advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme which make up an integrated marketing communication (IMC). An IMC is a platform in which a group of people can group their ideas, beliefs, and conce ...
s such as " an apple a day keeps the doctor away" and " Drinka Pinta Milka Day". In 1921, Mather and Crowther hired Francis Ogilvy as a
copywriter Copywriting is the act or occupation of writing text for the purpose of advertising or other forms of marketing. The product, called copy or sales copy, is written content that aims to increase brand awareness and ultimately persuade a person o ...
. Ogilvy eventually became the first non-family member to chair the agency. When the agency launched the
AGA cooker The AGA cooker oven is a Swedish oven and cooker. Invented and initially produced in Sweden, since 1957 all production has been located in the UK. History Originally developed to burn coal or anthracite, the Aga cooker was invented in 1922 by ...
, a Swedish
cook stove A kitchen stove, often called simply a stove or a cooker, is a kitchen appliance designed for the purpose of cooking food. Kitchen stoves rely on the application of direct heat for the cooking process and may also contain an oven, used for ba ...
, Francis composed letters in
Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
to appeal to British public schools, the appliance's best sales leads. Francis also helped his younger brother, David Ogilvy, secure a position as an AGA salesman. The younger Ogilvy was so successful at selling the cooker, he wrote a sales manual for the company in 1935 called "The Theory and Practice of Selling the Aga Cooker". It was later called "probably the best sales manual ever written", by ''
Fortune Fortune may refer to: General * Fortuna or Fortune, the Roman goddess of luck * Luck * Wealth * Fortune, a prediction made in fortune-telling * Fortune, in a fortune cookie Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''The Fortune'' (1931 film) ...
'' magazine. David Ogilvy sent the manual to Francis who was persuaded to hire him as a trainee. Ogilvy began studying advertising, particularly campaigns from America, which he viewed as the gold standard. In 1938, David Ogilvy convinced Francis to send him to the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...
on
sabbatical A sabbatical (from the Hebrew: (i.e., Sabbath); in Latin ; Greek: ) is a rest or break from work. The concept of the sabbatical is based on the Biblical practice of ''shmita'' (sabbatical year), which is related to agriculture. According to ...
to study American advertising. After a year, Ogilvy presented 32 "basic rules of good advertising" to Mather & Crowther. Over the next ten years, Ogilvy worked in research at the Gallup polling company, worked for
British Intelligence The Government of the United Kingdom maintains intelligence agencies within three government departments, the Foreign Office, the Home Office and the Ministry of Defence. These agencies are responsible for collecting and analysing foreign and ...
during World War II, and then spent a few years farming among the
Amish The Amish (; pdc, Amisch; german: link=no, Amische), formally the Old Order Amish, are a group of traditionalist Anabaptist Christian church fellowships with Swiss German and Alsatian origins. They are closely related to Mennonite churche ...
community in
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; (Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, Mary ...
. In 1948, David Ogilvy proposed that Mather & Crowther and another U.K. agency, S.H. Benson, partner to create an American advertising agency in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
to support British advertising clients. The agencies each invested US$40,000 in the venture but insisted Ogilvy find a more experienced American to run it. David Ogilvy recruited Anderson Hewitt from
J. Walter Thompson J. Walter Thompson (JWT) was an advertisement holding company incorporated in 1896 by American advertising pioneer James Walter Thompson. The company was acquired in 1987 by multinational holding company WPP plc, and in November 2018, WPP merg ...
to serve as president and to supervise sales. Ogilvy would serve as secretary, treasurer, and research director. Along with their British sponsors, which held a
controlling interest A controlling interest is an ownership interest in a corporation with enough voting stock shares to prevail in any stockholders' motion. A majority of voting shares (over 50%) is always a controlling interest. When a party holds less than the major ...
, Hewitt mortgaged his house and invested $14,000 in the agency and Ogilvy invested $6,000.


Hewitt, Ogilvy, Benson & Mather

On September 23, 1948, David Ogilvy opened his New York agency as Hewitt, Ogilvy, Benson, & Mather on
Madison Avenue Madison Avenue is a north-south avenue in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, United States, that carries northbound one-way traffic. It runs from Madison Square (at 23rd Street) to meet the southbound Harlem River Drive at 142nd Str ...
in
Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the List of counties in New York, origin ...
. Initially, Mather and Crowther and S.H. Benson gave the agency four clients that had small advertising budgets and were relatively unknown in the United States:
Wedgwood Wedgwood is an English fine china, porcelain and luxury accessories manufacturer that was founded on 1 May 1759 by the potter and entrepreneur Josiah Wedgwood and was first incorporated in 1895 as Josiah Wedgwood and Sons Ltd. It was rapi ...
China, British South African Airways,
Guinness Guinness () is an Irish dry stout that originated in the brewery of Arthur Guinness at St. James's Gate, Dublin, Ireland, in 1759. It is one of the most successful alcohol brands worldwide, brewed in almost 50 countries, and available in ov ...
, and
Bovril Bovril is the trademarked name of a thick and salty meat extract paste similar to a yeast extract, developed in the 1870s by John Lawson Johnston. It is sold in a distinctive bulbous jar, and as cubes and granules. Bovril is owned and distribu ...
. Hewitt, Ogilvy, Benson, & Mather's first account was securing magazine advertising space for Wedgwood. The agency had its first successful ad with Ogilvy's concept "The Guinness Guide to Oysters", which was followed by several other similar food and Guinness pairing guides. The first large client was
Sunoco Sunoco LP is an American master limited partnership organized under Delaware state laws and headquartered in Dallas, Texas, that is a wholesale distributor of motor fuels. It distributes fuel to more than 5,500 Sunoco-branded gas stations, ...
(then called Sun Oil), procured by Hewitt in February 1949.
Helena Rubinstein Helena Rubinstein (born Chaja Rubinstein; December 25, 1870 – April 1, 1965) was a Polish and American businesswoman, art collector, and philanthropist. A cosmetics entrepreneur, she was the founder and eponym of Helena Rubinstein Incorpora ...
cosmetics was the first client won by Ogilvy. A breakthrough came after the agency was approached by Maine-based shirt manufacturer C. F. Hathaway Company. The company only had a small budget, but its president promised to "never change a word of copy". In 1951, they introduced "The man in the Hathaway shirt" campaign. The advertisement featured an aristocratic man wearing an
eyepatch An eyepatch is a small patch that is worn in front of one eye. It may be a cloth patch attached around the head by an elastic band or by a string, an adhesive bandage, or a plastic device which is clipped to a pair of glasses. It is often worn ...
that Ogilvy purchased on the way to the ad's
photo shoot A photo shoot is the process taken by creatives and models that results in a visual objective being obtained. An example is a model posing for a photographer at a studio or an outdoor location. A photo shoot is a series of images that are taken ...
. Hathaway was sold out of shirts within a week of the first ad's printing. The campaign increased the shirt maker's sales by 160 percent, resulted in new business for the agency, and turned the recognizable "Hathaway Man" and his eyepatch into a popular cultural
trope Trope or tropes may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Trope (cinema), a cinematic convention for conveying a concept * Trope (literature), a figure of speech or common literary device * Trope (music), any of a variety of different things ...
.


Ogilvy, Benson & Mather

Disagreements between Hewitt and Ogilvy, particularly about creative direction and who should run the agency, resulted in Ogilvy's resignation in 1953. The agency's backers supported Ogilvy, leading to Hewitt's resignation and the agency reopening as Ogilvy, Benson & Mather in 1954. Ogilvy hired retired Benton & Bowles executive Esty Stowell in 1956 to handle operations and non-creative functions. During the 1950s, Ogilvy, Benson & Mather became known for its successful campaigns, which David Ogilvy called "big ideas". The agency, mainly under Ogilvy's creative direction, built a reputation for "quality" advertising, which was defined by its use of well-researched "long copy", large photographs, and clean layouts and
typography Typography is the art and technique of arranging type to make written language legible, readable and appealing when displayed. The arrangement of type involves selecting typefaces, point sizes, line lengths, line-spacing (leading), and ...
. Ogilvy believed advertising's purpose was to sell through information and persuasion, as opposed to entertaining. That same year, the agency nearly doubled in size after winning the
Shell Oil Shell plc is a British multinational oil and gas company headquartered in London, England. Shell is a public limited company with a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and secondary listings on Euronext Amsterdam and the New Y ...
account. The agency agreed to work for Shell on a fee basis rather than the traditional commission model and became one of the first major advertising agencies to do so.


Ogilvy & Mather

In reaction to the growth of international advertising, Ogilvy, Benson & Mather formed an equal partnership with Mather & Crowther in November 1964. Under the terms of the partnership, the two agencies became
subsidiaries A subsidiary, subsidiary company or daughter company is a company owned or controlled by another company, which is called the parent company or holding company. Two or more subsidiaries that either belong to the same parent company or having a sam ...
of a new
parent company A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own shares of other companies ...
called Ogilvy & Mather, which was headquartered in New York. In January 1965, both changed their names to Ogilvy & Mather and the parent company became known as Ogilvy & Mather International Inc. During the 1970s, Ogilvy & Mather acquired numerous other agencies: including S.H. Benson, one of its original sponsors, in 1971;
Scali, McCabe, Sloves Scali, McCabe, Sloves was an American advertising agency founded in 1967 by Sam Scali, Ed McCabe, Marvin Sloves, Alan Pesky, and Len Hultgren. Campaigns The agency's ads for Perdue Farms ("It takes a tough man to make a tender chicken") made ...
in 1976; and Cone & Weber in 1977. Another acquisition, Hodes-Daniel, resulted in the establishment of the agency's direct-response service, called Ogilvy & Mather Direct, in 1976. It was renamed OgilvyOne Worldwide in 1997. The agency's growth through acquisitions was not led by Ogilvy, who feared the differing philosophies of the acquired agencies would undermine Ogilvy & Mather's culture and advertising beliefs, which he called the "True Church". After moving permanently to his French castle Château de Touffou in 1973, David Ogilvy stepped down as chairman and became Head of Worldwide Creative in 1975.


1980s

The agency opened its
public relations Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. Pu ...
division, Ogilvy & Mather Public Relations, in 1980. The next year, Ogilvy & Mather established the Interactive Marketing Group and became the first major agency to establish an
interactive Across the many fields concerned with interactivity, including information science, computer science, human-computer interaction, communication, and industrial design, there is little agreement over the meaning of the term "interactivity", but ...
capability. In December 1983, David Ogilvy retired as Creative Head. In 1985, Ogilvy & Mather International was renamed as the Ogilvy Group Inc. The group included three divisions: Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide, a new name for all Ogilvy & Mather offices including Ogilvy & Mather Direct and Ogilvy & Mather Public Relations; Scali McCabe Sloves Group; and several independent associate agencies, such as Cole & Weber. Kenneth Roman, president of Ogilvy & Mather United States, was named president of Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide. and was promoted to chairman in 1987. He became chairman of the Ogilvy Group in 1988, succeeding Graham Phillips. In 1989,
WPP plc WPP plc is a British multinational communications, advertising, public relations, technology, and commerce holding company headquartered in London, England. It was the world's largest advertising company, as of 2019. WPP plc owns many compan ...
, a British advertising
holding company A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own shares of other companies ...
, acquired the Ogilvy Group for $864 million, which, at the time, was the most ever paid for an advertising agency. David Ogilvy initially resisted the sale, but eventually accepted the title of WPP honorary chairman, a position he relinquished in 1992. Following the departure of Roman for American Express in 1989, Graham Phillips became the chairman and CEO of Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide.


1990s

In 1992, Charlotte Beers replaced Graham Phillips as chairman and CEO of Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide. Philips remained as vice chairman. Beers was recruited from the Tatham, Laird & Kudner advertising agency and was the first "outsider" to lead Ogilvy & Mather. She was also the first woman to lead a major international agency. Beers introduced the concept of "
brand A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create an ...
stewardship" to the agency, a philosophy of brand-building over time. She is also credited with helping Ogilvy & Mather bring in new business after a downturn. In 1994, then–North America president Shelly Lazarus and Beers helped win the entire global account of information technology corporation IBM for the agency. Worth an estimated $500 million in billings, it was the largest account shift in the history of advertising. After four years, Beers stepped down as CEO. Lazarus, a 23-year veteran of the agency, was appointed CEO in 1996 and became chairman the next year. It was the first time a woman succeeded another woman at a major agency. Lazarus further developed Beer's brand stewardship approach by introducing "360-degree branding", the idea of communicating a brand message at every
touchpoint A touchpoint can be defined as any way consumers can interact with a business organization, whether it be person-to-person, through a website, an app or any form of communication (“Touchpoint Glossary”, n.d.). When consumers come in contact ...
the brand has with people. David Ogilvy died at age 88 in the Château de Touffou, his home, in July 1999.


2000s

Ogilvy purchased the Federalist Group, a Republican lobbying firm, in 2005. The Federalist Group subsequently changed its name to Ogilvy Government Relations. The firm is known for lobbying against climate change mitigation efforts on behalf of some of the biggest oil and chemical groups in the world. In 2005, Shona Seifert and Thomas Early, two former directors of Ogilvy & Mather, were convicted of one count of conspiring to defraud the government and nine counts of filing false claims for Ogilvy, over-billing for advertising work done for the United States
Office of National Drug Control Policy The Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) is a component of the Executive Office of the President of the United States. The Director of the ONDCP, colloquially known as the Drug Czar, heads the office. "Drug Czar" was a term first used i ...
(ONDCP) account. The agency was hired by the ONDCP in 1998 to create anti-drug ads aimed at adolescents. At the time, it was the largest social marketing contract in history. Ogilvy & Mather repaid $1.8 million to the government to settle a civil suit based on the same billing issues. Miles Young became Worldwide CEO in January 2009 after leading the company's
Asia-Pacific Asia-Pacific (APAC) is the part of the world near the western Pacific Ocean. The Asia-Pacific region varies in area depending on context, but it generally includes East Asia, Russian Far East, South Asia, Southeast Asia, Australia and Pacific Isl ...
division for 13 years. Lazarus remained chairman until 2012, when Young succeeded her. Under Young's leadership, the agency focused on a "Twin Peaks" strategy of producing advertisements that are equally creative and effective. New business was also Young's priority. Young promoted Tham Khai Meng, his creative partner in the Asia-Pacific division, as Worldwide Chief Creative Officer in 2009. Tham laid out a five-year plan to improve the agency's performance at Cannes. According to ''
Adweek ''Adweek'' is a weekly American advertising trade publication that was first published in 1979. ''Adweek'' covers creativity, client–agency relationships, global advertising, accounts in review, and new campaigns. During this time, it has cove ...
'', Tham's efforts resulted in the agency being named
Cannes Lions The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity (formerly the International Advertising Festival) is a global event for those working in creative communications, advertising, and related fields. It is considered the largest gathering of the ...
"Network of the Year" from 2011 to 2015.


2010s

In 2010, the agency established OgilvyRED, a specialty strategic consultancy. In June 2013, OgilvyAction, the agency's
activation Activation, in chemistry and biology, is the process whereby something is prepared or excited for a subsequent reaction. Chemistry In chemistry, "activation" refers to the reversible transition of a molecule into a nearly identical chemical or ...
unit, merged with other WPP-owned properties—G2 Worldwide and JWTAction—to form Geometry Global, an activation network that operates in 56 markets. Ogilvy's production division, RedWorks Worldwide, merged with production company Hogarth Worldwide, forming Hogarth & Ogilvy in March 2015 to serve the production needs of all of WPP's agencies. The agency was named both the
Cannes Lions The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity (formerly the International Advertising Festival) is a global event for those working in creative communications, advertising, and related fields. It is considered the largest gathering of the ...
"Network of the Year" and
CLIO In Greek mythology, Clio ( , ; el, Κλειώ), also spelled Kleio, is the muse of history, or in a few mythological accounts, the muse of lyre playing. Etymology Clio's name is etymologically derived from the Greek root κλέω/κλεί� ...
"Network of the Year" for four consecutive years, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015. It was also named Effies "World's most Effective Agency Network" in 2012, 2013 and 2016. Ogilvy Public Relations in China faced accusations in the media of overworking a 24-year-old employee who died of a heart attack while in the office in May 2013. The claims were not confirmed. Four years later, a similar event occurred with a young staffer in the Philippines. In June 2015, Young announced he would retire as both Worldwide chairman and CEO to take the position of warden at his alma mater, New College at Oxford University. In January 2016, John Seifert was named CEO of the agency. In November 2017, according to reports, Ogilvy & Mather won the Turespaña account, worth two million euros. Similar to other advertising, marketing, and public relations agencies in the years leading up to 2017–2018, Ogilvy has seen an influx of advertisers and publishers establishing in-house creative teams, and an industry-wide increase in emphasis on digital media ad buying. Over the years, Ogilvy responded to changing demands by creating numerous businesses; and the magazine ''
Fast Company ''Fast Company'' is a monthly American business magazine published in print and online that focuses on technology, business, and design. It publishes six print issues per year. History ''Fast Company'' was launched in November 1995 by Alan We ...
'' wrote that it "looked more like a holding company of its own". By 2018, Ogilvy was organized as a number of individual units that handled different areas of focus. Ogilvy Public Relations was responsible for the agency's public relations offering. OgilvyOne was the agency's direct marketing unit and it also advised clients on
customer engagement Customer engagement is an interaction between an external consumer/customer (either B2C or B2B) and an organization (company or brand) through various online or offline channels. According to Hollebeek, Srivastava and Chen's (2019, p. 166) S-D lo ...
. The firm's Ogilvy CommonHealth Worldwide unit focused on healthcare communications and marketing. The agency handled production work through Hogarth & Ogilvy, a joint venture between Ogilvy & Mather and Hogarth Worldwide formed in 2015. Neo@Ogilvy was a unit of the agency that offered digital media services to all of Ogilvy & Mather's disciplines. As of 2013, sales activation and
shopper marketing 'Shopper marketing' is "a discipline that focuses on the customer experience and the customer journey." It focuses on the consumer's path to purchasing a product, from first being aware of the product, to consideration and through to the purchase o ...
were administered through Geometry Global, a unit formed through the merger of several WPP agencies, including what was previously known as OgilvyAction. In 2018, Ogilvy PR Australia was rebranded as OPR. In addition to the agency's main services, Ogilvy & Mather operated several other specialty practices. In 2010, the agency created Ogilvy Noor, a practice focused on creating marketing that appeals to
Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abraha ...
s. OgilvyRED was established in 2011 as a
consultancy A consultant (from la, consultare "to deliberate") is a professional (also known as ''expert'', ''specialist'', see variations of meaning below) who provides advice and other purposeful activities in an area of specialization. Consulting servic ...
within the agency that worked with Ogilvy's other units to prepare plans for clients' marketing
strategies Strategy (from Greek στρατηγία ''stratēgia'', "art of troop leader; office of general, command, generalship") is a general plan to achieve one or more long-term or overall goals under conditions of uncertainty. In the sense of the " ar ...
. The agency formed Social@Ogilvy in 2012 to work on
social media Social media are interactive media technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks. While challenges to the definition of ''social me ...
projects for clients. The practice operated within each of Ogilvy & Mather's major units, including advertising, direct marketing, public relations, and
digital marketing Digital marketing is the component of marketing that uses the Internet and online based digital technologies such as desktop computers, mobile phones and other digital media and platforms to promote products and services. Its development during ...
. The
behavioural sciences Behavioral sciences explore the cognitive processes within organisms and the behavioral interactions between organisms in the natural world. It involves the systematic analysis and investigation of human and animal behavior through naturalistic ...
practice #OgilvyChange was also founded in 2012 by Rory Sutherland in Ogilvy & Mather's London office. #OgilvyChange employed
psychologist A psychologist is a professional who practices psychology and studies mental states, perceptual, cognitive, emotional, and social processes and behavior. Their work often involves the experimentation, observation, and interpretation of how indi ...
s and other behavioural scientists to consult on using research in these fields to understand and influence consumers. OgilvyAmp (short for "amplify") handled tasks related to the data planning and
analytics Analytics is the systematic computational analysis of data or statistics. It is used for the discovery, interpretation, and communication of meaningful patterns in data. It also entails applying data patterns toward effective decision-making. It ...
needs of clients. The unit was established in 2014 and was present at over 50 of the agency's offices. Ogilvy Pride was formed in the agency's London office in 2015 as an LGBT practice. Company leadership said Ogilvy became too complicated with these individual units. CEO John Seifert launched the company's "re-founding" in June 2018, during which the company changed its name from Ogilvy & Mather to Ogilvy, restructured, and rolled out a new, unified brand and logo to simplify its services. All but one of Ogilvy's sub-brands were wrapped into one: Ogilvy. The company retained its separate strategy division, but renamed it to Ogilvy Consulting.


2020s

In June 2020, the company announced that Andy Main would be succeeding John Seifert as CEO. He restructured Ogilvy's services under five core business units: Advertising, Experience, Public Relations, Health, and Consulting. Notable clients the agency acquired in 2021 included vodka brand
Absolut Absolut Vodka is a brand of vodka, produced near Åhus, in southern Sweden. Absolut is a part of the French group Pernod Ricard. Pernod Ricard bought Absolut for €5.63 billion in 2008 from the Swedish state. Absolut is one of the largest brands ...
(March), car rental holding company
Enterprise Holdings Enterprise Holdings is an American private holding company headquartered in Clayton, Missouri in Greater St. Louis. It is the parent company of car rental agencies Enterprise Rent-A-Car, National Car Rental, Alamo Rent a Car and also operates ...
(April), The
New York Philharmonic The New York Philharmonic, officially the Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc., globally known as New York Philharmonic Orchestra (NYPO) or New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra, is a symphony orchestra based in New York City. It is ...
(July),
TD Bank Group Toronto-Dominion Bank (french: links=no, Banque Toronto-Dominion), doing business as TD Bank Group (french: links=no, Groupe Banque TD), is a Canadian multinational banking and financial services corporation headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. T ...
(September), World of Hyatt (May), US agency
Federal Emergency Management Agency The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS), initially created under President Jimmy Carter by Presidential Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1978 and implemented by two Exec ...
(October), and
Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton in Atlan ...
(November). In September 2022, Devika Bulchandani replaced Main as CEO. Notable clients the agency acquired in 2022 included automobile manufacturer Audi of America (May).


Major work


Early ads

One of the agency's first accounts was
Guinness Guinness () is an Irish dry stout that originated in the brewery of Arthur Guinness at St. James's Gate, Dublin, Ireland, in 1759. It is one of the most successful alcohol brands worldwide, brewed in almost 50 countries, and available in ov ...
, which tasked it with introducing the beer to an American audience. In 1950, "The Guinness Guide to Oysters" appeared as a magazine advertisement that listed nine kinds of
oyster Oyster is the common name for a number of different families of salt-water bivalve molluscs that live in marine or brackish habitats. In some species, the valves are highly calcified, and many are somewhat irregular in shape. Many, but not a ...
s and their characteristics. The advertisement was successful; and several other pairing guides, including those on birds and cheeses, followed it. In 1951, "The Man in the Hathaway Shirt", an advertisement created for C. F. Hathaway Company, was first published in ''
The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...
''. It immediately increased sales for the company, and more ads followed. Each ad featured George Wrangel, a middle-aged man with a moustache and an eye patch. The eye patch was a prop found by David Ogilvy to give the ad what he called "story appeal". Ambassador Lewis Douglas, who wore an eye patch, inspired the concept. To familiarize Americans with
Schweppes Schweppes (, ) is a beverage brand that originated in the Republic of Geneva; it is made, bottled and distributed worldwide by multiple international conglomerates, depending on licensing and region, that manufacture and sell soft drinks. Schwep ...
, the agency created a spokesman named Commander Whitehead. Edward Whitehead, who was the company's president, was introduced as the Commander in a 1952 advertisement, which showed him arriving in New York with a briefcase labeled as the secrets of Schweppes. The campaign resulted in Schweppes becoming the standard tonic used in the country. The campaign continued into the 1960s. In the 1950s, Ogilvy was hired to increase business in
Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...
. The agency created a
coupon In marketing, a coupon is a ticket or document that can be redeemed for a financial discount or rebate when purchasing a product. Customarily, coupons are issued by manufacturers of consumer packaged goods or by retailers, to be used in r ...
for businesses that laid out
tax advantage Tax advantage refers to the economic bonus which applies to certain accounts or investments that are, by statute, tax-reduced, tax-deferred, or tax-free. Examples of tax-advantaged accounts and investments include retirement plans, education savi ...
s of establishing a presence on the island. Approximately 14,000 businesses mailed in the coupon and the territory's foreign industry increased. Following this, David Ogilvy helped Puerto Rico's governor establish and advertise the Casals Festival of Music. The agency created ads using visually captivating images to position the island as a paradise. In 1952, Ogilvy & Mather launched a campaign to increase tourism for the
British Tourist Authority VisitBritain is the name used by the British Tourist Authority, the tourist board of Great Britain incorporated under the Development of Tourism Act 1969. Under memoranda of understanding with the Northern Ireland Tourist Board and the offshore i ...
. The "Come to Britain" campaign replaced drawings with photographs of the picturesque countryside. The advertisements resulted in the tripling of tourism to the UK. After the agency was assigned the
Rolls-Royce Rolls-Royce (always hyphenated) may refer to: * Rolls-Royce Limited, a British manufacturer of cars and later aero engines, founded in 1906, now defunct Automobiles * Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, the current car manufacturing company incorporated in ...
account in 1959, David Ogilvy spent three weeks meeting with engineers and researching the car. The resulting advertisement featured the headline "At 60 miles an hour the loudest noise in this new Rolls-Royce comes from the electric clock", which Ogilvy took, giving credit, from a journalist's review. The rest of the copy outlined 11 of the car's distinguishing features and benefits. The advertisement became one of Ogilvy's most famous. Ogilvy joked that the ad "sold so many cars we dare not run it again".


Later notable campaigns


American Express

American Express had been an Ogilvy & Mather client since the 1960s. The agency launched the company's "Do You Know Me" campaign in 1974, which focused on the prestige of carrying an American Express card. Each advertisement described the accomplishments of semi-recognizable celebrities who used the card, with their identities being revealed at the end. The campaign emphasized that even if a person was not immediately recognizable, their American Express credit card would be. The campaign ran until 1987. A campaign called "Portraits", which followed "Do You Know Me", showed card-carrying personalities such as Tip O'Neil and
Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917June 15, 1996) was an American jazz singer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phrasing, timing, in ...
engaged in leisure activities. The campaign was photographed by
Annie Leibovitz Anna-Lou Leibovitz ( ; born October 2, 1949) is an American portrait photographer best known for her engaging portraits, particularly of celebrities, which often feature subjects in intimate settings and poses. Leibovitz's Polaroid photo of J ...
and named "Print Campaign of the Decade" by ''
Advertising Age ''Ad Age'' (known as ''Advertising Age'' until 2017) is a global media brand that publishes news, analysis, and data on marketing and media. Its namesake magazine was started as a broadsheet newspaper in Chicago in 1930. ''Ad Age'' appears in mul ...
'' in 1990. Ogilvy & Mather launched the slogan "My Life. My Card." in 2004 with ads featuring celebrities such as
Ellen DeGeneres Ellen Lee DeGeneres ( ; born January 26, 1958) is an American comedian, television host, actress, writer, and producer. She starred in the sitcom '' Ellen'' from 1994 to 1998, which earned her a Primetime Emmy Award for "The Puppy Episode". Sh ...
and
Tiger Woods Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods (born December 30, 1975) is an American professional golfer. He is tied for first in PGA Tour wins, ranks second in men's major championships, and holds numerous golf records. * * * Woods is widely regarded as ...
. In June 2017, American Express shifted almost all the business it had with Ogilvy to McGarryBowen.


Merrill Lynch

Ogilvy & Mather won Merrill Lynch's print and television advertising business in the late 1960s. In 1971, the agency suggested using a bull as a symbol of the company. The visual became the company's logo.


IBM

In 1994, Ogilvy & Mather replaced multiple agencies to become IBM's sole agency for all of the company's marketing and branding efforts. The worldwide campaign "Solutions for a Small Planet" was launched to help rebrand the company.


Incredible India

Ogilvy & Mather created the slogan "
Incredible India Incredible India (stylized as ) is the name of an international tourism campaign maintained by the Government of India since 2002, to promote tourism in India. The "Incredible India" title was officially branded and promoted since 2002. The exc ...
" for the country's Ministry of Tourism in 2002. The campaign targeted an international audience and aimed to boost tourism.


Dove

Dove Columbidae () is a bird family consisting of doves and pigeons. It is the only family in the order Columbiformes. These are stout-bodied birds with short necks and short slender bills that in some species feature fleshy ceres. They primarily ...
became an Ogilvy & Mather client in the 1950s, and the agency developed the brand's "1/4 cleansing cream" messaging. In 2004, the agency launched the
Dove Campaign for Real Beauty The Dove Campaign for Real Beauty is a worldwide marketing campaign launched by Unilever in 2004 aiming to build self confidence in women and young children. Dove's partners in the campaign included Ogilvy, Edelman Public Relations, and Harbinge ...
, a marketing campaign that focused on redefining society's pre-set definitions of "beauty". A short film called '' Sketches'' earned over 114 million views online and '' Business Insider'' named it the most viral ad of all time in 2013.


Inspiration for ''Mad Men''

Ogilvy has been cited as a major inspiration for the fictional ad agency featured in the television series ''
Mad Men ''Mad Men'' is an American period drama television series created by Matthew Weiner and produced by Lionsgate Television. It ran on the cable network AMC from July 19, 2007, to May 17, 2015, lasting for seven seasons and 92 episodes. Its fict ...
''. Longtime Ogilvy employee and executive Jane Maas was cited as the inspiration for the ''Mad Men'' main character
Peggy Olson Margaret "Peggy" Olson is a fictional character and the female lead of the AMC television series ''Mad Men'', and is portrayed by Elisabeth Moss. Initially, Peggy is secretary to Don Draper (Jon Hamm), creative director of the advertising agency ...
.


Awards

In September 2020, Ogilvy was named Network of the Year by industry organization
Design and Art Direction Design and Art Direction (D&AD), formerly known as British Design and Art Direction, is a British educational organisation that was created in 1962 to promote excellence in design and advertising. Its main offices are in Spitalfields in London. I ...
. D&AD also awarded a coveted Black Pencil to Burger King's "Moldy Whopper" campaign, which was a collaboration between Ogilvy and two other agencies. In June 2022, Ogilvy was named Network of the Year by the
Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity (formerly the International Advertising Festival) is a global event for those working in creative communications, advertising, and related fields. It is considered the largest gathering of the ...
.


Controversies

An online video created by Ogilvy & Mather U.K. as
viral marketing Viral marketing is a business strategy that uses existing social networks to promote a product mainly on various social media platforms. Its name refers to how consumers spread information about a product with other people, much in the same way tha ...
for the Ford SportKa hatchback was disseminated via email in 2004, despite being rejected by Ford of Europe. The 40-second video, which showed a lifelike computer-generated cat being decapitated by the car's sunroof, led to criticisms from bloggers and animal rights groups. Both companies apologized for its release and launched investigations into how the video was leaked. In 2014, Ogilvy India created "Bounce Back", a campaign for Indian mattress company Kurl-On that illustrated the stories of well-known figures who "bounced back" from adversity. The low point of each narrative arc showed the person rebounding off of a Kurl-On mattress. One of the ads featured
Malala Yousafzai Malala Yousafzai ( ur, , , pronunciation: ; born 12 July 1997), is a Pakistani female education activist and the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize laureate. Awarded when she was 17, she is the world's youngest Nobel Prize laureate, and the second Pak ...
and depicted her being shot. The ad was criticized in the media, and Ogilvy & Mather issued a public apology to Yousafzai and her family. Also in 2014, Ogilvy & Mather apologized following complaints about the racial implications of an advertisement it created for the South African charity Feed a Child. The advertisement portrayed a black boy being fed like a dog by a white woman. In 2019, the anti-corruption site ''The Sludge Report'' included Ogilvy's name on a list of contractors working for the
U.S. Customs and Border Protection United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is the largest federal law enforcement agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security. It is the country's primary border control organization, charged with regulating and facilit ...
agency at the point where the agency was implementing the
Trump administration family separation policy The United States family separation policy under the Trump administration was presented to the public as a "zero tolerance" approach intended to deter illegal immigration and to encourage tougher legislation. In some cases, families followi ...
. Subsequently,
Buzzfeed BuzzFeed, Inc. is an American Internet media, news and entertainment company with a focus on digital media. Based in New York City, BuzzFeed was founded in 2006 by Jonah Peretti and John S. Johnson III to focus on tracking viral content. Ken ...
published a transcript of an internal meeting in which employees challenged Ogilvy CEO John Seifert, with one employee saying: "We're willing to work with companies that have oil spills. We're willing to work with companies that sell big tobacco. We're willing to work with companies that contribute to obesity rates and I guess, what I'm mostly hearing is that we're willing to work with companies that are allowing children to die and that are running concentration camps."


See also

* David Ogilvy *
WPP plc WPP plc is a British multinational communications, advertising, public relations, technology, and commerce holding company headquartered in London, England. It was the world's largest advertising company, as of 2019. WPP plc owns many compan ...


References


Bibliography

*


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ogilvy and Mather Advertising agencies of the United States Public relations companies of the United States WPP plc Companies based in New York City American subsidiaries of foreign companies Companies established in 1948 1948 establishments in the United States