The best way to get new accounts is to create for our present clients the kind of advertising that will attract prospective clients. We do not have n… - David Ogilvy

It will help you recognize a big idea if you ask yourself five questions: 1 Did it make me gasp when I first saw it? 2 Do I wish I had thought of it myself? 3 Is it unique? 4 Does it fit the strategy to perfection? 5 Could it be used for 30 years?

I despise toadies who suck up to their bosses; they are generally the same people who bully their subordinates.

I had a friend who was the king's surgeon in England. One day I asked him what makes a great surgeon. He replied, "What distinguishes a great surgeon is his knowledge. He knows more than other surgeons. During an operation he finds something which he wasn't expecting, recognizes it and knows what to do about it." It's the same thing with advertising people. The good ones know more. How do you get to know more? By reading books about advertising. By picking the brains of people who know more than you do. From the Magic Lanterns. And from experience. I can't stand callow amateurs who aren't sufficiently interested in the craft of advertising to assume the posture of students.