Unless your advertising is built on a BIG IDEA it will pass like a ship in the night. - David Ogilvy

Suppose you’ve got an acute appendicitis. You’ve got to be operated on tonight. Would you like to have a surgeon who's read some books of anatomy and knows how to do that operation – or would you prefer to have a surgeon who refused to read all books about anatomy and relied on his own instinct? Why should a manufacturer bet his money – perhaps the future of his company – on your instinct?

The purpose of a commercial is not to entertain the viewer but to sell him. Horace Schwerin reports that there is no correlation between people liking commercials and being sold by them. But this does not mean that your commercials should be deliberately bad-mannered. On the contrary, there is reason to believe that it pays to make them human and friendly, if you can do so without being unctuous.

Today, almost all our layouts look “addy.” Too bad. How do you sell editorial layouts to clients? Try saying, “Would you like the editors of a half a dozen magazines to devote a whole page to your product?” The client will reply, “Yes, of course. But it is impossible.” You say, “It is possible. You buy the space and here is your editorial. Better than any advertisement, isn't it?”