Ogilvy & Mather is a famous advertising agency located in New York City. The agency started off as Hewitt, Ogilvy, Benson & Mather, and became Ogilvy & Mather in 1960. By the late 1960’s it was known as one of the leading agencies worldwide. They helped build brands such as American Express, BP, Ford, IBM, Nestle, Barbie, Maxwell House, etc. The agencies mission was to enhance the relationship between consumer and brand. Ogilvy was often criticized for the idea that they did not work for the client or the company, but rather for brand. O&M became famous for creating attention getting messages which made promises that stayed true to the brands image and identity. O&M is known for specific techniques that they use in their ads, for example: their ads contain a lot of dry humor, they address real life emotions, written word, and a specific layout.

I have a strong interest in advertising, and how they relay their messages. After taking a number of advertising classes O&M became one of my favorite ad agencies. Researching David Ogilvy who is the founder of O&M, I find It very interesting the way he incorporated humor, emotion, and realism into his work. O&M ads have a very mono-tone narrative.

Last year a professor of mine brought an advertising competition to my attention. We had to create a 15 second ad, based on the brand and the image that an agency created for a product. I chose Ogilvy and created an American Express card advertisement. My ad was based around a strong single female, she lived alone, she had a career, and she had fun. The ad starts off with her waking up after a night out, she gets ready, goes to work, spoils herself, and goes on a nice date with a good looking guy. The narrative states “ I manage to find perfection in everything, that’s why my life is worth every second, my card is American Express.” Basically, in her everyday life she finds perfection, and this is possible because of American Express.

-Nadine

Commercial Entry: http://youtube.com/watch?v=Sic5AElWPhQ