In the past, advertising was a tool to increase sales. Then advertisers began to see themselves as artists. Today, they see themselves as missionaries for a “better world.”

David Ogilvy, the legendary British advertising guru (1911–1999), had a very clear idea of what good advertising should look like. Good advertising, he repeatedly emphasized, must do one thing above all else: sell. That sounds like a no-brainer, but Ogilvy had to increasingly fight against a different concept: “creatives,” who saw advertising primarily as entertainment. Whether their ads actually resulted in more of a product being sold wasn’t that important to them. They were not primarily interested in getting consumers to embrace a product, they sought recognition from their colleagues in the advertising industry.

The primary goal of many advertisers, as Ogilvy criticized in his classic Confessions of an Advertising Man, was to win awards for their creativity. They didn’t care one bit whether their spots increased sales, provided they were entertaining and won awards. These creative entertainers had done immeasurable damage to the advertising industry, he repeatedly lamented in speeches and interviews.

Eventually, Ogilvy banned his employees from entering award contests, which sparked a small mutiny within his company. Ogilvy countered by establishing his own award – for results. The David Ogilvy Award was given to the campaign that demonstrably did the most to boost a client’s sales or their reputation. Ultimately, however, he was unable to maintain the ban on taking part in award contests. Nevertheless, he did maintain his opinion that most campaigns that delivered real sales increases never won an award.

Many “creatives” feel called to greater things. Some even see themselves as unrecognized artistic geniuses – after all, Andy Warhol also started out as a commercial........

© Townhall