David Ogilvy on why reading is important

"I asked an indifferent copywriter what books he had read about advertising. He told me he had not read any; he preferred to rely on his own intuition. 'Suppose,' I asked, 'your gall bladder has to be removed this evening. Will you choose a surgeon who has read some books on anatomy and knows where to find your gall bladder, or a surgeon who relies on his intuition? Why should our clients be expected to bet millions of dollars on your intuition?' " — David Ogilvy in On Advertising

• Thanks to Satish Perumal for the tip-off.

COMPARING A SURGEON WITH A COPYWRITER?

Ankana Sinha (Class of 2009), a PR executive with Text100 in Bangalore, responds: Honestly, I don't think it is a fair example. Our body parts don't change positions on the basis of their preference. But market dynamics change. You can't compare a surgeon and a copywriter. Not happy.

NOT REALLY, ANKANA...

I don't think he's comparing a surgeon with a copywriter. I believe this is what Ogilvy is saying (my god, I can't believe we're dissecting DAVID OGILVY here): Preparation is (almost) everything.

A copywriter deals with words — that's his/her life. But if there's no FEEL for words, if the copywriter is working in a VACUUM (which is what will happen if he/she is not well-read), then there is bound to be a quality issue, perhaps even an idea issue. Where are the ideas going to come from without exposure to the wider world?

Here are some quotes that make my point better than I can. — RP

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“To read is to fly: it is to soar to a point of vantage which gives a view over wide terrains of history, human variety, ideas, shared experience and the fruits of many inquiries.”
— A C Grayling, Financial Times (in a review of A History of Reading by Alberto Manguel)
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“A capacity and taste for reading gives access to whatever has already been discovered by others.”
— Abraham Lincoln
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“Give me a man or woman who has read a thousand books and you give me an interesting companion. Give me a man or woman who has read perhaps three and you give me a dangerous enemy indeed.”
— Anne Rice, The Witching Hour
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“Wear the old coat and buy the new book.”
— Austin Phelps
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“Life-transforming ideas have always come to me through books.”
— Bell Hooks
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“You're the same today as you'll be in five years except for the people you meet and the books you read.”
— Charlie "Tremendous" Jones
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“No matter how busy you may think you are, you must find time for reading, or surrender yourself to self-chosen ignorance.”
— Confucius
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“The more you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go.”
— Dr. Seuss, I Can Read With My Eyes Shut!

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AND FINALLY...
“If you can read this, thank a teacher.”
— Anonymous teacher

OVER TO ANKANA AGAIN

I don't contest the fact that we must read (the message that Ogilvy is trying to deliver). That goes without saying. But I do not understand why he gives an example of a surgeon to the copywriter. A surgeon has only one way of doing it, he cannot get it wrong even if he tried. But a copywriter can deliver the same message in 10 different ways.

P.S. Where is the harm in dissecting Ogilvy [pictured]? He is after all mortal... like all of us. He he he he.

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IT'S NOT ABOUT THE SURGEON. REALLY.

But let's assume it is. If every surgeon is as good as every other surgeon, why do we have only one Devi Shetty?

As for a copywriter being able to deliver the same message in 10 different ways, here's my question: Are they any good? Are we talking about quantity? Or quality? — RP

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BACK TO ANKANA
Devi Shetty is who he is because of good PR. In fact, most of these "good" professionals are nothing but really good PR plans being executed really well.
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IS PR A SUBSTITUTE FOR HARD WORK?
Are we perhaps overestimating the function of PR? Or oversimplifying the case for PR?

PR plays a crucial role in ensuring that a product, person, service, or company stays in the public eye. Good PR is also critical in times of crisis.

But how can "PR" take the place of "work"?

Sure, in the case of Devi Shetty (pictured), his media savvy and good PR have helped him to build Narayana Hrudayalaya into the world-class hospital it is today. I don't think, however, that he could have done any of it if he wasn't a brilliant surgeon to begin with. — RP

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ARPAN BHATTACHARYYA (CLASS OF 2010) JOINS THE DEBATE

I've read David Ogilvy's book and I think he is spot on.

1) Copywriting isn't very different from general writing. There are lots of times when you think of a smart line from somewhere else, maybe something that you've read, and then you tweak it to make it even better (or worse, sometimes!). And it's not only about reading books but about having a general awareness of things happening around you. Prasoon Joshi came up with 'Thanda matlab Coca Cola' at a railway station where he saw a coolie resting in the shade of a few crates. Now, that isn't down to his reading but to his ability to connect one thing with another. The new Saint Juice is supposed to be 100% natural. The tagline reads: "From the guy who made the birds and the bees." Now, that's awesome. And I'm sure the copywriter (from an agency called CreativeLand Asia) knew the connection between God, nature, and the birds and the bees.

2) Intuition is very important in advertising. But no one can dare to go ahead on intuition alone. And the funny thing is this: A good sense of intuition is also bred by having knowledge about a lot of other things.

3) As far as quality and quantity go, I have my own take on it. Very rarely are you going to come up with a brilliant line in the first shot. Even when you do, it's probably after years of practice and study, both of your own work and other people's. So sometimes you write ten lines, some of which are good but not great, and then suddenly a word from one of these lines catches your eye. You spin off from that and you start again. All the good copywriters spend a lot of time over even a single two-word tagline.

I recently worked on an ad for a restaurant serving Bengali food in New York. They wanted a smart tagline for that, something to do with Indian/Bengali food. So after writing about 50 lines I decided to go with the 'Bong' angle. It would have worked like a charm in India. But the word 'bong' means drugs in the US. Imagine a line like that for a restaurant! So, I got to work again and I realised that I had to come up with something that could capture Indian food in one line and that line had to be understandable to any person anywhere in the world. That is where reading and general knowledge come in.

I'm not saying I'm a guru (hehehhe! ONE DAY I WILL SAY THAT! AND I WILL BAN HYPHENS!). But with due respect to Ankana, I must side with Mr Prabhu (rare one, note it down!). A surgeon may have only one way of doing it but a brilliant surgeon, after years of practice and study, will not only know immediately what that one way is but will also know how to go about the one way in the best manner. Similarly, copywriters who are well read will immediately know how best to try and tackle a line. If I had known about 'bong' earlier I would never ever have even thought about using it.

Finally, I am shocked (SHOCKED) to see no quotes from Stephen King in your examples!

• Arpan Bhattacharyya is a copywriter with Grey Apple Advertising in Bangalore.