"Some manufacturers illustrate their advertisements with abstract paintings. I would only do this if I wished to conceal from the reader what I was advertising"
About this Quote
Abstract art in an ad, Ogilvy implies, is a polite way of hiding the product in plain sight. The line lands because it weaponizes a simple suspicion most readers already carry: if you can’t tell what’s being sold, you’re being sold something other than the thing. Ogilvy’s jab isn’t really at painters; it’s at advertisers who treat aesthetics as a smoke machine, mistaking “interesting” for “effective.”
The intent is surgical. He’s defending the hard-nosed discipline of clarity: advertising as communication, not self-expression. Abstract imagery, in his framework, shifts the ad’s center of gravity from the product to the advertiser’s taste. That may win applause in a boardroom or an agency portfolio, but it often fails the basic contract with the audience: tell me quickly what this is, why it matters, and why I should trust it.
The subtext is a critique of status signaling. Abstract art can act like a cultural password, flattering a certain kind of consumer while insulating the brand from accountability. If the meaning is ambiguous, so are the claims. Ogilvy, coming out of mid-century “brand image” battles and the rise of creative agencies, is drawing a line against art-for-art’s-sake creeping into commerce. His worldview is empirical and retail-minded: people aren’t puzzles to impress; they’re customers to persuade.
It’s also a warning about ego. When the ad becomes an art object, the product becomes an afterthought, and the audience pays for the advertiser’s vanity.
The intent is surgical. He’s defending the hard-nosed discipline of clarity: advertising as communication, not self-expression. Abstract imagery, in his framework, shifts the ad’s center of gravity from the product to the advertiser’s taste. That may win applause in a boardroom or an agency portfolio, but it often fails the basic contract with the audience: tell me quickly what this is, why it matters, and why I should trust it.
The subtext is a critique of status signaling. Abstract art can act like a cultural password, flattering a certain kind of consumer while insulating the brand from accountability. If the meaning is ambiguous, so are the claims. Ogilvy, coming out of mid-century “brand image” battles and the rise of creative agencies, is drawing a line against art-for-art’s-sake creeping into commerce. His worldview is empirical and retail-minded: people aren’t puzzles to impress; they’re customers to persuade.
It’s also a warning about ego. When the ad becomes an art object, the product becomes an afterthought, and the audience pays for the advertiser’s vanity.
Quote Details
| Topic | Marketing |
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