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Ad man Ogilvy dies, 88
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July 21, 1999: 4:53 p.m. ET
Founder of Ogilvy & Mather and creator of classic ads dies in France
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - David Ogilvy, the advertising legend who created the classic 'man in the Hathaway shirt' campaign and started the firm that would become Ogilvy & Mather, died Wednesday at his home in France after a long illness, the firm said. He was 88.
Born in West Horsley, England in 1911, Ogilvy, who was educated at Oxford, became a cook, a salesman and a farmer, before getting his first job as an advertising copywriter at age 38, according to a biography provided by the firm.
He later founded his New York-based ad agency (Hewitt, Ogilvy, Benson & Mather) in 1948.
Starting with no clients and a staff of two, Ogilvy built the company into the world's eighth largest agency.
During the agency's first twenty years, Ogilvy won assignments from Lever Brothers, General Foods (GE) and American Express (AXP), accounts which are still held by the agency.
It was there that Ogilvy created advertising classics like 'the man in the Hathaway shirt,' below.
from Ogilvy & Mather
Hathaway shirt and ever-mysterious eye-patch, 1953
In other notable campaigns, Ogilvy worked on one for Schweppes featuring Commander Whitehead.
He published his first book, 'Confessions of an Advertising Man,' in 1963.
In 1965, Ogilvy merged the agency with Mather & Crowther, his London backers, to form a new international company. One year later the company went public -- one of the first advertising firms to do so.
In 1989 The Ogilvy Group was bought by WPP, a British holding company, for $864 million. Ogilvy served as the holding company's non-executive chairman.
Ogilvy is survived by his wife and son, his daughter-in-law and three step-grandsons.
A private burial will be held at the family estate in France on Friday, July 23rd, and a memorial service is planned in New York for early fall.
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Ogilvy retrospective
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