Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Book Review: David Ogilvy's Confessions of An Advertising Man

Here's one of the real Mad Men.

Ogilvy was a smooth, masterful advertising avatar of post-war consumerism. He successfully advertised shirts, tourism (notably Puerto Rico), Rolls-Royce and many other famous products.

In Confessions of An Advertising Man, Ogilvy (who's a gifted raconteur) stays mostly away from his colorful past and instead discusses his insights on the craft of advertising.

Confessions is full of surprising advice: for example, don't take an account from a company with declining sales (you'll fail) and sans serif is the easiest font to read.

Ogilvy, famous as a copywriter, also lays out some how-to in the art of copywriting.

If you're entrepreneurial, pay attention to how Ogilvy creates and runs his own advertising agency.

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Where's My Mortgage?

Click this link to find out who owns your mortgage - and if they can produce the note. It's always helpful to live in a society that requires documents and proof rather than just having strangers show up and tell you to get out of your house.

Please see the book review about Hernando de Soto's: The Mystery of Capital: Why Capitalism Triumphs in the West and Fails Everywhere Else about why the rule of law and equal protection before the law is critical to capitalism's success.