He was one of the first great thinkers on developing brands and creating brand awareness, and one of his many famous quotes was: "The consumer is not a moron. She is your wife."

Ogilvy, born in West Horsley, England, in 1911, was the youngest of five children of a Scottish stockbroker. He was educated in Edinburgh and then at Oxford, but was thrown out before he completed his degree. This, he said, was the real failure in his life.

He worked in the kitchen of the Hotel Majestic in Paris and was a door-to-door salesman for Aga Cookers in Britain before emigrating to the US in 1938, where he farmed with the Amish for a time. A decade later, at age 37, he founded his New York-based agency which later merged to form an international company, now known as Ogilvy & Mather. It employs 10 000 people in 90 countries.

David Ogily was a believer of homework: he always said to his people, " First you should study the product to be advertised. Your next chore is to find out what kind of advertsing your competitors have been doing for similar products, and with what success. Carry out research among the consumers. Find out what they think about your kind of product, what language they use when they discuss the subject, what attributes are important to them, and what promise would be most likely to make them buy the brand"

David Ogilvy was a master of his craft, and elevated many brands to legendary status. He expected nothing less from his agency as well. David believed strongly in advertising for good causes. In "Ogilvy on Advertising," he wrote "During a period of five years, Ogilvy & Mather begged $6,500,000 worth of free advertising from media for the World Wildlife Fund. Ogilvy also enjoyed sharing his expertise with others. His books "Confessions of an Advertising Man," and "Ogilvy on Advertising" sold millions in 16 countries. "Ogilvy "retired" to Touffou, a 14th century chateau in France, in 1973.