Adman credo and memoir explains when to zig or zag

BOOK REVIEW: Hegarty on Advertising: Turning Intelligence into Magicby John Hegarty; Thames Hudson, £16.95 (€19.30)

FOR PRACTITIONERS, aficionados and students of advertising, two books have until now dominated the landscape. In 1983, David Ogilvy, one of the most influential admen of the 20th century, wrote Ogilvy on Advertising,a follow-up to his 1963 Madmen-era classic Confessions of an Advertising Man.

In 1998, eminent US copywriter Luke Sullivan wrote Hey Whipple, Squeeze This: A Guide to Creating Great Ads. The new contender hoping to join them on the must-have shelf is Hegarty on Advertising: Turning Intelligence into Magic. John Hegarty, or Sir John as he was dubbed in 2007, has been for many years UK advertising's most articulate and charismatic spokesman. Having left the nascent Saatchi Saatchi to form Bartle Bogle Hegarty (BBH) with Nigel Bogle and John Bartle in 1982, Hegarty has been creative director of some of the most iconic campaigns in these islands.

Audi, Levi’s and Boddingtons were early clients of the agency which set itself apart in its refusal to enter creative pitches. Prospective clients could see BBH’s insight and strategy but the fruits of that thinking weren’t shared until the contract was signed – a radical departure at the time and one which, along with outstanding work, helped to make the agency justly famous. Today, BBH remains a powerful force in a much-altered adland, employing 1,000 people across several continents, while Hegarty remains worldwide creative director and the founding partners retain a 51 per cent share.

Hegarty on Advertisingcomes at a time when the ad industry is undergoing profound change, caught in a pincer movement of deep global recession and sweeping new technology that radically alters interaction between consumers and brands.

These shores have felt the impact, with agencies experiencing their toughest trials in decades and clients doing some serious belt-tightening and soul-searching.

An industry under threat, advertising arguably needs guidance from a master veteran more than ever. Yet this isn't a "how to" book as Hegarty avers in his preface. Instead, the jacket describes it as both a credo and a memoir. The credo of BBH is captured in "when others zig, zag", a maxim derived from a poster they produced for the 1982 launch of black Levi's that featured a sole black sheep facing the opposite way in a herd of white sheep. Today the black sheep is the logo of BBH, as a constant reminder to their staff of the need to "zag". Occasionally the text of the book zig-zags a little too often between credo and memoir and can leave the reader wishing Hegarty had followed Ogilvy's lead in dividing his insight and experience across two tomes. Ogilvy on Advertisingstands up remarkably well after nearly three decades. Many of its chapter titles begin with "How to", making it still a handy reference. Ogilvy was a proponent of direct-response advertising and today's technology takes direct response to new levels, giving a timeless edge to his wisdom.

Hey Whippleon the other hand deals with new media in its later editions but remains an excellent guide to the creation and crafting of ideas which, regardless of the communication channel, remain both the holy grail and the stock-in-trade of advertising.

“How-to” book or not, Hegarty gives some wonderful insights and shares fascinating thoughts. Where Ogilvy’s voice is imperious (he wears his classical education heavily) and Sullivan is witty and collegial, Hegarty is a natural storyteller relating tales of boardroom situations with charm.

At times it feels Hegarty, who is quick to state that he is no professional writer, has dictated much of the book while reclining in a stylish Italian chair. The text might be a little less generously peppered with expletives or at least the expletives might vary. Nonetheless Hegarty’s occasional rants are immensely enjoyable, more so in the knowledge that they may bring blushes to those who recognise themselves.

This uber-relaxed style can do some disservice to his astute observations. His belief that creatives, the agency copywriters and art directors, need to be present at every briefing to witness the client’s body language and the emphasis placed on key words, is fresh and interesting. Hegarty’s vision for the agency of the future as a club where staff drop in and chill out will warm the hearts of creatives just as surely as it will make financial directors’ blood run cold.

Hegarty on Advertisingis an engaging read in a format too heavy for the hand yet too small for the coffee table and with boldface interjections that stop it being as smooth a read as it might be. Ogilvy on Advertisingjarred with readers in featuring the vast French chateau that was the reward for his illustrious career; Hegarty goes one better by devoting the last chapter to Hegarty Chamans, his Languedoc vineyard whose label features, naturally, a black sheep. Hegarty on Advertisingis more likeable than Ogilvy if less functional than Sullivan. Whether or not it will join them on the essential reading list, only time will tell.

Eoghan Nolan is an advertising creative director and founder of Brand Artillery