The story of one of the most famous headlines in advertising history has its own story. Where and how did Ogilvy gather inspiration for the Rolls-Royce advertisement?
In 1958, Ogilvy spent long weeks getting to know the brand thoroughly: he and his team visited the Rolls-Royce factory, observed the manufacturing process, and spoke with the employees. He spent several weeks meticulously reading all available professional materials.
He certainly encountered Howard Gossage's 1933 Land Rover advertisement. Gossage's headline reads:
”At 60 miles an hour the loudest noise in the new Land-Rover comes from the roar of the engine.".
AThe electric clock also appears in the headline of another car advertisement created by one of BBDO's copywriters for the Pierce-Arrow brand:
„The only sound one can hear in the new Pierce-Arrows is the ticking of the electric clock.”.
The real source, however, was a quote from a technical author in The Motor magazine (this sentence actually made it into the headline). Regardless, the brilliant headline is Ogilvy's work, who found that one perfect sentence in a sea of professional magazine text that works best in the given advertisement.
An interesting detail is that when Ogilvy showed the draft to the chief engineer of Rolls-Royce, he sadly shook his head:
”It's time to do something about that damned clock.".
