Ogilvy believed in "pleasing the customer," by providing useful information and he had no qualms about parity since it does not insult consumers' intelligence. Standard textbooks emphasize the need to convince consumers of the superiority of the product against competitors. But Ogilvy was sure that all competitors in a particular market make excellent products. His creed was – „Do not imply that your product is better. Just say what is good about your product-and do a clearer, more honest, more informative job of saying it..." .

David Ogilvy did not believe that advertising should be totally guesswork. His firm, Ogilvy and Mather, conducted extensive research on what really works, and then shared their findings with the world. It is amazing how the advertising industry has ignored this information. Ogilvy also believed that people who are interested in advertising as a career should become students of advertising. Advertising executives who refuse to study the principles of the profession are foolish. On the other hand, he found the quality of coursework and textbooks on advertising at universities to be poor. He believed people who enter the advertising profession should work in direct response advertising for at least a year to learn techniques that really work. Direct response advertising is the only type that produces measurable results.
Consumers in developing countries benefit from print ads, since they can reflect on the information (assuming it is accurate). They are likely to fall for a false sense of urgency that a TV commercial generates. Print ad illustrations (really good ones) reinforce "persistence of memory" that could generate loyal, long-term buyers. The best print ads brilliantly execute illustration and text. Here are a few of the principles for print ads that Ogilvy shares in his book:

1. Layout. A reader’s eye tends to look first at an illustration, second at the headline, third at a caption under the illustration, fourth to the copy. Therefore, the layout should be illustration first, every illustration should have a caption, headline second, copy third. 2. Typestyle. Serif typestyles are the easiest to read (they are typically used in books for this reason.) Use serif typestyles for your ads. Words with all capital letters are also hard to read. The eye tends to read "all caps" one letter at a time. Use upper and lower case. 3. Reverse. White letters on a black or dark background is almost impossible to read. Use it sparingly. If a newspaper or magazine requires you to "flag" an advertisement, write "advertisement" at the top in reverse, using italics.