[2][3] He was the first cousin once removed of the writer Rebecca West and of Douglas Holden Blew Jones, who was the brother-in-law of Freda Dudley Ward and the father-in-law of Antony Lambton, 6th Earl of Durham.

Ogilvy attended St Cyprian's School, Eastbourne, on reduced fees because of his father's straitened circumstances[citation needed] and won a scholarship at age thirteen to Fettes College, in Edinburgh.

[1] His success at this marked him out to his employer, who asked him to write an instruction manual, The Theory and Practice of Selling the AGA Cooker,[4][5] for the other salesmen.

Thirty years later, Fortune magazine editors called it the finest sales instruction manual ever written.

[1] In 1938, Ogilvy persuaded his agency to send him to the United States for a year, where he went to work for George Gallup's Audience Research Institute in New Jersey.

Ogilvy cites Gallup as one of the major influences on his thinking, emphasizing meticulous research methods and adherence to reality.

According to a biography produced by Ogilvy & Mather, "he extrapolated his knowledge of human behaviour from consumerism to nationalism in a report which suggested 'applying the Gallup technique to fields of secret intelligence.

'"[8] Eisenhower's Psychological Warfare Board picked up the report and successfully put Ogilvy's suggestions to work in Europe during the last year of the war.

Also during World War II, Ogilvy was a notable alumnus of the secret Camp X, located near the towns of Whitby and Oshawa in Ontario, Canada.

According to an article on the camp:[9] Although Ogilvy was trained in sabotage and close combat, he was ultimately tasked with projects that included successfully ruining the reputation of businessmen who were supplying the Nazis with industrial materials.

The atmosphere of "serenity, abundance, and contentment" kept Ogilvy and his wife in Pennsylvania for several years, but eventually he admitted his limitations as a farmer and moved to Manhattan.

His correspondence so dramatically increased the volume of mail handled in the nearby town of Bonnes that the post office was reclassified at a higher status and the postmaster's salary raised.

[citation needed] The film "The View From Touffou" was made at the estate; in it, Ogilvy recounts his advertising guidelines.

He also spent a year acting as temporary chairman of the agency's German office, commuting weekly between Touffou and Frankfurt.

He visited branches of the company around the world, and continued to represent Ogilvy & Mather at gatherings of clients and business audiences.

During the takeover procedures, Sir Martin Sorrell, the founder of WPP, was described by Ogilvy as an "odious little shit",[20] and he promised to never work again.

Two events followed simultaneously, however: WPP became the largest marketing communications firm in the world,[citation needed] and David Ogilvy was named the company's non-executive chairman (a position he held for three years).