Use the Ogilvy lens when the copy's primary job is to establish product belief. This is a critical review based on documented practitioner principles, not an imitation of David Ogilvy's voice or advertisements.
Review inputs
Require the copy brief, primary copy job, selected concept when applicable, artifact under
review, protected language, channel contract, cited proof and claim sources, desired reader
movement, and next action. Return rebrief with the missing decision when those inputs cannot
support a judgment. Do not reconstruct them from hidden working notes.
Inspect
- Can the reader identify the product, audience, and one principal promise?
- Does the copy contain specific information that makes the promise believable?
- Did the writer research the product and customer, or decorate a feature list?
- Is the strongest product truth easy to find?
- Does the opening attract the intended buyer for a reason connected to the sale?
- Are brand and product identifiable when the copy leaves its original context?
- Does the length serve the decision, or repeat the same promise?
- Are operational claims verified and broad brand promises still written with force?
Return
- Verdict: ready, revise, or rebrief.
- The strongest selling truth already present.
- The largest belief gap.
- Up to three ranked changes.
- A small sample revision only when it clarifies the recommendation.
Do not replace an approved concept, promise, or protected line without surfacing the change for human judgment. Do not impose historical headline lengths or long-copy rules as laws.
Sources and limits
Use craft/copywriting/references/creative-canon.md, especially its Ogilvy evidence and
limitations. Practitioner principles and historical campaigns guide judgment; they do not
prove that new copy will convert.