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21-APR-2025 | Excerpts from Ogilvy’s “Mercifully Restrained” Hathaway Ad

Author

Dan Bogachek
April 21, 2025

You glance at your watch.

It’s 6:28. You’ve been at it since 3.
Crap. Your hot date is at 7. Running late. Sink shower it is.
Nowhere close to done editing…

“…at least all the ideas are laid out, so there’s that. Did I miss anything? I don’t think so? Ok, but how do I make it flow? I need to get the final draft to Stacey for design asap, team cutoff is at noon Thursday…”

You’ve spent dinner completely distracted. Your date just took off. You go home exhausted, plod to your desk, and flip open the laptop.

Or… what if:

5:41 — you’re out of the shower and lip-syncing.
6:17 — dressed to the nines and zenned out.
7:03 — the sunset glints off your aviators as you smile hello.
8:36 — it actually feels like you’re hitting it off. Not just hot, funny to boot.
Next morning, 9:27 — final draft ready in your inbox.
10:31 — Stacey messages back, “thanks, looks good!”

The difference?

Copygloss handled it. Before you left for the date, actually.

For help with editing, email Dan:
[email protected].

Excerpts from Ogilvy’s “Mercifully Restrained” Hathaway Ad

Hathaway presents a mercifully restrained new strip
— woven from Dacron and cotton in the cause of good taste

Hathaway is adamant. Striped shirts should look crisp, stay neat, and exude an air of quiet individuality.

Hence the introduction of the shirt you see above. These stripes will never clash with your tie or leap off the shirt at you. They are far too discreet.

The secret of their subtlety is in the weaving. Every strand of color is cross-woven with a strand of white. Which explains the stripes’ quiet understatement. Mercifully restrained.

…

A shirt of this ingenious stuff stays fresh and unwilted for 24 hours. It also shrugs off dirt. Never puckers or wilts along with seams. Drip-dries overnight without a trace of wrinkling. And rarely needs the attention of an iron — a boon when traveling. 🏁 

This ad would probably make Simon Sinek burst into song.

To steal from Sinek — it’s ‘cause this copy starts with why. There is a cause, a purpose, behind it all.

“We believe in this ideal. And to do right by that, we’ve created something which meets our very particular standards. You’re welcome.”

Also of note:

1) “You.” So much of it.
2) Passive voice — it works, yet again?!

“Hathaway is adamant”
“They are far too discreet”
“The secret of their subtlety is in the weaving” (Wowza, double whammy on that one. “Of” and “is”!)

All of which create emphasis on the key point following the “is.”

And, 3) the features are there to create uniqueness, story, & scarcity. But the benefits towards the end are the heavy hitters here.