Hey, Whipple, Squeeze This: A Guide to Creating Great Ads


Luke Sullivan - 1998
    Updated to include two extended final chapters with in-depth prescriptions for building a career in advertising, this edition also features a real-world look at the day-to-day operations of today's ad agencies. Among the most disparaged campaigns in advertising history, the Mr. Whipple ads for Charmin toilet paper were also wildly successful. Sullivan explores the Whipple phenomenon, examining why bad ads sometimes work, why great ads sometimes fail, and how advertisers can learn to balance creative work with the mandate to sell products.

Truth, Lies, and Advertising: The Art of Account Planning


Jon Steel - 1998
    While many in the industry are still dissecting consumer behavior, extrapolating demographic trends, developing complex behavioral models, and measuring Pavlovian salivary responses, Steel advocates an approach to consumer research that is based on simplicity, common sense, and creativity--an approach that gains access to consumers' hearts and minds, develops ongoing relationships with them, and, most important, embraces them as partners in the process of developing and advertising.A witty, erudite raconteur and teacher, Steel describes how successful account planners work in partnership with clients, consumer, and agency creatives. He criticizes research practices that, far from creating relationships, drive a wedge between agencies and the people they aim to persuade; he suggests new ways of approaching research to cut through the BS and get people to show their true selves; and he shows how the right research, when translated into a motivating and inspiring brief, can be the catalyst for great creative ideas. He draws upon his own experiences and those of colleagues in the United States and abroad to illustrate those points, and includes examples of some of the most successful campaigns in recent years, including Polaroid, Norwegian Cruise Line, Porsche, Isuzu, got milk? and others.The message of this book is that well-thought-out account planning results in better, more effective marketing and advertising for both agencies and clients. And also makes an evening in front of the television easier to bear for the population at large.

Pick Me: Breaking Into Advertising and Staying There


Nancy Vonk - 2005
    Whether you're a student or a young professional loaded with questions, this one-of-a-kind guide shows you how to land a job and how to thrive once you're in and the pressure is on. Authors Nancy Vonk and Janet Kestin are seasoned creative directors and longtime creative partners. In Pick Me, these industry leaders answer your toughest ad career questions, like:Is advertising right for me? How do I build a killer portfolio? How do I get an interview with the elusive creative director? Should I accept an unpaid internship? How do I find the right partner? How do I beat creative block? How do I avoid burnout? Plus, fourteen industry superstars share their insights and explain how they broke into the business. You'll hear from Bob Barrie, Rick Boyko, David Droga, Mark Fenske, Neil French, Sally Hogshead, Mike Hughes, Shane Hutton, Brian Millar, Tom Monahan, Chuck Porter, Bob Scarpelli, Chris Staples, and Lorraine Tao.Forget the cliches this is advertising as it really is. If you're hell-bent on making it, this informative guide will put you on track for a career in one of the most exciting businesses on the planet.

Creative Mischief


Dave Trott - 2009
    Part autobiography, part short story, part how-to advice, each of the entries will refresh your thinking about any creative process, whether it belongs to advertising, writing a book, or managing a team of employees. Published for the first time in book form, Creative Mischief, is a perfect prompt for anyone looking for new ideas, or for readers who simply enjoy the kind of funny story that, as Dave says, he would normally tell over a drink or three .

The Art of Writing Advertising: Conversations with Masters of the Craft: David Ogilvy, William Bernbach, Leo Burnett, Rosser Reeves,


Denis Higgins - 1968
    "What makes a great advertisement?" Nearly four decades ago, an unmatched group of five advertising pioneers first answered that question in "The Art of Writing Advertising." Their entertaining and historically compelling answers will provide advertising professionals with valuable techniques for applying breakthrough creativity and innovation in the workplace.

Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die


Chip Heath - 2006
    Meanwhile, people with important ideas--entrepreneurs, teachers, politicians, and journalists--struggle to make them "stick."In Made to Stick, Chip and Dan Heath reveal the anatomy of ideas that stick and explain ways to make ideas stickier, such as applying the human scale principle, using the Velcro Theory of Memory, and creating curiosity gaps. Along the way, we discover that sticky messages of all kinds--from the infamous "kidney theft ring" hoax to a coach's lessons on sportsmanship to a vision for a new product at Sony--draw their power from the same six traits.Made to Stick will transform the way you communicate. It's a fast-paced tour of success stories (and failures): the Nobel Prize-winning scientist who drank a glass of bacteria to prove a point about stomach ulcers; the charities who make use of the Mother Teresa Effect; the elementary-school teacher whose simulation actually prevented racial prejudice.Provocative, eye-opening, and often surprisingly funny, Made to Stick shows us the vital principles of winning ideas--and tells us how we can apply these rules to making our own messages stick.

Confessions of an Advertising Man


David Ogilvy - 1963
    At the age of 37, he founded the New York-based agency that later merged to form the international company known as Ogilvy & Mather. Regarded as the father of modern advertising, Ogilvy was responsible for some of the most memorable advertising campaigns ever created. Confessions of an Advertising Man is the distillation of all the Ogilvy concepts, tactics, and techniques that made this international best-seller a blueprint for sound business practice. If you aspire to be a good manager in any business, this seminal work is a must-read.

Hitting the Sweet Spot: How Consumer Insights Can Inspire Better Marketing and Advertising


Lisa Fortini-Campbell - 2001
    Clear and engaging - written by one of the top professionals in consumer insight. The book takes you through the process step by step - from Data to Information to Insight to Inspiration. This book is used worldwide by both students and professionals.

Hegarty on Advertising


John Hegarty - 2011
    The first part offers John Hegarty’s personal insights and advice on the advertising business: Ideas, Brands, The Agency, Briefs, Pitching, Storytelling, and Technology. In the second part, Hegarty talks about his own career and experiences, from his early days working with Charles Saatchi to the founding of Bartle Bogle Hegarty (BBH) in 1982 and its rise to global renown with offices in London, New York, Singapore, Shanghai, Mumbai, and Sao Paulo.

Juicing the Orange: How to Turn Creativity into a Powerful Business Advantage


Pat Fallon - 2006
    But such efforts rarely have a positive impact on the bottom line. Pat Fallon and Fred Senn argue that leaders have more creativity within their organizations than they realize—but they inadvertently stifle it or channel it in ineffective ways. Juicing the Orange outlines a disciplined approach to building creativity actively into the organizational culture and leveraging that creativity into campaigns that deliver measurable results. Drawing from 25 years of successful marketing and acclaimed, award-winning work, the authors show that bankable, creative ideas come from zeroing in on the one key business problem that must be solved and then rigorously unearthing insights that will lead to a spectacular solution. Behind-the-scenes stories of successful and failed campaigns for companies in diverse industries reveal the core secrets of training for creativity: develop a proprietary brand emotion, offer big ideas without a big budget, and get customers to seek out your message. Illustrating the link between creativity and profits, Juicing the Orange helps industry players measure their success at the cash register.

Hoopla


Crispin Porter Bogusky - 2006
    They launched the Mini car craze in America, took on Big Tobacco in the controversial Truth campaign, sexed up Virgin Airlines, and made Burger King sizzle once again. And they did it with bold publicity stunts, infectious viral marketing strategies, funny masks, folding paper, outrageous Internet hoaxes, and a weird, garter belt–wearing chicken who became a cultural sensation. And this random madness has a very sound method to it: Hoopla . In Hoopla , the secret inner workings of this freewheeling, break-the-mold idea factory are revealed for the first time. Veteran journalist Warren Berger, who has tracked and reported on the CP+B phenomenon over the past decade, fully examines and deconstructs the methods that lie behind the agency’s seeming madness, while the striking images throughout the book (captioned by the CP+B creative team) provide insights into the logic, intuition, mischief, and passion that leads to the creation of Hoopla . The result is a fascinating journey into a realm of unbridled creativity. See the madness. Read the method. Hoopla . Hoopla also includes practical, step-by-step advice on how to find and promote big ideas (even on a shoestring budget), and how to generate excitement and hype in today’s cluttered, noisy communications landscape. If you’re a marketer, a communicator of any type, or anyone who needs to get out a message and generate some buzz, Hoopla will change the way you think about the art of communication.

Adland: A Global History of Advertising


Mark Tungate - 2007
    Author and journalist Mark Tungate examines key developments in advertising, from print, radio, and television advertisements to the opportunities afforded by digital media -- podcasting, text messaging, and interactive campaigns. Adland focuses on key players in the industry and features exclusive interviews with leading names in international advertising, including Tom Bernadin, CEO of Leo Burnett; Jean-Marie Dru, President and CEO of TBWA Worldwide; and John Hegarty, Chairman of BartleBogleHegarty. Exploring the roots of the advertising industry in New York and London, and going on to cover Western Europe and the emerging markets of Eastern Europe, Asia, and Latin America, Adland offers a comprehensive examination of a global industry and suggests how it is likely to develop in the future.

Zag: The #1 Strategy of High-Performance Brands


Marty Neumeier - 2006
    ZAG follows the ultra-clear "whiteboard overview" style of the author's first book, THE BRAND GAP, but drills deeper into the question of how brands can harness the power of differentiation. The author argues that in an extremely cluttered marketplace, traditional differentiation is no longer enough--today companies need "radical differentiation" to create lasting value for their shareholders and customers. In an entertaining 3-hour read you'll learn:- why me-too brands are doomed to fail- how to "read" customer feedback on new products and messages- the 17 steps for designing "difference" into your brand- how to turn your brand's "onliness" into a "trueline" to drive synergy- the secrets of naming products, services, and companies- the four deadly dangers faced by brand portfolios- how to "stretch" your brand without breaking it- how to succeed at all three stages of the competition cycleFrom the back cover: In an age of me-too products and instant communications, keeping up with the competition is no longer a winning strategy. Today you have to out-position, out-maneuver, and out-design the competition. The new rule? When everybody zigs, zag. In his first book, THE BRAND GAP, Neumeier showed companies how to bridge the distance between business strategy and design. In ZAG, he illustrates the number-one strategy of high-performance brands--radical differentiation.ZAG is an AIGA Design Press book, published under Peachpit's New Riders imprint in partnership with AIGA. For a quick peek inside ZAG, go to www.zagbook.com.

Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind: How to Be Seen and Heard in the Overcrowded Marketplace


Al Ries - 1980
    Writing in their trademark witty, fast-paced style, advertising gurus Ries and Trout explain how to:Make and position an industry leader so that its name and message wheedles its way into the collective subconscious of your market-and stays therePosition a follower so that it can occupy a niche not claimed by the leaderAvoid letting a second product ride on the coattails of an established one.Positioning also shows you how to:Use leading ad agency techniques to capture the biggest market share and become a household nameBuild your strategy around your competition's weaknessesReposition a strong competitor and create a weak spotUse your present position to its best advantageChoose the best name for your productDetermine when-and why-less is moreAnalyze recent trends that affect your positioning.Ries and Trout provide many valuable case histories and penetrating analyses of some of the most phenomenal successes and failures in advertising history. Revised to reflect significant developments in the five years since its original publication, Positioning is required reading for anyone in business today.

Advertising: Concept and Copy


George Felton - 1993
    It covers the entire conceptual process, from developing smart strategy to executing it with strong ads—from what to say to how to say it. Part 1, Strategies, operates on the premise that the idea beneath an ad’s surface determines its success. This first section shows how to research products, understand consumer behavior, analyze audiences, and navigate marketplace realities, then how to write creative briefs that focus this strategic analysis into specific advertising objectives. Part 2, Executions, explains how to put strategy into play. It discusses the tools at a copywriter’s command—creating a distinctive brand voice, telling stories, using language powerfully and originally—as well as the wide variety of media and advertising genres that carry and help shape messages. But great executions are elusive. So Part 3, the Toolbox, gives advice about how to think creatively, then presents an array of problem-solving tools, a series of techniques that advertisers have used repeatedly to produce exceptional work. In brief, this book shows how to find strong selling ideas and how to express them in fresh, memorable, persuasive ways. The new edition features greatly expanded discussions of guerrilla advertising, interactive advertising, brand voice, storytelling, and the use of social media. Hundreds of ads in full color, both in the book and on an accompanying Web site, demonstrate the best in television, radio, print, and interactive advertising. Advertising: Concept and Copy is the most comprehensive text in its field, combining substantial discussion of both strategy and technique with an emphasis on the craft of writing not found elsewhere. It is truly a writer’s copywriting text.