Advertising is a glamorous profession. But in order to survive a copywriter would need to be creative 24×7. It is not enough to write good, creative stuff, but you need to write good, creative stuff that leads to product sales.
Here is a list of books that needs to be read by any copywriter, experienced or just starting out. Learn the inside tricks of the trade from the masters!
Best Advertising Books
Learn the tricks of the trade from the master of Advertising!
Learn from David Ogilvy on how he went about creating advertising that changed the entire industry. Read how the legendary campaigns that are remembered even today came into existence.
Copy writing is most important and critical aspect of any advertising campaign. The aim of conducting any campaign is to translate the selling point of the product into the advertising. Crafting a successful advertising campaign requires a strong idea, insight and a strong sales pitch.
David Ogilvy shares his research and insights and shares tips on how to make your advertising campaign that would be successful.
[schema type=”book” name=”Ogilvy On Advertising” author=”David Ogilvy” publisher=”Prion” pubdate=”2011-03-01″ isbn=”1853756156″ ebook=”yes” paperback=”yes” hardcover=”yes” ]
In 1995, the reputed advertising firm, D&AD came out with a book on the art of writing copy for successful advertisement campaigns. Once called the bible for creative directors, this book was becoming outdated.
So, D&AD got together with TASCHEN have joined hands and published this updated and revised edition which includes the past works as well as more updated knowledge.
The book includes essays by leading 48 advertising men in the world.
[schema type=”book” name=”D&AD: The Copy Book” author=”D&AD (Editor)” publisher=”Taschen” pubdate=”2011-08-11″ isbn=”3836528320 ” hardcover=”yes” ]
This book is an autobiography of Neil French, often called as the world’s last advertising copywriter.
This book not only portrays Neil French advertising days but it also deals with other facets of his career. How a debt collector/door man/estate agent/porn star/ singer/venture capitalist/ encyclopedia salesman/ venture capitalist/ doorman became the worldwide creative director of WPP.
The book contains forward by Indra Sinha, a brilliant copywriter who sets the tone for what is to come next. Not many people can honestly say that they enjoy what they do, this book shows what happens when the person honestly loves what they do.
These days campaigns with long copy is dying as many agencies believe that powerful images bring in the sales, but Neil French shows the power of a long copy.
This is a fully colour illustrated book.
[schema type=”book” name=”Sorry for the lobsters” author=”Neil French” publisher=”www.neilfrench.com” pubdate=”2014-01-05″ isbn=”B00NP388N0″ hardcover=”yes” ]
Written by highly acclaimed copywriter Luke Sullivan, this book gives a brief history of advertising. All types of advertising campaigns have been included in this book. When I say all, I mean ALL, the book features the best as well as the worst advertisements ever made.
The book explains in detail the “Whipple” phenomenon which explains the reason why some really bad advertising campaigns become successful while some of the best campaigns fall flat in the market place.
Tips are also given as to how advertisers can balance creativity with marketability to make a good campaign that is both creative as well as sells products.
This edition even includes chapters on how to build an advertising career and the workings of top advertising agencies.
[schema type=”book” name=”Hey, Whipple, Squeeze This: A Guide to Creating Great Ads” author=”Luke Sullivan ” publisher=”John Wiley & Sons” isbn=”0471281395″ ebook=”yes” paperback=”yes” ]
This book shows the history of advertising with brilliant black and white colourful illustrations.
Some of these advertisements not only changed the advertising, but also changed the product marketing techniques forever.
Original, funny and intelligent: these three words aptly describes this book. Although a bit costly, this book is a must have on any advertising professional’s shelf. His rules are simple: Tell the truth, tell it differently and weave a story around it in a way that the consumer cannot help but buy the product.
[schema type=”book” name=”Bill Bernbach’s Book: A History of Advertising That Changed the History of Advertising” author=”Bob Levenson, Evelyn Bernbach” publisher=”Villard” isbn=”0394549201″ hardcover=”yes” ]
Go behind the scenes of the Mecca of the advertising world, Madison Avenue.
It is the 60s and the advertising world consists of late nighters, fabulous parties and a lot of brand advertising. This is a hilarious read.
This book is the basis of the hit television show “Mad Men” which is a fictional show on Madison Avenue.
Jerry Della Femina entered the Madison Avenue at the age of sixteen as a mail boy at Ruthrauff & Ryan and went on start his own agency.He has worked with almost all major campaigns of his time.
[schema type=”book” name=”From Those Wonderful Folks Who Gave You Pearl Harbor ” author=”Jerry Della Femina” publisher=”Simon & Schuster” pubdate=”2010-07-20″ isbn=”1451609906″ ebook=”yes” paperback=”yes” hardcover=”yes” ]
Bad Decisions. We have all taken them.
The average life of advertising is decreasing. Once one advertising campaign would be expected to last few years, but now it has decreased to a few months. If the campaign is exceptionally good, it can be expected to have better life. But bad campaigns die quickly.
This book showcases the surprising power of bad decisions. Filled with business advices, funny anecdotes and pictures, this sequel to “It’s Not How Good You Are, It’s How Good You Want It To Be” is as good as the previous read.
The book gives straight to the point suggestions and comments in the most simplistic manner.
[schema type=”book” name=”Whatever You Think, Think the Opposite” author=”Paul Arden” publisher=”Portfolio Trade” pubdate=”2006-03-10″ isbn=”1591841216″ ebook=”yes” paperback=”yes” hardcover=”yes” ]
David Ogilvy is unchallenged advertising genius. Read how one man rose from being a chef in a restaurant to starting an advertising firm at the age of 37. The firm is now one of the best agencies in the world: Ogilvy & Mather.
Ogilvy is known as the father of modern advertising. This book is an interesting mix of biography, techniques and skills that Ogilvy learned and how he implemented them with what results.
This book is written for advertising professionals, but it has such wonderful managerial principles that I feel literally anyone who wants to be a good manager should pick it up and read at least once.
Written before “Ogilvy on Advertising” this book focuses more on Ogilvy’s life and the lessons that he learned that helped him become the father of Advertising.
[schema type=”book” name=”Confessions of an Advertising Man” author=”David Ogilvy” publisher=”Southbank Publishing ” pubdate=”2004-08-01″ isbn=”1904915019″ ebook=”yes” paperback=”yes” ]
When five masters of Advertising come together, you just cannot have anything less than a masterpiece!
In this book William Bernbach, George Gribbin, Rosser Reeves and Leo Burnett join hands to answer one question that plagues every advertising professional: “What makes a truly great advertisement?”
This book contains authentic and vintage interviews of the top bosses of Madison Avenue. Conducted before more than forty years by Advertising Age, this book contains insight and analysis that are relevant till date.The interviews were conducted to find out what are those trade gimmicks that help these men become the best copywriters of the time, and the resultant interviews showed more than that, they had insights into the lives and knowledge gathered by these five.
[schema type=”book” name=”The Art of Writing Advertising: Conversations with Masters of the Craft” author=”Denis Higgins” publisher=”McGraw-Hill” isbn=”0071410937″ paperback=”yes” ]
