Reddit mentions of Hey, Whipple, Squeeze This: The Classic Guide to Creating Great Ads

I love reading these because it's so off base. No it is nothing like Mad Men. Chances are unless you are upper management you won't be making the industry average in salaries. If you want to take something away from it, watch how defeated they get when a client bitches about something not being right... then amplify that 10 fold, throw in a few "can we make the logos bigger", and put in a little working overtime to meet deadlines and going crazy. Another thing, if you aren't in college yet, you aren't "very good" with psychology or design... you may have gotten a good grade in AP classes and messed around in photoshop in your lab class, but there is much more to learn.

I'm not trying to be belittling, you just need to change your mindset completely on this as it seems pretty obvious you only have a media view of the field. Check out some ad work down by big companies. Check out the CLIO winners for the last few years. Read books on the subject like Ogilvy on Advertising or Hey Whipple, Squeeze This. Also, you aren't going to be doing all of these things, firms are done mostly in groups. You have your Accounts team (Pete Campbell, schmoozing and coordinating with the client), Design Team (Salvatore and Peggy, less copywriting now though) and sometimes Media and Project teams... depending on the agency. Each has their skills and contributions, so in all likelyhood if you want to work in an actual agency setting you will likely have to specialize. Like writing and planning? Take marketing. Like design and web-structure? Take Graphic Design and/or Computer Science. Psychology is not a particularly useful field in itself, as many of the psychological aspects are covered in their usefulness in the aforementioned majors.

Lastly, you won't know for sure what you want to do until a few years in, and that's fine. If you really like the idea of agency work though, DO INTERNSHIPS. There is no other way to get into the field and learn about the ins and outs. There are a lot of great things about the industry, but it's not all rainbows and panache.

Hey Whipple Squeeze This is a really phenomenal overview of creating ads. It is a very engaging and informative read and is perfect for those looking to break into the industry.

Ogilvy on Advertising delves a bit more into the overall experience of working at an agency like what the account team does vs. media teams and so on in addition to actually making ads. It's a bit dated but I think it holds up pretty well. Sure a few of his predictions about the industry didn't come to fruition and the book primarily focuses on TV spots and longform magazine ads (you can't write about banner ads or Facebook ads in 1985) but I'd say a lot of the concepts Ogilvy touches on are pretty timeless.

Accounts, not accounting, mate.

Very broadly speaking, an agency is divided into two parts: Accounts and Creative. Accounts is the liaison between the agency and the client. They define broad objectives, general strategy and make sure the trains run on time. Creative makes the actual ads.

You don't need experience to make a book. You just need good ideas and maybe a friend who's handy in graphic design. That said, very few creatives find jobs without going to portfolio school first. Read Hey Whipple, Squeeze This and see where it takes you.

https://www.amazon.com/Hey-Whipple-Squeeze-This-Creating/dp/1118101332

I realize you didn't go to advertising school and probably didn't put together a portfolio, nor are you at a big name agency, so I figured I'll throw in a few reading suggestions to fire up your brain and help you build upon your base of knowledge so you can speak with greater authority on the subject.

Hey Whipple (http://www.amazon.com/Hey-Whipple-Squeeze-This-Creating/dp/1118101332/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1369356964&sr=8-1&keywords=hey+whipple)

Advertising: Concept and Copy (http://www.amazon.com/Advertising-Concept-Third-George-Felton/dp/0393733866/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1369357028&sr=1-3&keywords=the+advertising+concept+book)

Advertising Concept Book (http://www.amazon.com/Advertising-Concept-Book-Second-Barry/dp/0500290318/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1369357028&sr=1-1&keywords=the+advertising+concept+book)

The Copy Book - This book is one of my favourites because it just deals with writing and it's big and glossy and wordy. (http://www.amazon.com/D-AD-The-Copy-Book/dp/3836528320/ref=pd_sim_b_11)

Also just look through annuals and always keep good writing and good ideas at the front of your mind. The

Hey, Whipple, Squeeze This by Luke Sullivan

The Advertising Concept Book by Pete Barry

Those are two English books I have been exposed too when I was learning advertising as a sidetrack on design school. I'd say next to these search something good about storytelling commercially and how to think lateral.

Good luck and my best tip would be, fall in love with the to market product/service/person and have fun!

Get this book. Read the chapter on creative briefs.

Then, get this book. Read the whole thing. Twice.

Then get this book. Read the chapter "How to Get an Idea." Then read the chapter "How to Craft Copy."

Pick 5 brands. Not small unknown brands, but brands that have agencies do their ads. Make 3 ads for those brands.

You'll have to write 100 headlines to get 2 or 3 good ones. Once you get more experience, you'll be able to squeeze out the gold with less effort.

One of the best things I heard when going to college for advertising was to think "What is the one thing that will get the audience you want to buy your product? Make that the focus." You're not going to come to that conclusion without researching. Find out the purpose of the product, the objective of the ad, the benefits the product has, the point of difference it has against competitors, the tone of the brand, the target audience, the target concern of that audience and then use all of that to solve a barrier that the audience or brand has. And if you really want to get creative read some of the many amazing advertising books out there when you are out of ideas. Good luck!

"MTIV ..." by Hillman Curtis is a great read, and is packed with wisdom and inspiration.

"Hey Whipple, Squeeze This!" by Luke Sullivan is about advertising. So it's not exactly a design book, but it's all about thinking outside the box and making it in the real world as a professional creative, which totally applies to us. Plus, Sullivan is a really fun writer.

Finally, "Make it Bigger" by Paula Scher is an excellent memoir by a living legend.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0735711658?pc_redir=1398499744&robot_redir=1

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1118101332?pc_redir=1398472389&robot_redir=1

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1568985487?pc_redir=1398526939&robot_redir=1

Welp I guess we're downvoted for mentioning a book:
https://www.amazon.ca/Hey-Whipple-Squeeze-This-Creating/dp/1118101332

First off, read Hey Whipple and Ogilvy on Advertising to get some basics down for what creative advertising is.

Next, you should go and if you can, absorb as much as you can regarding marketing, business and advertising while in school. Could be at the library, could be trying to take an intro class or to, but anything helps.

Right now your current track is perfectly fine for landing an internship somewhere. Creative writing is a good transition, the only issue is that you will need to know the correct copywriting workflow. This means knowing stuff like creative briefs, creative concepting and how to write copy decks.

You then say this:

>I have considered the option of going to a portfolio school after graduation, but I'll be 25/26 when I graduate with my bachelors and more school sounds awful to me right now, so I'd like to avoid that if possible. I'm not throwing the idea out, but it does not sound appetizing to me.

Yeah dude. People in portfolio schools a lot of times are in their 30's. Don't worry about the age. What I will say is that if this is financially a viable option, do it. Remember those things that I said you need to bone up on? That's a bit hard to do without a base, and portfolio school not only helps you learn that, but also pairs you up with an AD/Designer to create a portfolio (which is a must for copywriters) and also will give you the right connections to help you land an internship/full time position.

Because especially if your plan is to move to NYC, that grind is an extremely hard one. Anecdotally, a lot of my friends went to good schools with advertising programs, and even they could barely muster getting internships, let alone transition that to full time.

Have a leg up on them helps a lot. A couple of years ago I believed in the narrative where as long as you had good work, you didn't need to care about your credentials. But now, there's a lot of really talented people out there, and there aren't too many new positions being made.

So yes, I know that being in college is a grind, and just want to get out and do your job. But, if do just stomach it for two more years, you'll have a much better chance at landing something solid and substantial.

This https://www.amazon.com/dp/039472903X/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_-LmozbRFSJV3K

And this https://www.amazon.com/dp/006124189X/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_dMmozbWME8S98

And for fun read, get Matt Beaumont's "e" and "e squared": https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/s/ref=is_s_ss_i_0_9?k=matt+beaumont&sprefix=matt+beau

Also, get this for general knowledge of some of the great work done in particular medium: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1118101332/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_0Qmozb5TPRJCS

And I have these in my list on amazon. Would love to get some opinions on them:

 

How to Win Friends and Influence People

by Dale Carnegie

 

Secrets of a Freelance Writer: How to Make $100,000 a Year or More

by Robert Bly

 

Words that Sell

by Richard Bayan

 

Tested Advertising Methods

by Caples and Hahn

 

Writing That Works

by Kenneth Roman and Joel Raphaelson

 

Confessions of an Advertising Man

by David Ogilvy

 

The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing

by Al Ries and Jack Trout

 

The Robert Collier Letter Book

by Robert Collier

 

Nicely Said: Writing for the Web with Style and Purpose

by Nicole Fenton and Kate Kiefer Lee

 

Letting Go of the Words

by Janice (Ginny) Redish

 

Essential English for Journalists, Editors and Writers

by Harold Evans

 

Can I Change Your Mind?: The Craft and Art of Persuasive Writing

by Lindsay Camp

 

Writing Tools: 50 Essential Strategies for Every Writer

by Roy Peter Clark

 

Read Me: 10 Lessons for Writing Great Copy

by Roger Horberry and Gyles Lingwood

 

Hey, Whipple, Squeeze This: The Classic Guide to Creating Great Ads

by Luke Sullivan

 

WRITE IN STEPS: The super simple book writing method

by Ian Stables

 

On Writing Well

by William Zinsser

 

The Wealthy Freelancer

by Steve Slaunwhite, Pete Savage and Ed Gandia

 

Write Everything Right!

by Denny Hatch

 

The Secret of Selling Anything

by Harry Browne

 

The Marketing Gurus: Lessons from the Best Marketing Books of All Time

by Chris Murray

 

On Writing

by Stephen King

 

Writing for the Web

by Lynda Felder

 

Everybody Writes: Your Go-To Guide to Creating Ridiculously Good Content

by Ann Handley

 

This book will teach you how to write better

by Neville Medhora

I just bought Hey Whipple Squeeze This as a parting gift for our intern, and The War of Art for myself.

Read Hey, Whipple, Squeeze This front to back.

Then, from there, it depends what you're going to be doing. I'm a copywriter so I read a lot of books tailored to that.

• Advertising Concept Book
  
• Creative Advertising
  
• Contagious
  
• And spent a lot of time on www.moderncopywriter.com looking at books to base mine off of.
  
• I've heard the Ogilvy books are good. I should read them.
  
  If you're not going in the creative side, there are still plenty of other books - and I think Whipple applies to all.
  
  

Hey you should start by researching student books these are the people you are up against. Look at the products they pick. Try to do print for the most part. It's the easiest way to get your idea across quickly which will be good when a CD has about 3 mins to look at your book. Here are a ton of student books:
http://brandcenter.vcu.edu/people/alumni/
also look on creative circus's alumni page as well.

In terms of "prompts" that's kind of on you when creating a portfolio. Find a product that needs fresh messaging try to beat the work they are currently doing.

Also I can't stress how important reading "Hey Whipple" will be for you. You'll find what you are looking for in there. http://www.amazon.com/Hey-Whipple-Squeeze-This-Creating/dp/1118101332/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1450214586&sr=8-1&keywords=hey+whipple+squeeze+this

Read

Here are three books to get you started:

• Predatory Thinking
  
• Creative Mischief
  
• Hey, Whipple, Squeeze This
  
  Get noticed
  
  Advertising is mostly about making sure that people see your product in the mess of crap that people have to deal with. If you want to break into advertising, it's the same principle.
  
  The trick is to treat your submission like a brief. How can I grab their attention? How can I prove myself quickly?
  
  Alec Brownstein is a good example. As The Guardian says:
  >He bought Google Adwords spots next to the names of six ad executives he wanted to work with, and waited for the job offers to come in.
  
  >And they did.
  
  Build your portfolio
  
  Find your best stuff. Make some new stuff (just make sure you put that it was for your own pleasure, and wasn't used).
  
  Make your portfolio an example in itself.
  
  Make a kickass covering letter
  
  Letters of note has a great one for inspiration. It starts off:
  >I like words.
  
  Don't confuse the kinds of copywriting
  
  Not all kinds of writing are advertising. Copywriters will also do business letters. They'll help clients with their brand's tone. They'll write copy for webpages.
  
  Ad agencies might be interested in that. But they're going to be more interested in your headlines. That you can grab someone's attention and make them cry and laugh.
  
  Don't fucking give up
  
  It's going to be tough. But you can do it.

Sorry I'm a little late to the party, but I thought I'd add my two cents.

The great thing about copywriting is that anyone can do it, no matter their background. So don't stress about having the "schooling" needed for the job. All you need is a good work ethic and clever skills.

First — Definitely read up on all the books listed in other comments.

I'd also look into [Hey Whipple Squeeze This] (http://www.amazon.com/Hey-Whipple-Squeeze-This-Creating/dp/1118101332) by Luke Sullivan, [Pick Me] (http://www.amazon.com/Pick-Me-Breaking-Advertising-Staying/dp/0471715573) by Nancy Vonk & Janet Kestin, and any and all advertising annuals you can get your hands on. Annuals are a great way to learn what works and see it in action. You can find some [recent award show annuals here] (http://www.welovead.com/en/bookshelf).


Second — Build your book.

Free time is a great asset. Use it. In order to really break in, you'll need a portfolio or spec book. This is a book of ads you've created that prove you can solve problems and write. Pick some products and make a campaign for them. The rule of thumb is 3 products with 3 ads each to show you can expand the idea beyond just one print or digital execution.

Many people go to portfolio school to build their book, but it's not necessary for everyone. I didn't do it and many copywriters I know didn't either.


Third — Network.

Although all of the above are important, they won't mean squat if you're not in the right place to talk to the right people. Try joining your local advertising club and go to their events. I'd also strongly suggest looking into [Portfolio Night] (http://www.portfolionight.com/12/). This is a global event held throughout the year that brings young creatives face-to-face with advertising professionals. Not only is it a great way to get some feedback on your book, but an outstanding way to network. You'll meet others like you and start conversations with the very people who could land you your next job.

Hope that wall of text helps. Good luck, man.

Mi-a placut mult Confessions, dar suna foarte bine Introvert Power, o sa citesc musai, am vazut ca a ajutat Confessions, dar omul cam tinde sa uite daca nu face un obicei din ce invata :)

Din pacate, ai dreptate ca e formatul limitat, trebuie cautat bine, cele care sunt disponibile in format kindle se vad si ok si n-au neaparata nevoie de culoare: Logo Design Love a fost excelent, o baza buna a fost White space is not your enemy, cu ceva greutate am citit pdf-ul The fundamentals of graphic design si acum citesc The creative process illustrated - desi, ce-i drept, e clar mai mult despre creativitate, dar la fel mi-a facut placere sa citesc Hey, Whipple, squeeze this.

Altceva de design cu imagini si explicatii, mai comprehensiv, clar nu merge pe kindle. Si daca ai recomandari pentru mine legate de design, pentru kindle or not, nici nu stii cat mi-ar placea sa ascult!

I may have worded that part a little incorrectly, I don't mean to infer that subliminal messaging has no effect, just that the effect isn't strong enough to effectively utilize in advertising in favour of other, less seedy methods. I recall watching a video in one of my college classes where three groups of designers were picked up and brought to an office and asked to design a logo. This office had in it, a whiteboard with a sheet over it that had a logo that had already been designed, and would not be revealed until the group had finished their logo. What the groups didn't know is that the route that they were driven on was incredibly complicated in it's own design, and exposed the designers to specific stimuli in a specific way, and all three groups recreated the hidden logo nearly perfectly without ever having seen it before hand. Now keep this in mind for later in this post.

My understanding of subliminal messaging is that it works on a basal appeal for a basal response. I'm going to link a couple of peer-reviewed sources here, but you'll likely have to search for the article in a database that you have access to yourself.

This article describes a study where flashing an image of the word "thirst" or a can of coke in a frame during an episode of the simpsons created a positive response, increasing the amount of people who described themselves as being "thirsty" after viewing the episode. The problem here is that this isn't a clear response of what you want from an ad. These subjects describe themselves as thirsty, but not what for. At this point, despite being "tricked" into be thirsty, nothing has been sold. They may go to the store and get a coke, but they're just as likely to go and get a pepsi, or mountain dew. They're considerably more likely to go no farther than their kitchen for a glass of water.

It is possible to get a more complicated response, however. This article describes the use of placing the brand name for a particular brand of rum backwards within an ad, and the response from this was overwhelming. Up to 80% of the subjects showed a preference for that particular brand of rum after being exposed. That's incredible. An 80% positive response to an ad is every creative director's wet dream. However, it application, it's completely useless.

The fact is that we're constantly being stimulated on a subconscious level within our natural environments, and as fast as something goes in, its replaced by something else. The experiment with the designers and the logo from before? If they were taken on the contrived route, but told to wait a day before designing the logo, the results would not have been the same. Furthermore, from the 3 groups that were "successful," you didn't hear about the 30 that "failed." That kind of response is not a simple feat — it would've taken months of planning and testing and failing before a formula for exposure could be created to achieve that response.

This brings up two key points about subliminal advertising:

1. It takes an incredible amount of time and resources in order to effectively craft a subliminal delivery for a desired response. It's more likely that the amount of money spent on creating the ad will exceed the amount of money made because of it.
   
   
2. Time is a factor. In order to foster a long-term response, the subject must be repeatedly exposed in a controlled environment for a period of time adequate to shape behaviour. 80% response to that rum ad is all well and good, but want for a product is not the same as buying it. I just saw an ad for Lay's chips, and I want some now. However, it's raining, and I'm lazy, so I'm not about to run out to the store. By the time I find myself IN a store, and WILLING to buy chips, I'm probably going to get Doritos, because I just plain like them more.
   
   The only way for that rum ad to be successful is if I saw it as I stepped into a liquor store. It's only effective if I see it while I'm in the position to act upon it, and I HAVE TO SEE IT in that moment in order for it to achieve it's desired effect. Weigh that against "The Big Idea," where the goal is to have the brand appeal to me every time I find myself in a position to act upon it, regardless of whether or not I've just then been exposed to the ad.
   
   Think of it like this: I go to the drugstore for deodorant, and as I step in, I'm exposed to subliminal advertising that causes me to buy outside my brand preference. The next time I go, that ad isn't there, and I'm likely to buy my preference again, as I'm not being stimulated into doing otherwise. Of course, this could work if the brand I'm "tricked" into buying happens to be superior to my old brand, and I decide to continue buying the new brand, but realistically, that won't be the case. It's deodorant — the majority of brands work just as well, and offer the same range of scents, and it's very unlikely that I'm going to be swayed by the quality of one brand versus another, because it's just simply deodorant. It's not a complicated thing.
   
   In that regard, I was a Right Guard man until Isaiah Mustafa came on the scene, and I converted fairly quickly. I still buy Old Spice to this day. It's probably one of the best examples of "sex sells" done right. No subliminal advertising, no dirty tricks, just a damn good ad campaign, done right.
   
   In regards to your question about ad agencies and that kind of market research, that thing is often client side in the marketing department. Companies will either do that sort of thing internal, or hire an external research company to do it, and then sell the result in order to break even on the venture. They'll then include the results in the brief they send to us in the form of "We want an ad for this, that includes this, this, and this, and accomplishes this," where "this" is various angles of tactics that they want to employ.
   
   I'm not entirely sure if agencies have their own versions, but I do know that psychology degrees are not uncommon in the field, especially in copywriters, so it's not out of the realm of possibility. I've worked for a smaller agency since I got out of school, and we certainly don't have that kind of resources, but I can't speak for the bigger agencies. I have a few friends at BBDO, though, so I'll ask them the next time I see them if I remember, and I'll shoot you a message in response.
   
   Since you seem to have a lot of interest in the creative process in regards to advertising and your field of work, check out Hey Whipple, Squeeze This!, Differentiate or Die, and Do-it-yourself Lobotomy, three go-to books for ad creatives. They offer a pretty good outlook on what advertisers go through mentally in order to do what we do. I promise that we haven't sold our souls in order to get you to sell yours.

Don't ever let someone tell you that you can't do something. I'm a dyslexic copywriter but I still generate great work. Do yourself a favor and pick up a copy of Hey Whipple, Squeeze This. I PROMISE you that it will help you in your quest to make the switch.

Advertising is a great way to look at a bunch of jobs in the creative field. I think no matter what, you should consider yourself a freelancer, even if you do get a fulltime. In the creative world, you are your brand, and your work is just part of it. Your personality, work ethic, personal style, people who you know, is all part of it. Still interested? Firms big and small are always looking for interns, even now while you're in high school. Do you know anyone in the field who might be interested in having you hang around?
Also I'd recommend this book to perk your interest in advertising: http://www.amazon.com/Hey-Whipple-Squeeze-This-Creating/dp/1118101332/ref=asap_B000APJCEA?ie=UTF8

Hey whipple, Squeeze This by Luke Sullivan.

http://www.amazon.com/Hey-Whipple-Squeeze-This-Creating/dp/1118101332