Reddit mentions of The Advertising Concept Book

Consider getting a Twitter. The advertising industry is one big (tiny, actually) club, and if you're cool, you have a Twitter. Twitter is great for networking. It's like LinkedIn, but people are actually active on it. Follow ad blogs, ad people, etc. That way, you'll be in the loop whenever shit happens in the industry. Advertising moves at light speed. Something that's new today might be out of fashion the next day. Don't know who to follow? AdsOfTheWorld is always a good place to start. That's like the mecca of new, creative advertising.

As for helpful websites, there are a handful of blogs out there that cater specific to ad students. A few off the top of my head are: Ad Teachings, Baby Food for Creatives, and Makin' Ads.

The best way to learn is to study the greats. I highly recommend The Advertising Concept Book by Pete Barry. The book takes classic advertising and dissects them, allowing you to see the thinking behind the ad. Ads follow certain patterns and tropes, and this book lays it out beautifully.

Another way to learn is to study your peers. Find student portfolios coming out of your school. For example, I often look back at these student portfolios: LeighWritesCopy, Aubrey Lynn Day, and Drew Burton. They all have really nice, polished books, and I hope one day my book can look like that.

As for skills, everything helps. I assume you want to be an art director. To put it simply, you'll be making shit. The more shit-making skills you have, the better. Every art director has a different skill set. Can you draw? Good. Are you really good with a camera? Excellent - a lot of ads will call for beautiful photographs. What about Photoshop? Of course. Illustrator? Awesome! Basically, everything helps. You don't want to be in a spot where you go, "Man, it'd be GREAT if we could get some sweet pictures for these print ads... but I don't have a camera... I guess I'll just illustrate it instead. It won't look as good though."

I can't tell you what skills you should develop, but you should be good at something. Some art directors are Photoshop gurus. Now me, I kind of suck at Photoshop and photography, but I can draw like a motherfucker. I've been doodling my entire life.

Just remember, you don't want to be a one-trick pony. "I can only illustrate." "I can do quirky, funny ads." "I can only-" No. It's good to have range. You want to be able to think cute and funny and bright, and then turn around and think dark, grim, and sad.

Right now, Batman, if you're starting off, I think all you really need is a great attitude. Equip yourself with some guts and grit, and treat every class like it's your last. If your teacher asks you for 100 thumbnails, bring in 200. Sit in on his other classes. Soak in as much knowledge as possible. A lot of learning is done by immersion. You can learn a lot by listening to someone critique someone else's ad. Sure, it's not your ad that's being ripped to shreds, but the same lessons and principles can be applied to your own work.

And most of all, have fun. You're trying to sell Cheez-Its, not cure cancer. Don't get too caught up in the ad world. If you ever stop having fun, that's when you get in trouble. I truly believe that advertising is the most exciting major you can choose. I'd much rather be outside taking pictures of rabbits for an ad than be stuck in a library, studying Textbook 1 of 8 for a science final or something.

here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lateral_thinking

and here: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0500287384/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I'm not in advertising, but reading that was very insightful, outlines some good practices for concept development.