Rating: Summary: the best ad book out there Review: The "lone voice of dissent" from 6/26/98 is a bitter time bomb waiting to go off. I feel sorry for you. You'll never work at Wieden.
Rating: Summary: Love it. Review: I'm a hack and I love the book. I thought the cover needed a snipe though
Rating: Summary: Just buy it. Review: Few things inspire, but this does. Luke Sullivan's hilarious look at the advertising business does something most "How To" books don't even do - it actually tells you "How To." And it shows you why. Then Mr. Sullivan follows it all up with why you shouldn't be taking his advice in the first place. Thanks Mr. Sullivan. "Hey Whipple" is the blast of inspiration this young copywriter needed.
Rating: Summary: Just when I'm thinking, "I hate this job" I grab Whipple Review: If there's one thing I think anyone in this business can agree on is that it has got the highest highs, and the lowest lows. Advertising isn't simply something we do for a living. It's something we do to for life. Luke Sullivan has captured everything from the most familiar situations to the subtlest nuances about the ad biz. I haven't done a single ad without thinking back to some of his words for inspiration. Especially in one of the 'lows', Hey Whipple can keep my spirits up. Thanks Luke.
Rating: Summary: A truly funny ad-biz book that's ACTUALLY TRUE. Review: This is one of those rare insider books that outsiders will enjoy immensely. The first time I read anything like this, I was just starting out as a cub copywriter. The book was titled "From Those Wonderful Folks Who Gave You Pearl Harbor," and it absolutely cracked me up. (The title was taken from an ad written by the author, Jerry Della Femina, for Panasonic. Mercifully, it never ran.) Later I discovered the truth of just about everything Della Femina had to say about the business, including "It's the most fun you can have with your pants on." (Or was that George Lois, one of Della Femina's contemporaries?) Whatever, Luke Sullivan's book is very much like Jerry's. It gives you a true but delightfully skewed peek at a world everyone thinks they know a lot about, but really don't have a clue. I've been freelancing for a decade now, and it was great fun viewing today's ad agency scene through the eyes of one of its more successful practitioners. It's interesting to learn about all the surface changes, and fun to find out that nothing has really changed at all -- same heroes, same villains, same virtues, same vices. Whether you're part of the ad biz or not, you're going to enjoy this book. And for those who want to learn the copywriting trade, it's a rich, bubbling wellspring of advice and information. If this were a cheesy ad, (which it kind of resembles), I'd be tempted to end it with a cheesy call-to-action. Something like "Order yours today!"
Rating: Summary: Don't kill the messengers Review: Every Super Bowl, the American public awaits with salivating anticipation the greatest spectacle of the year: seeing some really cool ads. The rest of the year, it's considered a small miracle if your ad is remembered by even a fraction of the people who see it. This book is encouragment for anyone given this thankless (albeit, well paying) task. A lot of creative people don't like supporting sweatshops and air polluting clients either. But if an ad is going to be done, it's worth doing right. I wish there were more (any) books like this.
Rating: Summary: Great book, I keep re-reading it! Review: As a recent college graduate trying to enter the world of advertising, I can't say I know where he is coming from, but I will say that it sounds great one way or the other! I really enjoyed this book and find myself referring back to it all the time to keep me inspired and to keep certain ideas fresh in my mind.
Rating: Summary: Made Me the Copywriter-Shmuck-Laughing-At-Her-Corkboard Review: "Ahahaha." Silence. "Hahaha." Cut to copywriter, looking around just in case somebody heard her. This book is so.....real. And that's why it's so funny. I laughed especially at the section classifying the different kinds of clients, especially the female client who kept asking for concepts till the creative team got tired. Hmmmmm. Sounds familiar. And Sullivan isn't preachy at all. He's just...telling it as it is. Reality in the ad world as it is. And he's right on the money!
Rating: Summary: Cisco from "Brain Candy" would love this book... Review: ..but anyone with a heart/brain/soul won't. True, no business is perfect but some aren't founded on puffery, illusion and the creation of unneccessary wants either. Garbage in, garbage out as they say. If you want to know why unemployed fathers of four will spend $135 dollars on Air Jordans then thank an advertising person today! Luke Sullivan is a man who says, and I quote, "Pablo Picasso's paintings never made me want to buy anything." As if buying something were the true test of success--and of course to him it is. Thanks Luke for keeping the wheels of capitalism grinding along! God bless America...now get back to work! Jonathan Dee describes advertising people as artists with nothing to say and I wholeheartedly agree--yet that might explain why most don't know when to shut up about themselves. In absence of soul/wit/etc. they fill up the silence with "talk" about their products.
Rating: Summary: He speaks the truth Review: Luke captures the essence of the brand--the ad business. No business is perfect. His honest and humorous approach keeps it all in perspective. Great wit. Great honesty.
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