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Summary: I agree with the 'lone voice of dissent'...sort of
Review: I liked the book..I guess. Sullivan's in favor of a lot of good things, but it's like the 'lone voice of dissent' says, "It won't change anything." (And it doesn't matter--it's just advertising!) I don't think the LVOD is in favor of Whipple; it's just that it doesn't matter if you make great ads or not: all that matters is if it sells. (Like Homer Simpson says, "Red M&Ms, green M&Ms--it's all the same color in the end." ) And the whole creative leverage angle in Sullivan's book is baloney. Just ask the people at Chiat/Day who saw their award-winning Mr. K Nissan campaign pulled this year. Why? Because Mr. K couldn't sell cars. So they have a new campaign--a "Whipple" campaign. And it's good--or it might be good. Depends on what good is. When adpeople start talking about 'good' ads and 'not so good' ads, I scratch my head. I've been around the agency world long enough to know that no two people define 'good' the same w! ay (Heck, that's not just the agency world, that's anywhere.) The bottom line IS all that matters. Like Sullivan says, it's just advertising and people take it WAY too seriously. (But he obviously takes it seriously and is a climber in the adworld so it's obvious where his priorities lie.) Here's a good question to ask young adpeople: Would you rather make the original VW ads or would you rather spend more time with your children? Would you rather be locked up in a small room in an office building somewhere figuring out what Lucky the Magic Toilet Cleaner Dog sounds like or would you rather be hearing your own kid say his name? Think about that one and see if you like the answer.
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Summary: The guy is humble and informative! A pleasure to read!
Review: Sullivan approaches the advertising subject with a humour that gently breaks the ice for any newcomers in the industry. And yet if you've been around a while you find yourself laughing as you relate to his experiences. What makes the book so unique is that he's not full of himself as he explains his excursions through the business. Instead he presents the facts and even advises the reader not to take the business so seriously - after all, as he reminds us, we're not saving lives! And he's right. It was great to read a book that didn't take the business and turn it into religion. However, Sullivan still reminds us that success in advertising takes hard work. But in the end we must all be humble.
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Summary: A mentor in a book. Luke Sullivan knows how it's done.
Review: And he probably has a helluva lot more fun doing it than the "lone voice of dissent". You have a choice. Do you want to do fun, creative advertising or "Whipple-like" work? Before you answer, consider how bitter our advocate of Whipple work is. He totally ignores "creative leverage" - the fact that memorable, compelling advertisng makes more effective use of any budget. The book is not a promo for Fallon. Mr. Sullivan is now a creative director at an agency in Atlanta.
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Summary: A lone voice of dissent
Review: After reading all the gushing reviews of this book let me be the first to lob a raspberry into the mix. First, Sullivan's a snob. In his mind, there are cool ads and not cool ads. In the real world it does not matter. Whipple made a lot of money. So did Volkswagen's "Lemon." One was dopey and had a huge media buy. One was chic and very brainy. One beat people into submission. The other charmed them. They both worked. And a lot of people got rich. My point is: so what? The bottom line, finally, is the only thing that counts. Not taste. Not morals. Not the effects an ad might have on generations of people. Or the fact that it is not a little insane to give inanimate objects like laundry detergent or cars personality. Money is what makes people smile. And Whipple earned. Volkswagen too. So why fool yourself thinking there are standards to advertising? Or that your standards will sell? If it sells we eat. If it don't, we starve. Why be an elitist about it? Second, this book is for ninnies like me who couldn't make more of their talents and are making advertising b'c it's a means to an ends. ( And don't worry folks, when and if I get out, I'm going to stay gone!) Frankly, if all advertising was as fun, snappy, and cool as Sullivan paints it, then it would be great to get up every morning. Alas, it isn't. It's Whipple. And I'm making it. And the people who buy this book will get to make a little Whipple too. And I can keep the lights on and pay my car mortgage and hope that I can get out of advertising and away from all these other people like me who have sacrificed lives, health and family for the sake of ...well...Whipple. Look, Sullivan's gifted, smart and has a slew of awards to prove it. And after reading the book, I think I know a thing or two more than when I started. Amen. But let's not fool anyone: this is a book, not real world application. And its best use, I think, will be as PR for the ad world (and Fallon MacElliot) so it can keep another generation of talented! folk jumping into the hamburger grinder of advertising, dreaming up the next "Yo Quiero Taco Bell" ad. How pathetic is that? Giving a corporation a voice instead of your own? I disgust myself, frankly when I think about it. (And I know I disgust a few people who'll read this. Good.) Using your talents to sell tacos as opposed to trying to make the next "Death of a Salesman" or even a really good short story makes me sick. And as for all the copies of this book which adpeople are going to bestow on each other, well, that's another little self-delusion--weasel words as we call it. Ad people aren't going to read this book. They aren't going to be humbled by its ads. They're not going to say, "Hey, let's be nice and original." Yeah, which adpeople are these? The ones with the drinking problems or without? They're not going to care a smidgen. This book will sit on a shelf on a creative director's shelf and rot. Occasionally he/she might look at it and sniff, "Oh yeah, good stuff in there, good stuff." And then it's back to work on Whipple. Or Volkswagen.
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Summary: National Read Luke Sullivan's Book Day
Review: I'd like to recommend that every ad agency in the US (we'll tackle the rest of the world after "Whipple" gets translated) close shop for ONE DAY and require every employee to read this book. If the CEOs are too busy counting their IPOs, then at least have all the creatives read it and the AEs, too. Then let's all start over from scratch. Imagine, everybody doing interesting, compelling ads. Luke Sullivan shows us how. But could we stand such a world? Hope springs.
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Summary: The best book about advertising I have read
Review: I called the author after I finished this book last week to tell him how much I liked it. It's the first time I've ever called an author, but I really wanted to thank him for writing such a great book. Buy this book, and KEEP it. There's something to underline on every page for future reference, and this is a book I'll be referring back to frequently. I think of it as a great reference book, as valuable to me as my dictionary. When I get stuck creating an ad, Whipple will be the first thing I'll whip out.
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Summary: A "must" for every creative bookshelf
Review: Reading Luke Sullivan¹s book is like standing at a bar and picking the brains of an old advertising pro. A veritable creative seminar in print, HEY WHIPPLE, SQUEEZE THIS is full of useful tips to improve any advertising, and even has a bonus a rogues¹ gallery of some of the dysfunctional types all of us have met in the course of our careers. There¹s also good advice on putting together your ³book,² and some clear demonstrations of why great concepts are more important than great executions. Every advertising creative should read this book. All advertising would be better if they did.
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Summary: awesome --if you're serious about the business
Review: If really want to skip the "adspeak" and the cliches, read this book. Several times. Commit it to memory. And then buy a copy for a friend. It's full of real-world, useful thinking you can put to work immediately. From how to get started thinking to how to protect the idea once the client get his hands on it. I bought copies for my clients.
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Summary: What tommorow's creative stars are reading tonight.
Review: Luke Sullivan is one of those rare people in advertising who when you ask them, "Gee, how do you come up with those ideas?", he actually has an answer. I've admired Luke's work for years. He's a brilliant creative mind. Obviously, he's equally talented as a mentor for anyone who wants to know how it's done. Highly recommended.
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Summary: Couldn't put this book down
Review: I'm an advertising Art Director and I found this book to be very interesting. It's an easy read and very witty at times. Mr. Sullivan had me laughing out loud many times. Being in the business, I could relate to the chapter about "agency personalities" The slash weasel and all the rest! I was laughing to myself, "Exactly!, that's exactly how it is!". I've experienced all the types of people he describes in the ad agency business, and then some! Ad agency creatives are a breed all to themselves, that's for sure. I must say, I really like the old-school way of creating ad's. Many T.V. commercials and print ads seem to lack that really good, deep, but simple strategy that made vintage advertising so great. I really think Mr. Sullivan should write another book, but this time focus on creating the ad. Some topics could be: How to write and interpret a creative brief. Developing and preparing comps for client reviews. More details about presenting, and getting over the fear of that. Detailed thought process in generating ideas, How to take a client's product information or message and write effective sales body copy. Photo Art Direction and the process in directing models or setting up product shoots. Layout design and creating the best layouts. There really needs to be more text books on the craft of creating ads the right way. I felt by reading Mr. Sullivan's book, opened my eyes to certain things I could improve upon in my ad creating process. For example, when I would come up with what I thought was an excellent idea, I would stop and labor over the execution of it. I learned from this book to keep generating ideas and not to stop until every avenue has been explored. This has helped me to come up with even better ideas. For anyone in the agency creative business or thinking about going into it, this is a must read.
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