Hey, Whipple, Squeeze This: The Classic Guide to Creating Great Ads, 5th Edition

Product Information

I very much foresee this book having a place of honor on my professional bookshelf, and become very worn and ragged in the end. Taking that into account, it becomes clear early on that Sullivan's main purpose for writing this book is not just to lay down the rules for how ad-men and ad-women can make their clients oodles of money through their marketing - and just to be clear, it's not not about this exactly - but more of an appreciation of advertising as a sort of art-form. His conclusion about social interactions - "Here I am" versus "Ah, there you are" - is something I hope to carry beyond my professional life.

They supported their arguments of catchy slogans, and short taglines being memorable by explaining that these ads being simple are easier to remember, and essentially simple ads break through the clutter of everyday life. Hey Whipple" was published in 1998, so there isn't much discussion of the impact of the Internet on ad culture. They show pictures of some of the ads that they found most effective so there is visual representation of what they are talking about; giving even more support to show that the ads actually exist and are memorable and effective.

They also argue that a simple ad could contain no to few words just a picture and the brand name somewhere on the ad or incorporated in. For outdoor ads, most are in the form of billboards so the need to be short, yet eye-catching and memorable or the driver and passengers of cars are not going to find the ad worthwhile because it is too hard to understand when you drive by at fast speeds, this is why simple one-word ads work best as outdoor ads. I loved the first half of the book, where I could find some really interesting campaigns and useful tips to create such ads. It’s not a typical handbook to copywriting but it’s a book which will make you skilled and understanding enough about the myriad aspects of true creative copy. Add on top the amazing examples from award winning campaigns and the clever analogies (the one that compares advertising to give a pill to a dog is by far the best I've seen on this business) and this read is a time very well spent.

Along with his entertaining examinations of some of the best and worst examples of what the industry has to offer, Sullivan also goes into greater depth on the best strategies with which to approach different forms of media, gives readers some sense of the culture one might expect at an ad agency and the various characters that inhabit such places, and even offers some advice for those interested in breaking into the industry. He has more than twenty medals to his credit in the prestigious One Show, the Oscars of the ad business, and now chairs the advertising department at the Savannah College of Art and Design. It’s the story of six boys growing up in a great dark house in Minnesota, as the father – a respected surgeon – goes slowly insane.Starting from the 1950s and working their way up to the present technical age, Sullivan and Boches impart important lessons of the advertising world. However, on the other hand, the author refers to social media, from my point of view, not exactly advertising.