Customer Reviews

The Copy Workshop Workbook 2002

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book, The Really New Edition, is an update of an earlier version which you will also find listed here on amazon.com. I have not read the earlier version, but based on the recommendations I have read for it, this current edition can only be an improvement on greatness.

Agencies use it as a training resource. It's used by universities, art schools, and the American Management Association (it's the basic book for their copywriting seminar). The Really New Edition features more great examples of ads that work, and new chapters on Sales Promotion, Direct, and "MPR" (Marketing Public Relations).

The book provides a solid foundation in advertising history, copywriting, and marketing. It covers the bases as far as the different forms of advertising are concerned and does it so well and clearly that even a person with absolutely no knowledge of advertising or copywriting would easily understand it. It is a great introduction to the fundamentals of copywriting and their application to advertising in all the various media.

If you are contemplating a career in advertising, particularly as a copywriter, this book is an excellent starting point.

I originally gave this book 5 stars because I thought the numerous examples of ads, combined with helpful tips, was a winning combination. Upon further review, the ruling on the field is overturned, and I'm downgrading this book to 3 stars.

The first problem: the book is written in a choppy, telegraphic style. I'm sure that was a boffo concept for a one-page ad in the 70s. But after a hundred pages of it, this monotonous patter of sentence fragments becomes annoying. After four hundred pages, you want to insert spikes in your eyes to make it stop.

On top of that, the book is set in 14-point Times Roman -- perhaps just right for sight-impaired elderly readers who need a Large Type edition, but way too large for comfortable normal reading. Again, it appears that this layout was borrowed from the predominant style of print ads that ran in the 70s.

The book is littered with numerous layout gaffes that are the result of plain old laziness. Text that didn't fit on a page was simply sliced off rather than refit. Inexcusably amateurish.

And sometimes the author comes across as, well, clueless. I mean, have you ever heard Eveready's Energizer Bunny referred to as The Pink Bunny?? Me neither.

But the author inexplicably insists on calling Energizer's mascot The Pink Bunny -- even while displaying an example Energizer ad that clearly says "Energizer Bunny" in its headline. That's just not paying attention, and after a few clunkers like these, you begin to seriously doubt the author's credibility.

This book's publication date says 2002, but you won't see anything about Internet marketing here, aside from a really brief mention in the foreword. Occasional semi-contemporary references to "word processing" and "electronic media" notwithstanding, the book reads like it was written in an age when typewriters and carbon paper ruled the earth.

I've seen this before: a hopelessly old-school pedagogue trying to cling to the tatters of relevance by throwing around outdated buzzwords, and missing the mark with much of his commentary. It ain't pretty.

On the upside, the book has some helpful tips, and some insights that are on-target -- if you can glean them from the self-affected text.

Bottom line, it's the example ads -- for print, TV, and radio -- that hold any redeeming value for this book. The good examples are plentiful, and for the most part, worth studying.

Too bad the accompanying text doesn't rise to the same standards.

The Copy Workshop Workbook 2002

I teach copywriting with this book. And although the layout style with the big type takes some getting used to, the extensive expertise, writing effective creative briefs, makes this document worth its weight in gold. I haven't found a better book on the subject anywhere. Another reviewer complained about the writing style and liberal use of vernacular language in the book.

As for that, Copywriting isn't prose or MLA compliant. Thank God. It's designed to communicate to the common man.

Despite a pending new version, A couple of caveats though: Layout-wise, it needs to be cleaned up. The examples are excellent, but the print quality is pretty marginal in places, there are a couple of glaring errors in the book, like two different Exercise 11's (almost 100 pages apart).

Although the examples are awesome, I would like to see more contemporary examples in the book, and believe me, there are some great ones out there. I would like to see a chapter on writing for the web, a chapter on direct response advertising, and a better discussion of guerilla marketing. I know this is asking for a lot, but our next generation of writers are going to be writing more for the web than for print advertising. The book does a good job with TV and an excellent job with print advertising. And OH! BTW-This is the only book I know of that shows how to write really humorous advertising.

Despite the niggling flaws, this book is a keeper!

Among the 100-plus how-to books on my office shelves, Bruce Bendinger's well-thumbed first edition of the Workbook stands out. This book taught me, for instance, to write an effective creative strategy. (Thank you, Mr. Bendinger!) Fifteen years into my copywriting career, I can report that the Workbook has stood the test of time. It is fast, uniquely informative, practical and "really updated" in 2002. If copywriting is your profession, you'll be glad you own this useful book.

This is a pretty informative book, vastly different in its approach from other copywriting books on the market. The one thing that gets annoying is its stacatto-style sentence structure and the fifty point font! Talk about distracting. You'll want to gouge your eyes out after reading ten pages. I know its designed to help create good copy, but don't get let the author's style influence you to write paragraphs with sentences that are three or four words long. I felt like I needed to read something else with well structured prose after this book...

Detailed and comprehensive. Lots to pull from to use in training. I loved looking at the retro ads that I remember as a kid. Fun to read and very informative.

Along with Hey Whipple this is good for another nuts and bolts guide to copywriting, but this includes many more examples and a great overview of the history of copywriting. Now you'll know the famous ads people talk about. It's so extensive, it's more like an encyclopedia or textbook resource for copywriters.

I had to have this book for a class I am taking for school. It is really helpful.

Truly one of the best resources on direct response copywriting I have ever come across. Those familiar with Joe Sugarman's "Advertising Secrets of The Written Word" will devour this book too, presented in similar style with excellent visual examples of the concepts taught. One of the few "must have" copywriting books to add to your collection.

The item was great, at great price... but the delivery (shipping) was kind'a slow. Anyway... trust all they say about products and online shopping.