Hey, Whipple, Squeeze This: A Guide to Creating Great Advertising (Adweek Series) [Paperback]

Luke Sullivan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 8, 2008 | Series: Adweek Series (Book 10)

In this new edition of the irreverent, celebrated bestseller, master copywriter Luke Sullivan looks at the history of advertising, from the good, to the bad, to the ugly. Updated to cover online advertising, this edition gives you the best advertising guidance for traditional media and all the possibilities of new media and technologies. You’ll learn why bad ads sometimes work, why great ads fail, and how you can balance creative work with the mandate to sell.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

An updated and revised new edition of the bestselling advertising guide

Veteran copywriter Luke Sullivan returns in a third edition of his irreverent warts-and-all look at advertising. Part how-to and part exposé, Hey Whipple, Squeeze This is an insider's guide to coming up with great ideas as well as an unapologetic send-up of all that's heavy-handed, dim-witted, and ineffectual in the industry.

Updated to cover the new wave of advertising media, as well as guerilla and direct marketing, this Third Edition presents a real-world look inside the big agencies and examines the industry's best and worst ads—from the hilarious to the horrid. You'll get pointers, tips, and guidelines on writing great copy for print, TV, radio, outdoor, and the Internet, while Sullivan regales you with hilarious industry war stories.

Luke Sullivan is an award-winning copywriter with nearly thirty years in the business at some of the elite agencies in America—Fallon McElligott and The Martin Agency, and now GSD&M in Austin, Texas, where he is Group Creative Director. He has more than twenty medals to his credit in the prestigious One Show, the Oscars of the ad business.

Praise for the first edition:

"Luke Sullivan writes just about as relevant an advertising read as you can get. It's a perfect lesson in advertising for newcomers—and a familiar and laughably painful reminiscence for those of us entrenched in this noble and often crazy profession."
—Lee Clow, Chairman, TBWA\Chiat\Day, Chief Creative Officer, Worldwide

"This is a business that is changing like crazy—but Luke Sullivan's advice is timeless. If you're good at advertising, this will make you better. If you're great, it'll make you even greater."
—Mike Hughes, President/Creative Director, The Martin Agency

"In an advertising world filled with glib, fast-talking 'experts' more adept at arranging lunch than writing ads, Luke Sullivan is the exception. Here, at last, is a step-by-step primer for anyone interested in writing effective, powerful, breakthrough ads."
—Tom McElligott, cofounder, Fallon McElligott

"Luke's reflections on the advertising industry make me wish I could do it all over again. Except for that 'scab' story in Chapter 10."
—Bob Barrie, Barrie D'Rozario Murphy

About the Author

Luke Sullivan is an award-winning copywriter with nearly thirty years in the business at some of the elite agencies in America-Fallon McElligott and the Martin Agency, and now GSD& M In Austin, Texas, where he is Group Creative Director. He has more than twenty medals to his credit in the prestigious One Show, the Oscars of the ad business.

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 3 edition (February 8, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0470190736
• ISBN-13: 978-0470190739
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,257 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #6 in Books > Business & Investing > Marketing & Sales > Advertising
  • #22 in Books > Business & Investing > Accounting

More About the Author

Luke Sullivan just released his second book, titled "Thirty Rooms To Hide In: Insanity, Addiction and Rock 'n' Roll in the Shadow of the Mayo Clinic." AUTHOR STATEMENT: "'The Shining,' ... but funnier. That's about the best way I can describe the book. It's the story of growing up with my five brothers in a big dark house in Minnesota back in the '50s and '60s. Even with winters raging outside and our father raging inside, we still managed to have a wildly fun, thoroughly dysfunctional time growing up, thanks to the protection of our mother. With dark humor as the coin of our realm, and the Beatles as true north on our compass of Cool, we made movies, started a rock & roll band, and wise-cracked our way though a grim landscape of our father's insanity, Eisenhower's Cold War, fallout shelters, and JFK's assassination." See more content, photos, videos, at ThirtyRoomsToHideIn.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Still relevent wisdom and writing and creating great ads, June 12, 2009

By 

Adam Strasberg (Washington, DC United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Hey, Whipple, Squeeze This: A Guide to Creating Great Advertising (Adweek Series) (Paperback)

There are a lot of books that litter the bookshelf closest to where I work. Those are the special books, the books that regardless of topics, I go back to again and again, "Hey Whipple" is one of those books.

I haven't read the third edition yet, but in my opinion, the wisdom and observations in this book still hold up.

Its subtitled "A Guide to Creating Great Ads," and that's exactly what it is. Filled with observations, tips, stories and examples, it really is the one book on advertising that anyone interested in the craft should read. What I really like is that Sullivan writes in an engaging tone, and he offers advice that gives you a good theoretical grounding ("Rule #1 in producing a great TV commercial. First you must write one") while also being eminently practical ("Write sparely").

The book breaks down advertising into print, TV and radio, then ends with some trouble shooting stories and advice ("Peck to death by ducks").

Ultimately the book is a call to raise your sights and aim for smart, elegant, and creative advertising instead of merely 'effective' work.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It just gets better, April 15, 2008

By 

Eoghan Nolan "KMRIA" (Dublin, Ireland) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Hey, Whipple, Squeeze This: A Guide to Creating Great Advertising (Adweek Series) (Paperback)

I already reviewed the first edition of Whipple here in 2001. The third edition is even softer and more absorbent. The two new chapters add to its value- and are so entertainingly written that I even stayed awake for the bit about short-form versus long-form DRTV. (The new media chapter merits a book in itself though- why not go for it, Luke?) Meanwhile this book comfortably retains the title of the best all-round book on the business. Thanks again.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Most other advertising books pale in comparison!, October 8, 2011

By 

J. Carl (Gothenburg, Sweden) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Hey, Whipple, Squeeze This: A Guide to Creating Great Advertising (Adweek Series) (Paperback)

My friend at Crispin Porter Bugosky recommended this to me. Apparently everybody at their Swedish office is given it when hired. Go figure. So what can be said about this book that hasn't already been said?

I have one problem with it. It's so well written and such an easy read that you tend to go through it too fast. Luke Sullivan is truly entertaining all the way through. At the same time the chapters are dense with wisdom and advice. So, it seems to be a book you might have to read more than once. I just started rereading it and it's a very good travel companion for all my busrides to work. It makes studying a very easy task.

I rated this book 5 stars, since I really can't see anything wrong with it. That is not to say that it's complete and that it can't be refreshing with another author's perspective on the copywriter profession. George Felton's book Advertising, concept and copy is another great book. Whereas Luke Sullivan takes the position of the funny, older collegue who you love to chat with, George Felton seems somewhat more of teacher. His book is very well structured and can go pretty technical (which I love) in discussing the verbs you use etc.

I recommend both these books fullheartedly and I plan to read Hey Whipple at least three times, til everything has been absorbed. (Thing is, it's a rereading you would be looking forward to!)