Adland: Searching for the Meaning of Life on a Branded Planet

"With a unique blend of humor and insight, Othmer guides us through this rapidly changing business and lets us see the direction in which it is headed. A must read for any student of advertising."
-- Rick Boyko, Director, VCU Brandcenter

"Advertising is an industry like any other, except it changes our planet daily. James Othmer, one of my favorite writers, takes you inside that world and makes the people and places real. You can dislike these guys, but you can't ignore them. They make sure of that."
  --Seth Godin, author, TRIBES

"I've been in advertising more than twenty years and spent countless hours trying to tell people how insane and hilarious and exciting and pointless and fascinating it all is. Now all I have to do is hand them this book."
-Jamie Barrett,
Creative Director/Partner Goodby Silverstein & Partners, San Francisco

"Othmer's struggle to do the next right thing in a business predicated on greed, lust, envy and sloth makes for an enlightening
as well as entertaining read."
                                                                    -Steffan Postaer
                                                                    Chairman & Chief Creative Officer, 
                                                                    Euro RSCG Chicago

Hey, Whipple, Squeeze This: A Guide to Creating Great Advertising (Adweek Magazine)

A lot has changed since the first edition of the now staple creative diet book "Hey Whipple, Squeeze Tthis", not just that Dick Wilson who played Mr Whipple has gone to squeeze the big fluffy clouds in the sky at the grand age of 91. There's also the galloping development of the web and the myriad of new media areas. So how does the grand old classic "idea" apply to these new solutions? Don't worry, Luke knows.

“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 highly painful reminiscence for those of us entrenched in this noble and often crazy profession.”
–Lee Clow, Chairman, TBWA/Chiat, Chief Creative Officer Worldwide
“This is a business that is changing like crazy, but Sullivan’s advice is timeless.”
–Mike Hughes, President, Creative Director, The Martin Agency
“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

Lets do an excerpt. My favorite way to check out a book is to slap it open and read a bit. If I fancy it, I buy it. The third edition of this book doesn't just have two new chapters but old chapters have been updated as well as the examples were getting a little dusty. Check out chapter eight inside for your test read.

Joe La Pompe: 100 Visual Ideas, 1000 Great Ads

This is a book you need to stuff in every xmas christmas stocking that belongs to an adgrunt or a student of advertising. It does just what it says on the tin, it'll show you one hundred visual ideas and one thousand (often great) ads. Like Nouveau? Or not, Joe La Pompe's previous book, and his website, this book is full of twin ads. Triplets, quadruplets and octuplets too. But only in a slight visual common note, the ideas differ.

Burma-Shave: The Rhymes, the Signs, the Times

Way back in 1925 young Allan Odell pitched this great advertising idea to his dad, Clifford. He suggested to use small, wooden roadside signs to sell their product, Burma-Shave, a brushless shaving cream. Dad wasn't wild about the idea but eventually gave Allan $200 to give it a try.

Didn't take long for sales to soar. Soon Allan and his brother Leonard were putting up signs all over the dang place. At first the signs were pure sales pitch but as the years passed they found their sense of humor extending to safety tips and pure fun. And some good old-fashioned down home wisdom.