The Copy Workshop Workbook

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seen this before: a hopelessly old-school pedagogue trying to cling to the tatters of relevance by throwing around outdated buzzwords, and missing the mark with much of his commentary.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.

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...

Short and sweet, this book is a great overview of some of the bigger names in the industry. It goes through some popular campaigns, a history of advertising, and information on basic concepts and selling principles. Also, it has a bunch of hands on activities that really get the brain going and drive the strategies home.

The book arrived on time and in good condition. It's like two textbooks in one because it has excellent information in the side columns.

I bought this book used, and expected highlighter marks and pen marks, because that's usually how textbooks come, but this was in pretty awesome condition! No marks at all in it, basically brand new, just seemed to have been sitting on a shelf for a while!

The item came in great condition and everything, but it took some time to arrive, which was a bit annoying since I needed it for a class. Other than that, everything was good I guess

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.

Perfect condition