Advertising: Concept and Copy - Softcover

Felton, George

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0393733866 ISBN 13: 9780393733860

Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company, 2013

Synopsis

The new edition of a classic text about advertising creativity: how to find great ideas and express them freshly and powerfully.

A classic text now in a new edition, George Felton’s Advertising: Concept and Copy is an innovative approach to advertising creativity. It covers the entire conceptual process, from developing smart strategy to executing it with strong ads―from what to say to how to say it. 

Part 1, Strategies, operates on the premise that the idea beneath an ad’s surface determines its success. This first section shows how to research products, understand consumer behavior, analyze audiences, and navigate marketplace realities, then how to write creative briefs that focus this strategic analysis into specific advertising objectives. Part 2, Executions, explains how to put strategy into play. It discusses the tools at a copywriter’s command―creating a distinctive brand voice, telling stories, using language powerfully and originally―as well as the wide variety of media and advertising genres that carry and help shape messages. But great executions are elusive. So Part 3, the Toolbox, gives advice about how to think creatively, then presents an array of problem-solving tools, a series of techniques that advertisers have used repeatedly to produce exceptional work. 

In brief, this book shows how to find strong selling ideas and how to express them in fresh, memorable, persuasive ways. The new edition features greatly expanded discussions of guerrilla advertising, interactive advertising, brand voice, storytelling, and the use of social media. Hundreds of ads in full color, both in the book and on an accompanying Web site, demonstrate the best in television, radio, print, and interactive advertising. Advertising: Concept and Copy is the most comprehensive text in its field, combining substantial discussion of both strategy and technique with an emphasis on the craft of writing not found elsewhere. It is truly a writer’s copywriting text.

500 color illustrations

About this title

About the Author

George Felton is a writer and professor emeritus of English at Columbus College of Art & Design in Ohio, where he has taught writing and copywriting. His essays have appeared in The New York Times, Advertising Age, The Wall Street Journal, and Newsweek. They have been reprinted in textbooks and anthologies, including Ken Macrorie's Telling Writing, Quick Takes, Pushcart's Minutes of The Lead Pencil Club, Media Journal, and Maxine Paetro's How to Put Your Book Together to Get a Job in Advertising. Mr. Felton was a copywriter for projects selected by Communication Arts, HOW, and Print magazines and by the American Center for Design for The 100 Show. He has been a panelist at The One Club, a contributor to the Bread Loaf Writers' Conference, and a speaker at Harvard's Graduate School of Design. He received an Individual Artist Fellowship from the Greater Columbus Arts Council (GCAC) and a Columbus Literary Award from GCAC and Thurber House. Mr. Felton was educated at Duke, DePauw, and Ohio State.

Review

"The crisp writing style and attractive layout and photography make this book as appealing as the ads it describes...Highly recommended."
- Choice

"The updated third edition . . . continues to provide new generations with a powerful, in-depth approach to creative advertising routines . . . . [A] recommended pick for any business library."
- Midwest Book Review

"This book should be handed out to every freshman in college instead of taking that freshman comp class. It's a beautifully written and illustrated exposition of everything you need to know about writing lucid, funny, eye-grabbing, thought-provoking copy, whether for the Web, journalism, or longer forms―like books. Read this instead of Strunk and White; it's much more useful and to the point."
- Nick Morgan, PhD, communication theorist and coach, founder of Public Words

"Felton has not just written a course on copywriting techniques, but rather a travelogue through the land of thinking. . . . Even the most long-suffering, jaded, cynical agency ad person will benefit from having this book in the desk drawer and secretly dipping into the 'Toolbox.'"
- Byron Ferris, Communication Arts magazine

"Finally a book that strips away some of the smoke and mirrors of the creative process and gives students a groundwork for concepting an advertisement. I would recommend it to anyone considering this profession."
- Christopher Cole, vice president/creative director, BBDO, New York

"Full of incredibly useful stuff that will make anyone thinking about getting into advertising up to speed on the most important part: the Idea."
- Steve Stone, founding partner, Heat, San Francisco

"The best advertising book I have ever read. Most books overextend with power phrases and industry lingo. Advertising: Concept and Copy, on the other hand, speaks superbly to anybody. I think it's the clearest and most concise text yet produced for the advertising professional, covering all the most relevant topics without being boring or technical. It's practical, intelligent, relevant―and my secret weapon."
- Simon Morris, director, P2P Interactive Marketing & Advertising, Melbourne, Australia

Edition details

• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 0393733866
• ISBN 13: 9780393733860
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Edition number: 3
• Number of pages: 320