If you only buy one book this year…
Make it A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole
But if you buy a second, I’d highly recommend the exquisite new edition of D&AD’s The Copy Book.
As it’s my blog, I think I’ll make this all about me.
When I first got a placement at Abbott Mead Vickers (1998) it was the best agency in the world. But more than that, it was far and away the best agency for copywriters in the universe. This was proven beyond doubt by the first edition of The Copy Book.
That 1995 incarnation of the copywriters’ book of copywriters contained four members of my department: David Abbott, Tim Riley, Alfredo Marcantonio and Richard Foster. Then Alfredo left, only to be replaced by Tony Cox. Then David left, and I was down to three.
Shit. What would I do with only three of the world’s greatest copywriters to learn from? Well, I could slum it with some of the others: Mary Wear, Sean Doyle, Malcolm Duffy and Nigel Roberts. They all appear in the new edition of the book, and could always be called upon to help turn my copy from shit to slightly-less-shit to (very occasionally) not-shit-at-all. (I should also mention here that I always considered three other members of my department, Peter Souter, Jeremy Carr and Tony Malcolm, to be the equal of the newbies, if not the first edition giants. Also, Tom Carty and Walter Campbell could produce verbal advertising as good as anyone else’s. If anyone from Taschen is reading this, could we have another volume called ‘The Creatives Book’, which lays bare the secrets of the great TV and Integrated writers and art directors? Thanks.)
So I read the first book from cover to cover more times than I can remember and took a sad little thrill in knowing that so many of these greats were no more than thirty feet away from me at any one time.
It taught me a great deal, but fell from publication, so I’m delighted that a new edition with some more contemporary greats has been compiled (other new additions include Dave Trott, Andy MacLeod and Mike Boles).
I recently sold all my D&AD annuals because the online version is more useful and the One Show books have better copywriting. But I would not have sold my Copy Book (it went missing under mysterious and suspicious circumstances a few years ago when a client expressed an interest in owning one). Its wisdom is invaluable and will never go out of date.
The other point I must mention is that has been beautifully designed by my friend Paul Belford. As usual, he’s made it look utterly wonderful (and chosen a lighter paper, which makes the book easier to carry and flick through), but also took great care to make the whole thing legible, including this lovely little design idea on the front page:
PS: Nigel – three films better than the book: Jaws, The Shawshank Redemption and The Godfather.
just purchased.
thanks for the tip.
and congrats on MAL
let’s do lunch on your considerable expense account.
taschen. benedikt taschen. saw an interview with him in the chemosphere recently http://www.johnlautner.org/Malin.html
he might just be up for publishing the creatives book.
no reason not to buy the copy book.
I thought you were clearing those book shelves for Maisy’s Big Adventure and the like.
Just curious but who did you get a placement with at AMV back in 98 and whatever happened to them?
that must have been a fun time at AMV. i worked for one of the original copy book dudes in my first job. definitely helped later.
Vinny! You should be in The Creatives book.
And John, do you mean who was my AD? A guy called Paul Young. Top bloke. I think he’s now CD-ing in Vietnam.
#4 The Shining
I am officially the only person in the world who didn’t think much of a confederacy of dunces.
while that book looks pretty sweet & everything, it’s an exercise in nostalgia, right? a handsome epitaph for british copywriting, right? RIGHT?
I was on the creative circle jury a year or two ago, and the only entry in writing for advertising was a song about crisps.
nigel & paul once made me work all fucking night on a fucking classified ad about 0% fucking finance. they taught me a lot, and not just that there is nowhere to buy fags on tottenham court road at 3am. tremendous blokes.
I think that’s everything.
Thanks. Curiosity satiated.
I would have worked the night on that ad without complaint. But then maybe I’m a sucker.
Jaws the film was amazing, but I thought the book was just as good. And it had a great plot strand that Spielberg omitted – the Richard Dreyfuss oceanographer character was banging the Roy Scheider police chief’s wife. That made the final men vs beast life or death scenes extra interesting. Plus the ending in the book was less Hollywood. For my money, the story in the book was better told but the film scared the shit out of you more. Both get five stars.
I didn’t like the subplot about the affair. It seemed like a shoehorn because Benchley didn’t think the shark plot was enough.
Each to their own.
Is there any significance to the foot disappearing in the final shot? I’m searching for a subtext. Am I reading too much into it?
I really like the Leeds Castle ad though the headline’s too long.
What foot disappearing? Are we still talking about Jaws?
Something’s afoot. I noticed it under that tome you are flagging up and then in the last shot it was gone.
Oh yeah… spooky.
Better movie than book: Planet of the Apes.
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