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The Classic Guide to Creating Great Ads

If you are anything like me, whenever you hear or read about advertising, your mind wanders to Mad Men: a group of creative geniuses whose days are filled with drinks, parties, and affairs, who still get the time to come up with the idea that will blow the mind of their client.

However, advertising is a lot more complicated and chaotic than that.

You have to cope with products, partners, clients and above all ideas. Ideas are not that easy to come by, you know.

Especially when you need to think of a way to use the simplest form and words and say everything there is to say in only 30 seconds.

In our summary of “Hey Whipple, Squeeze This!” we give you tips that will make the process a lot easier.

Who Should Read “Hey Whipple, Squeeze This!”? and Why?

Sullivan and Boches’s “Hey Whipple, Squeeze This!” has been a go-to guide to everyone that lives in a world of advertising: from newcomers to those who have been in the business for years.

The title comes from the unconventional Charmin Toilet Paper campaign in the 70s, which revolved around an annoying shop clerk – Mr. Whipple, who would not stop squeezing the product.

We recommend this book to readers who are interested in how ads work, and for all those who live, or want to live in the much talked about advertising world.

About Luke Sullivan and Edward Boches

Luke Sullivan is the chairman of the advertising department at the Savannah College of Art and Design. He is known primarily for his three-decade career in advertising under eminent agencies.

Edward Boches teaches advertising and creative courses at Boston University’s College of Communication.

“Hey Whipple, Squeeze This! Summary”

A long time ago, a couple of good ideas and burning passion would be enough for a marketing agency to hire you.

Today it is an entirely different story.

The marketing industry has become immensely popular, so you need an outstanding portfolio to get noticed in the crowd.

To create an excellent book, you do not need a previous education in an ad school. Instead, you need around ten hypothetical campaigns that you will bring to excellence.

But, how can you do this?

By focusing on campaigns built by good ideas, since fresh, unique ideas are what agencies are interested in.

Before you decide to enter the industry, we hate to break it to you, but work in advertising is not exactly as portrayed in Mad Men.

Instead of affairs and parties, you will get overwhelming creative chaos and tons of work.

With each client, with each campaign, you start anew. There is no slacking in advertising – you have to be on top of your game each time, no matter how different your clients and campaigns are.

As you can already notice, the creative process consists of no beginnings, no ends, and no fixed rules.

Still, we managed to extract a few key lessons that can help you in your career.

Key Lessons from “Hey Whipple, Squeeze This!”:

1.      Get Out of a Block – and Into the Zone
2.      What Makes a Great Ad?
3.      Creating a Great Radio Ad

Get Out of a Block – and Into the Zone

Sadly, no button turns ideas and creativity on and off.

That means that sometimes you will feel blocked.

In such scenarios, you must stay calm, since many tricks can get you in the zone again.

Below we list a few of them.

Write mindlessly

Do not think about what you are writing, just put something on the paper. Anything that comes to mind. Soon, you will find the words you need. You know how they said; sometimes inspiration has to catch you working.

Put yourself in the customer’s head

Sometimes trying to evoke what your customer might feel when using the product can fuel your imagination. Emotional appeal proves to be far more potent than rationality when it comes to buying goods and services.

Use the relationship with your partner

If you have a partner, bring your ideas together and brainstorm, even on the bad ideas. You will be amazed by the results.

What Makes a Great Ad?

To make a great ad, find one memorable word that represents the brand. Make sure that word resonates everything the brand stands for. Then, tell the truth about the product in a new, unheard of way. Even unpleasant truths can become a success if you find a proper way to present them.

Furthermore, employ both an unusual and thought-provoking part in your ad, to make viewers watch it over and over again.

However, that is not all. It may have been the process in the past, but now the availability of information makes everything different.

Hence, it is more important than ever for your company to act the way it promises to act in its ads. Otherwise, no matter how great your ad is, it just won’t work.

Creating a Great Radio Ad

When it comes to making ads for radio, it is harder to grab and keep people’s attention, since you have only audio at your disposal.

However, nothing is unachievable!

People do not see an image in front of them to be able to picture the scene inside their head. In other words, if you use sound correctly, especially background noise, you will be able to paint vivid images inside people’s minds.

Also, keep in mind that although you may think the opposite, your radio ad does not have to be funny to keep the listeners’ attention.

Instead, opt for naturalness and honesty.

Other things you can add to your ad to make it more lively are dialogues. But be careful, when you decide to add conversations, make them sound natural.

How?

Listen to how people speak. They interrupt each other, complete each other’s sentences, speak in fragments, so do that in your ad also. Use intonation, pauses, and silence to capture the feeling you want to present.

Like this summary? We’d Like to invite you to download our free 12 min app, for more amazing summaries and audiobooks.

“Hey Whipple, Squeeze This!” Quotes

Our Critical Review

In “Hey Whipple, Squeeze This!” Sullivan and Boches cover everything there is to know about advertising: from getting a job in the industry to writing ads for various mediums. He gives readers practical insights and numerous tricks that can help them come up with a winning idea.

Emir Zecovic

Emir is the Head of Marketing at 12min. In his spare time, he loves to meditate and play soccer.