Michael Newman
22 Irrefutable Laws of Advertising
(and When to Violate Them)
Wiley, 2004
What's inside?
For great ads, all you need is love, relevance, emotion, irreverence, originality, consistency and a silver elephant.
Recommendation
This book is a series of short essays about the elements that contribute to good advertising. The 22 "laws" are really not laws at all. Each one is an informative, inspirational article about a particular point in advertising’s creative or management process. Separate contributors wrote each of the 22 "laws." Author Michael Newman identifies each writer as an accomplished ad industry pro. As a result, this book offers some good examples of ads from a worldwide perspective, which is especially important since the industry seems to be floundering globally. The essays are short, often interesting, but sometimes unevenly focused. Some contributors took their assignment more seriously than others did, and a few should never have even made it into the book. But getAbstract.com thinks most advertising professionals will find something inspirational here.
Summary
About the Author
Michael Newman is the founder of brandnewman, an "ideas company," and the author of Creative Leaps. He is also the former executive creative director of Saatchi & Saatchi in Australia. Newman is a regular columnist in trade magazines and has lectured on advertising subjects in Asia and South America. In December 2003, he launched M&C Saatchi’s second agency network, DNA, in Australia.
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