Advertising Books

The book is excellent! Drawings are beautiful and step by step instructions detailed and very helpful. I totally agree with Henry Berry and cannot explain better how great this book is.

I received this book and it is on of the MOST comprehensive books on fashion illustration. Truly worth the $$$

"Colors for Modern Fashion" is a thorough, outstanding course on fashion drawing by an author who is a teacher of this commercial art at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in Los Angeles and teacher of international design at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, CA. Riegelman goes well beyond the typical approach of instruction on general techniques and attention to specifics of clothing such as, say, sleeves or collars. She surely does cover all the basics and all the types of clothing (e. g., women's, children's)--but it is the way she does which distinguishes this manual. The first thing that strikes one is the vibrant colors and the stylish shapes of the garments. Anyone involved in the field of fashion knows how important this is in getting attention for designs. Also, in places the author uses examples of entire outfits and parts of them from top fashion designers as references for discussion and practice. A "full-pleated silk dress with wide lace trim" designed by Christian Lacroix is used as one example and exercise. There's other fashion clothing by Armani, Prada, Issey Miyake, Russell Sage, and many other top designers similarly pictured for other areas of instruction. This is especially instructive and useful. It informs readers about the details of the designs of the masters while teaching the techniques of drawing, so that the book is in some way a course on fashion design as well as drawing. Riegelman knowledgeably and succinctly discusses fabrics and their characteristics, colors, and features of models which would accentuate particular pieces of clothing. The abundance of such touches makes one feel in the know about the field to a certain degree rather than simply learning about fashion drawing from conventional examples and exercises. The many colorful, vibrant, stylish fashion illustrations of clothes and details of them on mannequin-like figures are a treat in themselves, like looking at a classy, engrossing window display of a fine clothing store. And of course such handsome, skilled fashion illustrations are inspiration for aspiring fashion artists.

Making money as a consultant means meeting prospective clients who are decision makers within their businesses and standing by your fees, because you never know when competition and technology will get the better of you. Also, it means getting business prospects to think of you, not only as a customer of advertising and print shops, but as a breadwinner too who likes cashing regular paychecks. You can get paid to make business-boosting connections by appearing on radio and television, giving industry and trade talks, teaching courses, and writing articles and books.

So Thomas L. Greenbaum is particularly helpful on the financial side of becoming a consultant. His book, THE CONSULTANT'S MANUAL, makes consulting dreams come true, along with Geoffrey M. Bellman's THE CONSULTANT'S CALLING, Herman Holtz's THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO CONSULTING CONTRACTS, Peter Meyer's GETTING STARTED IN COMPUTER CONSULTING, Janet Ruhl's THE COMPUTER CONSULTANT'S GUIDE, and Howard Shenson and Ted Nicholas' THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO CONSULTING SUCCESS.

It doesn't come with a free CD, accompanying website or an appendix of checklists. There's not even a photo of the author. It's not about how to consult (the part you're excited about!), it is, rather, about how to run your consulting business for a living (the part you're not particularly excited about, but is necessary). Based on Greenbaum's Harvard consulting course (which is what attracted me to the text, along with, honestly, its affordability), the subtitle "A Complete Guide to Building a Successful Consulting Practice," really sums it up. Just because you have a developed area of expertise does not mean you will be a successful consultant from your own financial perspective. You have to manage and grow your business.

A business plan is just as important for a service business as for a product-based enterprise; perhaps even more so. A carefully constructed image ("company identity") including promotional materials parallels development of an effective business plan. A personal selling strategy needs to be in place, including details of billing and contracting, before you begin, or at least get in too far. The chapter on "Planning Your Company's Finances" was of particular interest to me, since it is often taboo in casual conversation among colleagues.

I initially thought the author was extremely hard-sell, but to be successful long-term, confidence and forethought are essential. Competition is fierce in many fields, and you need to get and keep your slice of the target market pie. As I read further, reality set in, and this book is reality and experience-based.

Be honest, and go for win-win situations; you are in business to make money by providing honest, consistent, quality customer service. The last few chapters, particularly the chapter on ethics, provide nice segue to perhaps another book.

For the money, this is a good survival manual from the consultant's point of view for a beginner or a professional already in the field. It's an easy read meshing the marketing and business principles you'll need to supplement your given areas of expertise. For more complete (and pricey, but worth it if you're serious) information and advice, check out Elaine Beich "The Business of Consulting and Beyond" and/or Peter Block's "Flawless Consulting" sets of workbooks/case studies plus texts.

L'expert-conseil se trouve couronne de succes lorsqu'il fait bien son boulot et, tres important, lorsqu'il ne bouge pas sur les honoraires a recevoir. Il ne faut jamais oublier que les clients sont des decisives chez eux, qu'ils cherchent toujours a minimiser les frais et maximiser le travail des autres. Alors il vaut mieux demander les honoraires les plus hauts possibles parce que la concurrence et la technologie, ca change tout vite. Il y a des instants ou l'expert-conseil devient lui-meme client payant, c'est-a-dire dans les imprimeries et les agences de publicite. Ces fois-ci il n'a qu'a se presenter comme chef de famille, un gagne-pain comme tout le monde qui a des frais et qui a donc besoin des jours de paye toutes les quinzaines. L'expert-conseil arrive a attirer les clients et, tres important, en reste paye, lorsqu'il passe a la radio et a la tele, parle aux reunions des gens de l'industrie et des affaires, enseigne des classes du soir, ou bien ecrit des articles et des livres.

Creating the Advertising Message is a "must read" for anyone who is at all interested in advertising.Jim Albright is a beautiful writer who obviously knows his "stuff," when it comes to advertising. Read this book.

Many advertising textbooks dealing with the creative aspects of the business read more like a psychology term paper. Not this one. Albright's insights, wit and obvious appreciation of a well-conceived, intelligently executed ad campaign make "Creating The Advertising Message" an essential companion in the creative process. Both beginner and seasoned pro alike will find value in having this book close at hand.

A seasoned pro, Jim Albright mixes deft storytelling with hands-on instruction and provides readers with a "bible" for the art of copywriting.

I'm rating this 5 stars, not because it is so absolutely perfect a book, but because it must be read by any beginning student of mind control.

This book covers the primary basics you need to begin to see through the Matrix in which you are caught. Williamson introduces all the major psycho-formal techniques that abstractly underlie all advertisement and propaganda.

Despite too much jargon and over-writing, this book is so good one hates to dwell on the weaknesses. First it is truly dated. All the sample ads are from the 70's. But that isn't so bad in that all the same techniques are in use today. Then the graphics aren't great, for a book devoted to analyzing graphics, the repro's are too small, in the margins, and only in black and whilte (that last particularly irritating in her section on use of color). I'd rather she had cut out some of the theoretical jargon and devoted the saved space to better/more/bigger graphics, perhaps a coffee table book is needed? In fact, her little offset paragraphs, where she cans the theoretical verbiage and pulls off the gloves and gets into throw-down mode (one such offset paragraph per sample ad), are the heart and soul of the book - the entire book could have been just these gems, buffered by a succint introduction.

Another beef I have is that sometimes even her "wheels to the pavement" (text offset paragraphs) deconstructions of the sample ads seem to pull punches sometimes. Maybe it is just due to lack of space, maybe it's her wish to focus on illustrating just one main principle at a time, maybe it is simple prudishness? Whatever the reason, she misses A LOT of nasty stuff in her ad samples, and it is mostly sex stuff she's omitting.

I'm not talking here about the old 50's thing with secret dirty words written in ice cubes. That subliminal stuff is fun but whether it is true or not, it is a sideshow. She could have gotten plenty of milage without those controversial subtleties just by pointing out the most outrageously obvious uses of sexual imagery and symbolism in practically every ad. But she goes very lightly on this angle. She does include a brief section on use of sex, with a few obvious and tame/lame examples, but in fact almost every single ad had this and she just doesn't point it out.

For example, her A10 ad, with a woman cradling a man's head at her breast, his mouth gaping open like a baby. Maybe she thought it is just too obvious to mention? But we need to acknowledge what's going on to begin to understand how we are being played. The ubiquitous use of women with their legs open or splayed - again zero comment from her, though she must know these postures are very carefully crafted and used by the designers.

For example in her very first ad of Chapter 1, A2, she gives a great analysis of the use of color and space in the scene, but totally omits to comment that the woman's legs (only hers) are opened and she (not the man) is holding her long tall drink between them. Yes it is all very obvious in a way, once you begin to know how to look consciously at ads. But then so are many other things she discusses at much greater length. We are turning to her for help in precisely that - flicking the switch to conscious perception, and her almost total omission of the use of sex imagery is not helpful.

Not only sex but other powerful attributes of the images and texts (e.g. implicit violence) are missed by her analysis.

Anyway, it is a GREAT book for its time, and a must-read as you begin to dig your own tunnel out thru the Matrix prison walls.

But what I really want to know is, apart from Williamson's type of 'outsider' purely academic analysis, how explicitly are students of marketing and advertising, who end up as professional creating this stuff, taught how to use these precise languages of form and text and so on, that enable them to bore a chunnel right into the base of your brain? I mean does a Professor stand up somewhere with some textbook and say "Now students, remember to always pose the woman with her legs spread in the center of every shot, while making it appear natural and accidental. And always position your phallic objects thusly ..." ??

Is that happening, in some lecture room? Or is not only the INTERPRETATION of ads happening at the pre-conscious level, but even the CREATION of them as well?

What a world! It is mind control all the way down, starting with our genetically coded fixation with the human face (count how many media representations you see of a human face each day!)

Anyway just read this book, let it be a file in your cake.

I don't ever write reviews or do this sort of thing, but since this book is seemingly so marginalized in this online store, I felt it important to say: I was never the same after this book. I don't look at myself or at anything in the same way. I can scarcely even put it all into words. You simply must read this book. With every passing day, the world is more awash in nonsense. Nothing can cut through it but at least this book can help you to look at it (the nonsense) in a new way.

Decoding Advertisements is a witty, clever, and accessible introduction to the pernicious world of advertising. Judith Williamson writes for a general audience, and has loads of interesting insights to offer into the ways in which advertisements shape our thinking and personalities. This book is a must for anyone who has ever wondered what advertisements are _really_ selling. Kent Worcester

This was a great resource for learning the radio customer acquisition space. My background is online and direct acquisition. This book offered me great insight into how to extend that to the radio medium. Excellent read.

"Direct Response Radio" is a very pointed and useful book for anyone considering radio advertising. The book provides a framework of how to be effective with the dollars you spend.

This is a well-written book that focuses on what I need to know, without all the fluff of the usual business books, yet with enough substance and good references to make it worth my time to read.

Take a deep breath and then open your mind to a powerful new approach to understanding our economy. The Ultimate America provides step by step, logical, easy to read facts about our monetary system, defying everything we've ever learned from our politicans and the media . . . and it really makes sense! I love being challenged. The Ultimate America challenged my ability to think beyond what I've learned from the Democratic and Republican platforms, and truly understand federal income, debt, taxes, spending and what it all means to our economy and to our quality of living. I read The Ultimate America twice, and it has really changed my way of thinking.

This book challenges many commonly held perceptions about our economy. It made me look at government and business policies in an entirely new light. If you are looking to broaden your understanding of money and the economy - read this book!

I thought this would be another dull, politically motivated economy book and I was dead WRONG! It was extremely eye opening and a little scarey; exposing the myths and realities of our economy and the politicins who control it. Every person, whether interested in government, business, economy, or the wellfare of our country should read this book.

Iain Ellwood hits the mark with this book. A large amount of information is succintly and clearly organized, showing his obvious expertise in all aspects of branding. The case studies he presents are well thought out and show not only the scope of his experience, but the spectrum of aspects the subject of branding covers.

I have read or perused many books on branding over the years and this one is DEFINITELY a must-have for anyone in the industry.

Iain Ellwood is a renowned speaker on branding issues and I was interested in finding out what his new book (Kogan Page £22,50) had to say on branding. From the beginning I found myself agreeing with Iain. Yes, the terms `brand' and `branding' have become overused, and as a consequence devalued.

Iain re-assesses all the essential components of branding management, describing them with clarity. He uses numerous business models and `over 100 techniques' (so it says on the front cover), to demonstrate how to develop brand value in four main areas: communication, equity, definition and strategy.

I particularly liked the structure of the book. It turns out to be not only and enthralling read but an effective reference book as well. The contents are divided under the headings and then subdivided into chapters, providing a step-by-step analysis of the branding process.

The diversity of case studies he uses makes the book relevant to anyone involved in branding. From straightforward theory to a re-evaluation of management concepts, the book offers enough information to interest even the most experienced brand manager, while being comprehensive enough to teach students with no previous branding experience. The Essential Brand Book is exactly what it says - essential!

Rob Gray is managing director at Mercier Gray

Having read many excellent books on 'branding' over the years, this book is a 'must'.

Iain Ellwood provides the reader with over 100 business models and techniques for building brand value in four key areas: brand communication; brand definition; brand equity and brand strategy.

The book is comprehensive in content and well structured for ease of use - each chapter includes an introduction, the author's objectives for the chapter, content and a summary. In addition, the author has masterfully brought the content to life through the use of visual illustrations and lively case studies.

Essential for anyone who is interested or involved in the management and communication of brands.

Having been involved with exporting companies and foreign licenses in the past, I knew just the book to recomend when my daughter asked me for the best source for "how to" information on exporting, including government assistance and financial support. I sent her my copy of Exporting from Start to Finance which several of my associates use for reference and for teaching new staff. She tells me it was just what she was looking for. Richard Gould

The ordinary person would not think that the business and professional man in the State of Idaho has much need for foreign export/import information. That is not the case and the WELLS/DULAT book on EXPORTIONG FROM START TO FINANCE was just the ticket for many of us. The practical approach, examples and forms in the book were invaluable to us. It is great to have a readable book by someone who is in the business and who knows what they are talking about.

There are plenty of books which are overviews of exporting. THis book gives details of export paperwork, contracts, samples of exporter representation agreements between exporters and manufacturers/suppliers and all the nuts and bolts of exporting in detailed form. If you don't get this book for your business you are crazy. All acronyms, strategies, problems are discussed in details. Especially good for home-based exporters who wants to succeed quickly without all the learning disasters.

I just loved Mr. Lux's book about Wall Street and how it takes advantage of people without their knowing. Now, I know why I won't invest in mutual funds again!! The book will be of great help throughout my life. Thank you Ted!!!

Mr. Lux exposes the little talked about secret wall street doesn't want you to know about. This book could save you thousands of dollars in hidden costs your mutual fund company is taking from you. ...

The book by Ted Lux is an insightful journey into the industry of investing. In his book,the author outlines ways to manage your own portfolio without spending a great deal of time and avoiding the expense and bias of the middle man-your local stock broker or mutual fund company. With more and more funds now charging loads to purchase their fund,this book is quite timely. I urge those who have an interest in saving money and investing to read this book. You will be glad you did.

This is a very unique book. It has adventure, love, and depth that one does not ordinarily encounter in novels. I could also definitely relate to it on a personal level. I highly recommend it!!!

This novel drew me in from chapter 1, and it never disappointed me from then on. It offered so much more than I expected, as I traveled with Mari on her journey. The author has shared a lot of wisdom, which even as a young person, I appreciated. The metaphors and imagery are breathtaking!

This book took me to another level of experience, and answered questions of the purpose of life, of suffering, of love, of relationships. I have been forever changed by reading "Forever Arriving". I thought it might be more for women, but even as a man, I think it's the most important thing I've ever read.