cover image The Brains Behind Great Ad Campaigns: Creative Collaboration Between Copywriters and Art Directors

The Brains Behind Great Ad Campaigns: Creative Collaboration Between Copywriters and Art Directors

Margo Berman, Robyn Blakeman. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., $75 (240pp) ISBN 978-0-7425-5550-1

In this didactic look at advertising, including plenty of fun examples from the American ad landscape but little in the way of snappy advice or sloganeering, academics Berman and Blakeman compile a textbook-ready step-by-step guide to the advertising process. Taking readers through the nuts and bolts of ad creation, the authors are unafraid to start with the basics: the chapter called ""How Designers Approach Strategy Visually"" explains that ""layout style, or how elements are featured or placed in the design, determines what your concept will say about itself."" As an explication of advertising mechanics, from brainstorming to copywriting to strategizing and media usage, Berman and Blakeman have put together a thorough, if dry, primer that will familiarize would-be ad professionals with the discipline's processes and principles; anyone hoping for a deeper look at the ""creative"" side of ""creative collaboration"" will probably do better with a volume penned by experienced industry insiders.