The Most Important New Book On Creativity Since "Hey Whipple, Squeeze This."

It’s been a while since a great book on advertising and creativity has been published. Then, last week, a copy of “How To Do Better Creative Work” by Steve Harrison came to our attention. And holy shit is it good.

Steve Harrison is described as the “Bill Bernbach of British direct marketing” and “the greatest direct marketing creative of this generation.” And the book gets glowing reviews from the likes of Jon Steel (Truth, Lies and Advertising) and Paul Ferrailolo (President of Rolls Royce no less). After diving into it, we know why.

The book starts out by refuting the claims of the great Seth Godin (Purple Cow, Permission Marketing), insisting that disruptive advertising is not the enemy, it just needs to be done well. And that’s something all of us will agree with.

From there, we are taken on a journey through the many disciplines needed to create outstanding creative work across every area of advertising and design. Some of the topics covered include:

What it means to be a creative
How to build a creative culture
How to use “relevant abruption” to produce big, creative ideas
How to simultaneously build a brand and get response
How to sell your work
How to run a creative department

Unlike Luke Sullivan’s bite-sized approach, Steve has a more in-depth style. But the book is never a tough read, and Steve’s approach is just as witty and enjoyable. Full of wisdom from a man who trained under David Ogilvy and Drayton Bird, Steve’s direct marketing background may initially put you off until you see just how important his approach to advertising is. The man knows creativity inside-out, but he also knows how to sell. And as Ogilvy said many times, “It’s not creative unless it sells.”

The book is hard to find, as it was published in Britain, where Steve reigned supreme as a Creative Director for many years. But, if you want a copy (and we suggest that you pick one up as soon as you can) you can buy it here at Amazon, or from Alibris books here.

“How To Do Better Creative Work” is an insightful breath of fresh air in the stale world of advertising advice. It reminds us all how to do what we know we should be doing, but often don’t. And it also makes us wish for a world where every Creative Director had the same level of understanding, enthusiasm and common sense as Steve Harrison. This is an essential book for anyone working in advertising or marketing.

For a few extracts from the book, check out the Campaign series:

Steve Harrison New Book – Extract One

Steve Harrison New Book – Extract Two

Steve Harrison New Book – Extract Three