Advertising students at CSUDH requested a list of great advertising books to read. So, here it is. This must-read list of advertising books was prepared after consultation with SpeakerPost member, Zoe Frank and with the help of the Advertising Professors Community Group on FaceBook.
This list below is in no particular order.
My life in advertising and scientific advertising by Claude Gopkins
Hey, Whipple, Squeeze This by Luke Sullivan and Edward Boches
This second list of must-read advertising books were recommended by Dr. Peggy Kreshel who teaches at the University of Georgia's Department of Advertising (Thank you!!)
History
Stephen Fox, THE MIRROR MAKERS
Michael Schudson, Advertising the uneasy persuasion : Its Dubious Impact on American Society
Roland Marchand, Advertising the American Dream: Making way for Modernity, 1920-1940
Stuart Ewen, Captains of Consciousness: Advertising and the social roots of consumer culture
Jason Chambers, Madison Avenue and the color line: African Americans in the advertising industry
Judy Foster Davis, Pioneering African-American women in the advertising business: Biographies of MAD Black WOMEN
Autobiographies
Shirley Polykoff, DOES SHE OR DOESN'T SHE?
Mary Wells Lawrence, A BIG LIFE (IN ADVERTISING).
Ethics
Thomas Bivins, MIXED MEDIA: MORAL DISTINCTIONS IN JOURNALISM, ADVERTISING, AND PUBLIC RELATIONS (includes a very basic, solid decision-making models and points out, as the title implies, distinctive concerns between the professions)
Christians, Fackler, Richardson, and Kreshel, MEDIA ETHICS: CASES AND MORAL REASONING introduces some of the basic ethical dimensions in the field and cases in 4 relatively short chapters - check the advertising section
Other recommendations:
Where the Suckers Moon: the Life and Death of an Advertising Campaign (Thank you, Kartik Pashupati)
Ogilvy on Adversing in the Digital Age (Thank you, Courtney Bosworth)
These books also require a mention because they are perfect for specific advertising subject matter.
The Advertising Concept Book by Pete Barry
Creative Advertising by Mario Pricken
Advertising Concept and Copy by George Felton
The Complete Guide to FB Advertising by Brian Meert
Social Media Marketing by Jason Miller
Cashvertising by Drew Eric Whitman
Social Media Marketing by Gary Clyne
Murder must advertise Franklin Library by Dorothy Sayers
How to write a good advertisement by Victor Schwab
The Boron Letters by Gary Halbert
The Social Impact of Advertising by Tony Kelso
15 questions about native advertising by Massimo Moruzzi
Free Radio & Podcast Marketing in 30 minutes by Jim Beach, Rachel Lewyn and Ian Lamont
Bad Men by Bob Hoffman
The Amazon Expansion Plan by Kiri Masters
The Copywriters Toolkit by Margo Berman
Podcast Advertising Works by Glenn Rubenstein
Branding is Out, Results are in - Lessons for the local advertiser by Tom Ray
The FaceBook Advertising Solution by Callum Davies
Advertising and Integrated Brand Promotion 8th Edition by Thomas O'Guinn, Chris Allen, Angeline Close Scheinbaum and Richard Seminik (Textbook)
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