I really like Andy Maslen. Next to Drayton Bird he’s probably the man whose books I’ve learnt most about copywriting from. I’d recommend his first, Write to Sell to anyone, and do quite frequently in fact.

He’s just released two new ones, the first of which I’ve just finished. It’s part of a series called 100 great ideas. Andy’s contribution is called 100 Great Copywriting Ideas.

It’s not a book you should read from start to finish. As the dust jacket says it’s “more tapas or dim-sum than three course meal. You can start anywhere you like and pick and choose whatever takes your fancy.”

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Shirley - Bottle blonde and proud of it

Shirley Polykoff is a legendary advertising personality whose copy revolutionised both the fortunes of Clairol and the lives of women in 1950s America.

A ballsy girl from Brooklyn, Shirley battled her way up the ranks at Foote, Cone & Belding agency from the position of junior copywriter to vice president and creative director, to finally, inductee of the Advertising Hall of Fame. On her way up, this flamboyant and brilliant woman gained a reputation as ‘a dynamo in selling and advertising’, with her copy for Clairol hair dye famous not only for its explosive cultural and commercial impact but also for persuading David Hockney to go blonde.

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Red C are celebrating yet another award win thanks to the Communications in Business (CiB) awards. Our ‘Spot the Difference’ campaign for Wolseley’s Electric Centre has been given an Award of Excellence and is now shortlisted for a Class Winner award.

The British Association of Communicators in Business (CiB) is the UK’s leading professional body for in-house, freelance and agency staff involved in internal communications. And our ‘Spot the Difference’ campaign really struck a chord with them as it aims to ensure that employees who work for Wolseley’s Electric Centre have high levels of customer service.

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If you speak to anyone who works in Advertising or Direct Marketing and ask them to name their favourite Copywriters, more often than not you’ll hear such names as Ogilvy, Bernbach, Abbott, Marcantonio and Bird.

The techniques and works of these legends of the Copywriting craft are well documented. I myself look upon their work and turn green with envy at how they have created adverts and copy that are genuine works of art. Adverts that have, in some cases, outlived the products they were intended to sell.

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