1995, D&AD published a book on the art of writing for advertising. It’s still known as “the bible”. But the world has changed. Adland has changed. And the Copy Book has changed. It has been updated. And yes, it’s digital now.

The Copy Book’s examples of copy you wish you’d written and lessons in persuasive words are all still there. But D&AD and TASCHEN’s digital edition is the bible for a forward thinking adland. It includes the outstanding work that beat yours to a Pencil and work selections and essays by forty-eight admen at the top around the world. There are tips, insights and awesome (whichever meaning works for you) work by Adrian Holmes, Barbara Nokes, Dan Wieden, David Abbott, Lionel Hunt, Mike Lescarbeau, Neil French, and Steve Hayden, for example.

Here’s the opening of Steve Henry’s essay:

“Life’s too short to read body copy. Let’s face it — life’s too short to read this book. Skim it. Look at the pictures. Nobody reads body copy.

Sometimes, I have this fantasy that a piece of copy goes out. And it hasn’t been read by anybody — not even by the proof-reader. And, hidden down in paragraph 13, is a typo that reveals the secret of the universe. But nobody gets to see it. (Because nobody reads body copy.)”

And here’s the extract that won my heart:

“…Because let me confess something right now. Although I fully understand the futility of writing body copy, I really like doing it.

So I dug out some ads with words on them. And I hit another problem. As a creative director, you don’t always get to write the ads you most want to. So some of these ads aren’t my body copy at all…”

So if you are, were or want to be an adperson, this book gets how it is in your world. And if you want to read the whole of Steve Henry’s story, here you go: D&AD The Copy Book – Free Preview – Steve Henry2 copy.

Of course, you may not want to create clearer and more successful arguments so that your ad work sells. You may want to write a presentation that wins the pitch, an engaging web banner or a really persuasive letter to the bloke you hope will be your next ECD.

The Copy Book eBook has been designed especially for the iPad and features:
• Interactive and zoomable images and galleries
• Biographic glossary of all copywriters
• Landscape and portrait format
• Search, highlight, definition and note-taking tools for texts

And it’s priced at just £6.49 from iTunes.