Behind the Manipulation: The Art of Advertising Copywriting reveals the secrets behind the manipulation that is inherent in all brand advertising. It offers readers a step-by-step guide to writing brand advertising for all media, including social media.

Students learn about the history of brand advertising and its role in marketing, as well as the three major strategic theories of brand advertising. They learn how to think creatively and develop their own unique “voices” for campaigns. The book demonstrates the vital importance of visual thinking in brand advertising and the craft of writing headlines and body copy that support those visuals.

Each chapter is rich with full-color advertising examples and includes “limbering up” exercises that enable readers to put the book’s principles into practice. The core chapters teach students how to create individual ads and commercials, and how to combine them into full, multimedia branding campaigns. The book culminates with twelve creative briefs that readers can use as a starting point in creating campaigns for their own portfolios, which are essential to getting any job as a copywriter.

Successfully class-tested in the first edition, Behind the Manipulation: The Art of Advertising Copywriting is the ideal choice for courses in copywriting, advanced copywriting, and portfolio-creation, as well as introductory advertising, mass communication, and popular culture courses.

William Barre was a writer and creative director for 30 years at a variety of Chicago ad agencies, including JWT, Foote, Cone & Belding, and Campbell-Ewald. He has done award-winning work for many of the world’s most famous brands and companies including Gatorade, Van Camp’s, Hallmark, McDonald’s, Gillette, Kellogg, and dozens more. His awards are among the most prestigious in the industry, including Communication Arts’ “Award of Merit,” the Effie, Advertising Age’s “Top Ten Print Campaigns,” and the Clio. Professor Barre earned his M.S. degree from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana and began teaching 15 years ago at Kent State University, then the University of Wisconsin, and finally Central Michigan University.