Robert Updegraff

Obvious Adams: a 1916 ad-man book you can read in one sitting

Rory's top book pick for copywriting and idea generation is Robert Updegraff's Obvious Adams, a short 1916 story about an advertising man's approach to problem solving and a favorite of David Ogilvy's. His list also included Claude Hopkins' Scientific Advertising and Richard Shotton's The Choice Factory.

“Some of the, okay, some of them are very old. Obvious Adams, Robert Updegraff, published in 1916. Well, it, you can read it basically on a single toilet visit. It's about 50, 60 pages. I'm delighted to say I think Amazon keep reprinting it or somebody keeps reprinting it.”