Hey, Whipple, Squeeze This

This book is praised as one of the best introductory readings for new ad people, and I understand why. The book is packed with tricks, tips, and life lessons from the ad world. That being said...

The book is packed with tangents and redundant quotes that remind me of a college student trying to reach a word count and show that they “read the material” in an essay. Sullivan fills a good quarter of the book with pretentious quotes from various friends or ad people that just reiterate what Sullivan said in the paragraph above it. It's a slog to read through when every other paragraph starts with “[Author] of [Book you'll never read] said [quote that adds little value to the reading]”. It makes the pacing odd and the reading feel repetitive.

The book could easily be half as long and convey the same amount of information. There are sections of this book that that go on for paragraphs to express the importance of being concise in your writing (ironic). Where one to two sentences suffice, Sullivan writes two to three paragraphs, peppering in obscure and dated references that younger readers likely wouldn't understand or relate to (I know some went over my head).

This book is good if you skim it. Most of the idea is communicated in the subtitle for each section.