Hey Whipple, Squeeze This, 6th Edition

5BREVITY IS THE SOUL OF WIT: THE ART OF COPYWRITING.

I HAD BEEN A COPYWRITER for decades before I could honestly answer the question of “What do I do for a living?” The right answer seemed to diminutize the effort I put into my labors, but it was true.

I try to think up clever stuff.

I know, it sounds so flip. Clever. But a look at how dictionaries define the word clever seems to back up what I see in all the best work out there.

• “A natural aptitude for using words and ideas in quick and inventive ways.”
• “The power of inventing or discovering a new way of accomplishing something.”
• “The perception and expression of connections between ideas that awaken amusement and pleasure.”

Think about it. Doesn't the word clever perfectly describe your favorite TV commercials? Your favorite memes? Your favorite Twitter feeds, sit-coms, as well as your favorite people to sit next to during boring gatherings?

Now, before we begin to discuss copywriting specifically, we need to point out that art direction, graphic design, and experience design, all these crafts can be practiced cleverly. As evidence, I point to the work you see throughout this book. It's all clever. Every last bit of it.

That said, let's turn now to the role of the copywriter.

For decades, copywriters in ad agencies “did the word part,” but all that's drastically changed. In Teresa Iezzi's book The Idea Writers, Guy Barnett (chief creative officer of Public), updated the job description of copywriter:

You need to keep people ...