Luke Sullivan’s book – we use it to teach young writers and art directors their trade.
As you’ve no doubt memorized it, you know it leads to cluey creative people who can
change things.
With that, D&AD is another teaching source that kick starts ability.
Especially annuals from the 70s and 80s.
Additionally, there’s the J. Peterman catalogue.
Remember it?
At one point it became the darling of the Seinfeld show as each product story is
relatable and amusing.
This page keeps you reading with surprising narratives.
An example of that is the J. Peterman vintage football jersey with striped sleeves.
Here, stripes aren’t just ornamental.
The copy tells us they harken back to the early days of football when players added strips of canvas, leather or moleskin to their sleeves to prevent fumbling.
Well, nobody wants the ball squirting out when they’re tackled, do they?
You have an echo of that in the J. Peterman jersey, illustrating the fact that a functional attribute also looks great.
This exemplifies the Peterman philosophy.
“People want things that are hard to find. Things that have romance, but a factual romance about them”.
Before you write your next ad, social media post, landing page or web copy, it might be an idea to search for some of that romance with inspiration from the Peterman catalogue.
That way you’re bound to come up with an emotional narrative that’s insightful and persuasive.
The opposite of writing that’s fact-resistant, feeble and out of touch with interest.