A colleague of mine recently asked for some tips on creative copy, and out came a bit of a stream of consciousness with books, links and bullet points. So I thought I'd clean it up and write a few blog posts. Here are the copywriting books that have inspired me:

Ogilvy

Confessions of an Advertising Man. You don't need to be an advertising nerd to have heard of David Ogilvy, but if not he's basically a bit of a legend in that world. 50s Manhattan and all that jazz. This is a humorous insight into the industry with quite a few creative tips along the way.

As an aside, something that really affirmed my thoughts about copywriting was this letter from Ogilvy. It takes time to produce good copy and there's no better example than this.

Sullivan

Hey, Whipple, Squeeze This: The Classic Guide to Creating Great Ads - another book from the advertising world that's packed full of practical creative methods.

Strunk

Elements of Style. An oldie but a goodie - very short (practising what it preaches) and dryly amusing. It focuses succinctly on a style that allows you to keep your writing clear and effective.

Maslen

Anything by Andy Maslen - popular among copywriters and a regular on the conference scene. I'm just about to start Persuasive Copywriting but anything by him is solid, including Write To Sell.

Trott

Creative Mischief by Dave Trott, a British advertising copywriter who has run agencies and now talks regularly about creativity in the most thought-provoking and original way. This book has loads of lateral thinking for creativity which he finds in the unlikeliest of places. His writing is both fun and inspirational.

If you like Creative Mischief then you can also read his other books, Predatory Thinking and One Plus One Equals Three. Also keep glued to his blog.