How the First Children's Book About Copywriting Came About

There is a job in which smart people are paid to think, create and dream but it's not taught in schools where children are told to follow rules and do what they're told to the extreme. The world of advertising is perhaps still a mystery to most of the planet as it rarely makes an appearance on any nation’s educational curriculum, so the role of the copywriter is not one that many children dream of taking on from an early age. A book from one of the U.K.’s most revered advertising scribes, Andrew Boulton—plus creative agency Gasp’s founder Giles Edwards and with illustrations from Andy Stagg—aims to try and grow awareness among youngsters who might want to use their imaginations in a career. Adele Writes an Ad focuses on the titular child as she helps her creative father pitch his dream project when he is hit with writer’s block at the worst possible moment. “There are books about pretty much every job you can think of—even really terrible ones—but nobody has ever done one about a copywriter before,” states Boulton, who admits to being only mildly sure that the statement is correct. “Basically, it’s the tale of a girl called Adele with an enormous imagination, whose dad is a copywriter. And when he gets a brief for the greatest fizzy drink in the world, he goes blank and so Adele steps in and writes a strange and marvelous ad for him.” Written entirely in rhyme, the book aims to show children they can aspire to be whatever they choose, with Adele’s mum being a submarine driver who is away from home a lot—leaving her with her father more. Boulton said it is a project he had always wanted to embark on, but that it took prompting from co-collaborator Edwards to convince him it had merit. Adele helps her creative father pitch his dream project when he is hit with writer’s block at the worst possible moment. “It seems such a joyful and worthwhile thing to do with your words. But it’s so very difficult to actually get a book published as a new author to that market—unless of course you’re semi-famous for something entirely unrelated and then publishers will fire money bazookas through your bedroom window,” he said of his experience of searching for a publisher before the agency agreed to work with him to make it happen. Meanwhile, the main message of Boulton's work is that ‘imagination’ is something that should be developed and encouraged beyond childhood, rather than having to “surrender our peculiarity” to feel like a grown-up. “It can help you to have a long and rewarding and enjoyable career in a world where you only have to pretend to be a grown-up for some of the time,” he added. Boulton and Edwards embarked on the project after they worked together to write their previous book Copywriting Is… , which was released in March. Adele Writes an Ad is now a reality and on sale through a dedicated website, plus also available free as an audio download. The 12 Marketing Books of Christmas