How Luke Sullivan’s voice launched my career.
In 1993, when I was unemployed and straight out of school, the phone rang. It was Advertising God himself, Luke Sullivan, calling my barely-able-to-pay-the-bill phone from Fallon asking me to come to Minneapolis to interview. That was the beginning of my radical career.
Never a day goes by without someone Googling Luke Sullivan and ending up here. He was, and continues to be, an inspiration to the next generation of advertising talent. Besides his incredible gift for getting to the heart of a subject, he’s also known for being both humble and whipsmart. In the podcast below, you’ll see just how accurate that reputation is.
One of my favorite things Luke says is, All of our failures in advertising are very public. Ahh, so true. And in a few rare moments of openness, Luke discusses his own career from a very personal standpoint. He describes careers in advertising, including his own, as having three distinct phases: First we go for the fame, then the money, then stability.
Do you agree?
Whether you’re in the “fame” phase or the “stability” phase, Luke offers tips for taking a portfolio from mediocre to meteoric (even if you can’t quit your day job).
If embarking on a career in advertising, I highly recommend Luke’s book, a modern advertising bible, Hey Whipple, Squeeze this- but Luke suggests you get the Adweek book, Pick me first (as long as you buy 2 copies of Whipple!) to help you crack the code of the ad business. It’s got 31 tips from me in it, but, if you click on this link- you can see the complete unabridged 83 things I wish someone had told me while I was learning to be creative.
Listen to Luke in a way you might not have heard him before. His voice launched my career. Maybe it can jumpstart yours, too.
Luke Sullivan Podcast
17:24 15.9 mb
May 7th, 2007 at 8:23 am
A CD named Neil Simpson hired me after a very long dry spell out of college. Besides letting me do actual work as an intern, he lent me his copy of “Hey Whipple, Squeeze This”. I do not work at Access Leo Burnett anymore, and neither does he. But it’s a small world; it would not be an impossible coincidence for Neil to stumble across this page. If you ever do, thanks for helping me get started, and for letting me keep your (extremely well-kept, rarely-lent)Luke Sullivan book for a month.
May 16th, 2007 at 3:09 pm
Nice to hear folks like Luke are passing the wisdom along.
March 23rd, 2009 at 12:27 pm
Wow. What a great story Sally. I envy you. He changed my life by simply writing Whipple. I was at UNF on an English Literature track with a writing emphasis when I took a copywriting class for fun. I had no idea what copywriting was at the time. Our professor said – read this book (Whipple). When I did, I had my 2nd epiphany. I couldn’t believe people got paid to think the way I’d been thinking my whole life. And so the kids in HS will have to wait for me to finish writing concepts before I teach them the beauty of Emily Dickinson. ;)
April 9th, 2009 at 4:09 am
You’re the Sally I read in the book! Wow. That’s so cool. My admissions representative from an ad school I wanted to join suggested I pick up this book. I had been in advertising just about 6 months when I picked it up. Being in a big agency with lots of work to do, there wasn’t really anyone who could spare enough time to teach, mentor and advice me. Reading Luke Sullivan has been the best help I could ever get. Well maybe being personally mentored by him would be the best help ever. Anyway, never has a book occupied such an important space in my life. I read it everyday. It’s part of like a routine. I read it when I’m stuck, when I need inspiration, when I seek solace or even when I just need cheering up. It’s always with me. I aspire to write like you guys, to make good advertising that people would wait to see and to sweep people of their feet with some solid intelligent thinking. You guys constantly raise the bar for everyone. It’s so damn tough to hit the ball out of the park again and again with such radical consistency. Thanks for the inspiration and learning!
April 14th, 2009 at 10:59 am
Hi all… I am new to baynet too.Of course, I quit reading and posting on the some blogs & forums. I won’t go into details becuase I am sure most of you know why…
it will take a little time to get use to this interface, but I think I can manage..