11 Best Advertising Books
We analyzed 5+ expert sources, curated book lists, and recommendations from successful people to find the 11 best advertising books according to the internet — not just one person's opinion. Each book on this list was mentioned by at least two independent sources, and the ranking is based on how frequently each title appears across all sources studied. This consensus-based approach ensures you get recommendations backed by multiple experts, not a single reviewer's bias.
Goal: Find the best Advertising books according to the internet (not just one person's opinion).
Method:
- Search for "best advertising books" and study the top 5+ pages.
- Add only the books mentioned 2+ times.
- Rank the results neatly here.
11 Best Advertising Books
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Ogilvy on Advertising
Also recommended by
3 people
Neville Medhora recommended this bookNeville Medhora
"Written directly by the guy who started the famed Ogilvy and Mather advertising firm in New York (which “Mad Men” is based off of)." - Neville Medhora
Neville Medhora's recommendation of this book 
Noah Kagan recommended this bookNoah Kagan
Noah Kagan recommended this book in the "Tools of Titans" book.
Noah Kagan's recommendation of this book 
Ev Williams recommended this bookEv Williams
On the "books read" section of Ev Williams' GoodReads profile.
Ev Williams's recommendation of this book
Hey, Whipple, Squeeze This
The Classic Guide to Creating Great Ads
Rework
Also recommended by
8 people
Mark Cuban recommended this bookMark Cuban
"If given a choice between investing in someone who has read Rework or has an MBA, I'm investing in Rework every time." - Mark Cuban
Mark Cuban's recommendation of this book 
Jeff Bezos recommended this bookJeff Bezos
"Unperturbed by conventional wisdom, [the authors] start fresh and rewrite the rules of business." - Jeff Bezos
Jeff Bezos's recommendation of this book 
Seth Godin recommended this bookSeth Godin
"I can't imagine what possible excuse you can dream up for not buying this book for every single person you work with, right now." - Seth Godin
Seth Godin's recommendation of this book 
Tim Ferriss recommended this bookTim Ferriss
"I encourage people to think of as an 'Elements of Style' for building profitable businesses in a web-savvy world." - Tim Ferriss
Tim Ferriss's recommendation of this book 
Tom Peters recommended this bookTom Peters
"The clarity, even genius, of this book actually brought me to near-tears on several occasions. Just bloody brilliant, that's what!" - Tom Peters
Tom Peters's recommendation of this book 
Tony Hsieh recommended this bookTony Hsieh
"Read this book multiple times to help give you the courage you need to get out there and make something great." - Tony Hsieh
Tony Hsieh's recommendation of this book +2
More recommendations
- Andrew Wilkinson
"[One of] my most recommended business books." - Andrew Wilkinson
- Shane Parrish
"This book showed me that I wasn’t alone or crazy." - Shane Parrish
- Andrew Wilkinson
Scientific Advertising
Also recommended by
1 person
Patrick O'Shaughnessy recommended this bookPatrick O'Shaughnessy
"It is like a list of first principles for effective communication of ideas." - Patrick O'Shaughnessy
Patrick O'Shaughnessy's recommendation of this book
Truth, Lies & Advertising
Zag
The Number One Strategy of High-Performance Brands
Made to Stick
Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die
Also recommended by
5 people
Brian Armstrong recommended this bookBrian Armstrong
"How to make your message memorable so it will spread." - Brian Armstrong
Brian Armstrong's recommendation of this book - Ev Williams recommended this book
Ev Williams
On the "books read" section of Ev Williams' GoodReads profile.
Ev Williams's recommendation of this book 
Andrew Wilkinson recommended this bookAndrew Wilkinson
"Our marketing bible." - Andrew Wilkinson
Andrew Wilkinson's recommendation of this book 
Changpeng Zhao recommended this bookChangpeng Zhao
"Informs a lot of our public outreach in terms of making our services more essential for our users." - Changpeng Zhao
Changpeng Zhao's recommendation of this book 
Sahil Lavingia recommended this bookSahil Lavingia
Sahil Lavingia recommended this book on Notion.
Sahil Lavingia's recommendation of this book
Positioning
The Battle for Your Mind
Also recommended by
3 people- Ev Williams recommended this book
Ev Williams
On the "books read" section of Ev Williams' GoodReads profile.
Ev Williams's recommendation of this book - Patrick O'Shaughnessy recommended this book
Patrick O'Shaughnessy
"A really great book about communication." - Patrick O'Shaughnessy
Patrick O'Shaughnessy's recommendation of this book 
Michael Hyatt recommended this bookMichael Hyatt
Michael Hyatt recommended this book on his website.
Michael Hyatt's recommendation of this book
Contagious
Why Things Catch On
Also recommended by
1 person- Changpeng Zhao recommended this book
Changpeng Zhao
"A must-read for all product designers and marketers, and a lot of people in our team have taken the lessons in this book to heart." - Changpeng Zhao
Changpeng Zhao's recommendation of this book
Buyology
Truth and Lies About Why We Buy
The Art of Client Service
The Classic Guide
Sources
- 1
What is Advertising?
thebalancecareers.com
- 2
11 Best Advertising Books for Beginners & Startups
miracalize.com
- 3
20 Must Read Marketing and Advertising Books
rosssimmonds.com
- 4
The Best Books on The Future of Advertising - Five Books Expert Recommendations
fivebooks.com
- 5
14 Best Advertising Books To Read In 2023
teambuilding.com
Edited by
Software engineer whose passion for tracking book recommendations from podcasts inspired the creation of MRB.
Lead investor at 3one4 Capital whose startup expertise and love for books helped shaped MRB and its growth.
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