A `cookbook' of recipes for advertising

Prescription for Advertising, by Edmond A. Bruneau. Spokane, Wash.: Boston Books. 163 pp. $7.95. Studies indicate that the average person hears or sees from 600 to 1,600 advertising messages a day. How many does this average person remember? Ten? Five? On average, only one out of 16 messages can be recalled.

Unlike most advertising books on the market today, ``Prescription for Advertising'' is not written for the advertising professional, and it's not exactly a do-it-yourself book. ``Prescription for Advertising'' is a reference guide to help the business person decide what type of advertising to choose, where to go, and how to interact with professional advertising agencies and other advertising personnel.

The author has worn many hats: He's been a newspaper editor, radio station announcer, media director, agency account executive, creative services manager, advertising director, and award-winning copywriter. His book offers a well-rounded explanation of advertising choices. He explains how to deal with the barriers that have intimidated and ``turned off'' business people.

Bruneau reminds us that the client is the boss and has more of a say than we might think.

Concisely, but in sufficient detail, the relevant topics are covered: setting an advertising budget; working with printers, artists, photographers, writers (he reminds us that Ernest Hemingway began his career as an advertising copywriter); buying print, radio, and TV; advertising on billboards, buses, and benches; using logos; preparing newsletters and coop ads. And yet the book is short enough to read and reread in one sitting.