Bob Levenson. Copy. And letter-writing.

It's late on a Friday afternoon and as Holden Caulfield might say, "It's cold as a witch's tit" outside. Much of the New York ad world is thinking of leaving the office for the long Martin Luther King day weekend. There's the faint clack and click of computer keyboards, some account people laughing in the distance, but all in all, people are getting ready to shut down.

I don't blame them.

That said, I think Friday afternoon can also be the perfect time for a simple, brilliant lesson in copywriting. That is if you find the right inspiration.

I found it today in "The New York Times" obituary of Bob Levenson, who died last Wednesday at the age of 83, after 30+ years in the business and countless great ads.

You can read his obit here: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/18/business/media/robert-h-levenson-a-visionary-adman-dies-at-83.html?smid=fb-share

The copywriting lesson comes at the end of the obituary.

Dominik Imseng who wrote a book on DDB’s great VW ads asked Levenson about his approach to writing copy. Levenson replied:

“I always started by writing Dear Charlie, like writing to a friend. And then I would say what I had to say, and at the end I would cross out Dear Charlie, and I was all right. ”