Madboy

by Richard Kirshenbaum, Jerry Della Femina (Foreword)

A thrilling and irreverent memoir about the transformation of the advertising business from the 1980s to today

Richard Kirshenbaum was born to sell. Raised in a family of Long Island strivers, this future advertising titan was just a few years old when his grandfather first taught him that a Cadillac is more than a car, and that if you can’t have a Trinitron you might as well not watch TV. He had no connections when he came to Madison Avenue, but he possessed an outrageous sense of humor that would make him a millionaire. In 1987, at the age of twenty-six, Richard put his savings on the line to launch his own agency with partner Jonathan Bond, and within a year, had transformed it from a no-name firm into the go-to house for cutting-edge work. Kirshenbaum and Bond pioneered guerilla marketing by purchasing ad space on fruit, spray-painting slogans on the sidewalk, and hiring actors to order the Hennessy martini in nightclubs. They were the bad boys of Madison Avenue—a firm where a skateboarding employee once bowled over an important client—but backed up their madness with results. Packed with business insight, marketing wisdom, and a cast of characters ranging from Princess Diana to Ed McMahon, this memoir is as bold, as breathtaking, and as delightful as Richard himself.

Genres: Biography, Business, Collections, Nonfiction, Memoir

234 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2011

About the author

RICHARD KIRSHENBAUM is CEO of NSG/SWAT, a high-profile boutique branding agency. He has lectured at Harvard Business School, appeared on 20/20, was named to Crain’s New York Business’s “40 under 40” list, and has been inducted into the Advertising Hall of Fame. He is the author of Under the Radar, Closing the Deal, Madboy, and Isn’t That Rich? and the New York Observer's "Isn't That Rich?" column. He lives in New York City with his wife and three children.

Reviews

[Byron · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fished this bad boy out of a dollar bin even though it only came out a few months ago. Kirshenbaum must lack buzz. He might need to take out an ad for himself. LOL. He was a big time ad guy in the late '80s and early '90s, and this is the story of his rise and rise and further rise in the business, written several years after he sold his firm for $6 gozillion. These days he operates a Twitter account and sponsors a Little Kirshenbaum Urban Achievers program/tax shelter. The problem with this book is that the subject matter wouldn't even necessarily interest his own family. The good thing about it is that it's surprisingly well-written. He obviously wrote it himself, and he has a certain gift with words. I found myself sorta kinda chuckling to myself every few pages. I'd describe the general vibe of this book as The Kid Stays in the Picture if it were both about and narrated by Michael Scott from The Office.

[Cat · Rating 2 out of 5]

A fatuous book from a fatuous man. He actually refused to eat any food while in Germany, which is far more a reflection of his 'refined' read: narrow-minded, elitist tastes and complete lack of interest in genuine culture, than Germany's cuisine.

Oh yeah and the models totally didn't smile...get it...cause no one smiles in germany since they lost a war in the 40s.

He has a way with slogans and indeed these days his entire persona is one big slogan. This novel is a few interesting advertising anecdotes and one or two interesting bits of advice, mired in self promotional sludge. Have you heard about his trademark green cowboy boots? Well, you will, repeatedly, if you pick this up. They're FASCINATING because they're not brown...cause he's madcap and zany.

Watch out for amazon kindle under $3.99 sales. There's often a reason for the price point.

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you like Mad Men for more than just the "soapy" plotlines, you may enjoy this book. Richard Kirshenbaum owns a New York ad agency and tells the story of how he started it. There's lots of behind the scenes info on how advertising works and how they deal with clients. It's very much a service industry and when the client isn't always right, he describes how you can sometimes persuade the client of a better way to do it. He talks about how it's affected his personal life and he often describes his family life and relationships with his parents, grandparents, step-mother and wife and their contributions to why he's chosen the career he has.

[Carol Mann Agency]

"A shimmering piece of work, in which the flash illuminates the creative act." —Kirkus Reviews

"With Madboy, Richie Kirshenbaum puts it all together in one great book on advertising. How it should be done. How he did it. And isn't it great fun." —Jerry Della Femina

"Madboy is the tell-all story of the modern ad world, crammed full of humor, wit, revealing anecdotes, and accurate portrayals of advertising's most colorful characters. Richard Kirshenbaum is Long G'Island's Don Draper. I am going to get around to reading the parts of the book I'm not in real soon." —James Patterson

[DDM · Rating 3 out of 5]

Years and years ago I thought I wanted to get into advertising design - now I am glad I didn't - I am just not cut out for the life he describes here. A little too much name dropping and I would have liked to hear more about the actual process of making an advertisement from start to finish. But it was an ok read.

[susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. I worked in New York during the 60's in advertising - so found it interesting

[Stephen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. It is an entertaining read about advertising, business, life, the 80s, and the Five Towns on Lawn G'Island.

[Kath · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought this would be interesting. I was wrong.

[Mandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book started out interesting but then started to read like a manual for the advertising business.

[Dave Wagner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting insight into the advertising business. As literature, not so much.