What do you think?
Rate this book
Where the Suckers Moon: The Life and Death of an Advertising Campaign
"For all the right reasons." "Cars that can." "What to Drive." "The perfect Car for an Imperfect World." Only one of these slogans would be chosen by Subaru of America to sell its cars in the recession year of 1991. As six advertising agencies scrambled for the account and the winner tried to churn out the Big Idea that would install Subaru in the collective national unconscious, Randall Rothenberg was there, observing every nuance of the chaos, comedy, creativity, and egotism that made up an ad campaign. One can read Rothenberg's book as the behind-the-scenes chronicle of the brief and very troubled marriage between a beleaguered automobile company and Wieden & Kennedy, an aggressively hip ad agency whose creative director despised cars. One can read it as a history of advertising's journey from the conventionally upbeat slogan "Helps Build Strong Bodies 12 Ways" to the supercool nineties minimalism of "Bo Knows." Either way, Where the Suckers Moon is a face-paced, insightful, and occasionally appalling look at an industry whose obsession with image has affected our entireculture.
- GenresBusinessNonfiction
494 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 31, 1995
63 people are currently reading
745 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews
November 4, 2018
I can think of four good reasons for liking this book. The first reason is that it's just a darn good read. I would typically read "just one more chapter" to see what would happen next.
Secondly, this book is both informative and well-crafted. If you don't know the ins and outs of the daily work that advertising agencies do, this book is the best crash course I can think of. But this is no textbook; the information seeps in as the background for the plot of the story - a half-dozen firms competing for the Subaru account, and one of them struggling to keep it on track. The key characters' personalities are fleshed out with backgrounds and traits in a style that's reminiscent of David Halberstam's. So you might not know anything about the advertising world, but you won't get lost, and you'll end up knowing a lot more about advertising than you'd expected.
Another reason for liking this book is that it gives the reader a unique inside view of the actual events. If you've ever given a business presentation, you probably know the feeling of stepping out of the room and immediately wondering "what did they think? Did they like it?" If you've ever hired (or been part of) a creative team for a project, you've had moments when you asked "why isn't this working right?" Because the author had access at every level to the key people on both the client side and the agency side, you see how things worked (or didn't) and why. It's a great "fly on the wall" experience.
Lastly, the book illuminates the way advertising has evolved in American society, and the role it plays today. It all takes place in the context of a detailed, true story, but this well-written story has a big picture angle as well. You might have become interested in the world of US advertising from watching "Mad Men" on TV, or you might be coming from a more academic or sociological perspective. In either case, this book will take you right into the reality of advertising, and might even make you think a bit about what advertising means to us today.
It seems unfair to qualify a recommendation for this book as a "business book," but given its length, the subject probably won't hold your interest to the end if you can't enjoy a story that takes place in the world of business and advertising. But within this genre, this is one of the best I've read.
Secondly, this book is both informative and well-crafted. If you don't know the ins and outs of the daily work that advertising agencies do, this book is the best crash course I can think of. But this is no textbook; the information seeps in as the background for the plot of the story - a half-dozen firms competing for the Subaru account, and one of them struggling to keep it on track. The key characters' personalities are fleshed out with backgrounds and traits in a style that's reminiscent of David Halberstam's. So you might not know anything about the advertising world, but you won't get lost, and you'll end up knowing a lot more about advertising than you'd expected.
Another reason for liking this book is that it gives the reader a unique inside view of the actual events. If you've ever given a business presentation, you probably know the feeling of stepping out of the room and immediately wondering "what did they think? Did they like it?" If you've ever hired (or been part of) a creative team for a project, you've had moments when you asked "why isn't this working right?" Because the author had access at every level to the key people on both the client side and the agency side, you see how things worked (or didn't) and why. It's a great "fly on the wall" experience.
Lastly, the book illuminates the way advertising has evolved in American society, and the role it plays today. It all takes place in the context of a detailed, true story, but this well-written story has a big picture angle as well. You might have become interested in the world of US advertising from watching "Mad Men" on TV, or you might be coming from a more academic or sociological perspective. In either case, this book will take you right into the reality of advertising, and might even make you think a bit about what advertising means to us today.
It seems unfair to qualify a recommendation for this book as a "business book," but given its length, the subject probably won't hold your interest to the end if you can't enjoy a story that takes place in the world of business and advertising. But within this genre, this is one of the best I've read.
November 3, 2009
Interesting look at the automobile advertising game, both the agencies and the clients like to drive each other up the wall.
May 30, 2013
Excellent insights from all around the pitch. Well-written and revealing. We think it's all about us and our ideas. Have a read and discover otherwise.
August 27, 2019
Terrific inside look of the entire "pitch" process from the perspective of both the client and the competing agencies.
May 18, 2021
I like that this book goes beyond the result of the pitch, and explores what happens after.
Also that most advertising books, (written mostly by people in advertising), look at the business from the seller's POV. This one showed what happens at the buyer's (client's) end.
There should be more literature that explores advertising from a business POV. No, the 'case studies' at awards shows won't do.
How about a book on how clients bought great campaigns?
'APPROVED - How the Best Ad Campaigns Were Bought'
Feature interviews from Marketing Directors - how many options were they shown, what research did they do, what are their thoughts on getting the best work from their agencies...
Also that most advertising books, (written mostly by people in advertising), look at the business from the seller's POV. This one showed what happens at the buyer's (client's) end.
There should be more literature that explores advertising from a business POV. No, the 'case studies' at awards shows won't do.
How about a book on how clients bought great campaigns?
'APPROVED - How the Best Ad Campaigns Were Bought'
Feature interviews from Marketing Directors - how many options were they shown, what research did they do, what are their thoughts on getting the best work from their agencies...
October 3, 2019
This book was recommended to me by a creative director I know. Two of my favorite things are combined in this book—advertising and Subaru. I've been an avid supportor of Subaru for years and will always have a Subaru in my garage. My career in advertising is just beginning, and this book has painted a pretty accurate picture of the environment so far. I'm reading it a second time to glean even more insight from its pages. Good read for anyone starting out in the ad business or for anyone that wonders what goes into that funny TV commercial you saw last week.
February 5, 2008
Very insightful and thoughtful account of the behind the scenes workings of a large advertising campaign. At the same time a fascinating historical account of Subaru, the evolution of their automobile product and those first pioneers who first began to import them. Makes you wonder how many other large, supposedly "buttoned down" companies had fly by night upstarts...
January 3, 2017
Fascinating read... meticulous account of the winning and losing of the Subaru account by Portland's Wieden & Kennedy. It is an interesting case study of the many difficulties agencies face when breaking into new verticals. At times more reportage than analysis, the book redeems itself on the last page - where three well-crafted paragraphs wisely sum up lessons learned.
May 8, 2011
a fascinating read. i learned a ton about cars & advertising and also that there's not a lot of room for creativity when working in car advertising.
June 9, 2022
Fascinating insight into the realities of an advertising pitch. I loved it because I am in advertising but I think most people would get something from this one.
April 5, 2022
Too good. What advertising used to be.
March 4, 2024
Probably the best book I've ever read about advertising. It looks at Subaru's search for a new agency in the US after a sales slump in the 1990s, the subsequent appointment of the agency, and the total culture clash that followed. So many great chapters and stories including the pitch (someone thought that getting the phone number 0800-SUBARU-92 was a winning idea), the making of the first ads, and more. Obviously a lot has changed in the world since this was written, but it is still incredibly informative about how things work.
May 20, 2022
Definite very inside look at the Advertising and Business world. Fear was the most prevailing message throughout the story. People at Subaru feared their home office, fear at the agency that their one massive client Nike wouldn’t last forever, fear from the dealers anything that didn’t translate to immediate sales, and fear in Japan of anything new or different then they had tried before. If emotion is advertising this book was a lesson in FEAR.
January 31, 2021
I'm not a car person at all - but this book brought me on a great ride through the history of advertising, it's fallacies and philosophies, to the inner workings of a postmodernist ad agency working on a big publicity campaign for Subaru of America. Written in journalistic style, detailed and documented. A great read.
May 27, 2022
Fascinating. A true story that reads like a compelling novel. Rothenberg presents strong characters, surprising plot twists and lots of drama in pulling back the curtain on major advertising campaign. Highly recommended.
July 31, 2019
A killer book
June 11, 2024
For the love of God! Will someone please buy a Subaru?
May 26, 2022
Subaru: What to Drive.
I originally heard about this book on Terry O'Reilly's terrific advertising podcast: Under the Influence. On rereading this is still the best book about advertising I have ever read. Where the Suckers Moon follows a failed advertising campaign for Subaru of America in the early 1990s. Rothenberg follows a fascinating cast of characters that could have been on an episode of Mad Men. Subaru of America, partially independent of its Japanese head office, sought to increase lacklustre car sales in the United States. The book follows executives choosing an ad agency, the creation of an advertising campaign, and the internal politics and objectives that undermine the collective effort.
SoA, in a bold move to create a new image, bypasses highly respected New York ad agencies and eventually selects Wieden and Kennedy, a hipster upstart firm from the Pacific Northwest. W&K was most known for its renowned work for Nike, itself an upstart in the athletic apparel industry. It had no other major clients, and SoA was to be its first legacy client. Rothenberg chronicles a campaign marked by creative flair, but also miscommunication, misaligned goals, and internal company culture that undermines Subaru and Wieden and Kennedy executives at every turn. It's a great cautionary tale and also an instructive guide to how to build a campaign of any type. An essential read for anyone who enjoyed Mad Men, real life business stories, or just engaging investigative journalism with larger than life characters.
I originally heard about this book on Terry O'Reilly's terrific advertising podcast: Under the Influence. On rereading this is still the best book about advertising I have ever read. Where the Suckers Moon follows a failed advertising campaign for Subaru of America in the early 1990s. Rothenberg follows a fascinating cast of characters that could have been on an episode of Mad Men. Subaru of America, partially independent of its Japanese head office, sought to increase lacklustre car sales in the United States. The book follows executives choosing an ad agency, the creation of an advertising campaign, and the internal politics and objectives that undermine the collective effort.
SoA, in a bold move to create a new image, bypasses highly respected New York ad agencies and eventually selects Wieden and Kennedy, a hipster upstart firm from the Pacific Northwest. W&K was most known for its renowned work for Nike, itself an upstart in the athletic apparel industry. It had no other major clients, and SoA was to be its first legacy client. Rothenberg chronicles a campaign marked by creative flair, but also miscommunication, misaligned goals, and internal company culture that undermines Subaru and Wieden and Kennedy executives at every turn. It's a great cautionary tale and also an instructive guide to how to build a campaign of any type. An essential read for anyone who enjoyed Mad Men, real life business stories, or just engaging investigative journalism with larger than life characters.
January 3, 2016
On the surface, "Where the Suckers Moon" is a book about the life and death of an advertising campaign but once you begin reading you'll realize it's much more. It's not just about the celebrated agency Wieden+Kennedy, home of a thousand famous Nike commercials and a plethora of other work that has shaped pop culture. It's also about who Subaru of America is, how they grew from two colorful characters in tracksuits bullying a Japanese industrial company to being the foremost 4-wheel drive car company before Audi took that title. It's also about Subaru of Japan and Fuji Heavy Industries, a conglomerate torn apart after World War II and somewhat put back together. It's also about the marketing that happened before Wieden+Kennedy ever got on scene. All through the book the author goes well beyond saying "and then this guy did that" and instead explains to the reader the reasoning and history of each party. I walked away from this read wondering how on earth the author could have been a fly on the wall in all these different rooms, got all these different people to talk in vivid colors about the things they experienced and what else there might be on goodreads written by him.
April 10, 2017
I read this years ago when it first came out. At the time I had been in the business for about a year. Today, with so many years to look back on, I can honestly say this is one of the most honest and accurate portrayals of the advertising business I've ever read. Approaching twenty years on, it still stands the test of time and rises above its peers. It should make the must-read list of anyone interested in the peculiar business of advertising.
August 14, 2010
Sometimes you get an amazing story simply from having incredible behind-the-scenes access. That's definitely true in Rotherberg's case. Fortunately for us, he's also an incredibly gifted writer.
Whether or not you work in advertising (or have ever owned a Subaru), this is a fascinating and endlessly informative book. At times it's also really funny.
Whether or not you work in advertising (or have ever owned a Subaru), this is a fascinating and endlessly informative book. At times it's also really funny.
June 14, 2009
amazing. definitely a favorite of mine. was given to me by Michael Tchao when I was at move.com. no book has ever or will ever capture the insanity that can happen between agency and client as well as this one does. brilliant.
August 21, 2014
A little dry at times, but I loved the behind the scenes descriptions of how much activity there is behind the scenes, when all we see is a commercial
September 12, 2008
I learned about the business of advertising.
May 20, 2009
I stumbled upon this book in the library and once I started I couldn't put it down. It is a great behind the scenes look at the world of advertising.
August 23, 2010
I wouldn't blame you if you didn't want to read 400 pages about the Subaru marketing campaign of the early 1990s, but it was interesting.
June 27, 2012
Please see our review at: theagencyreview.wordpress.com/where-t...
January 9, 2013
this was cool. an intro story into the old adv world. wieden. subaru. new school kids, c'mon bring it.
February 1, 2016
Fast-moving and witty, but I felt this story was aimed more at people who understand the advertising industry already rather than readers like me.
March 7, 2016
A slow and painful (required) read.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews