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Marketer in chief: How Each President Sold the American Idea
A fresh perspective on presidential history.
Why was the Spanish Peso more valuable than the U.S. Dollar? How did a public relations fiasco derail Cuban statehood? Would we remember Herbert Hoover as the Jeff Bezos of his time had he been elected eight years earlier? If these don't sound like questions you heard in history class, you're right. They're not. These are the questions you ask when you look at presidential history through the eyes of an advertising executive. Except Jason Voiovich isn't your typical "Mad Man." His penchant for asking weird questions has earned him a reputation as one of marketing's most original thinkers. Now, he's turned his unconventional eye on the conventional wisdom of presidential history. He retells the story of America through the eyes of its most influential salesperson - its president. America's Marketer in Chief.
Jason reconsiders the president's role in American life - in fact, the entire idea of America as a nation - from a tantalizing and fresh perspective. He recasts the president as a brand manager of the American idea, much as Henry Ford shaped the development of the automobile, or as Steve Jobs introduced the world to the smartphone. No less than the Model T and the iPhone, America itself is an innovation in government and culture. Jason takes us on a wild ride through the lifecycle of America - from its first introduction, through its rapid growth, and finally, into its disruption and renewal. He reimagines Thomas Jefferson's Louisiana Purchase as a family board game. He solves the riddle of how Calvin Coolidge forged the link between religion and politics. And he shows us why Barack Obama's presidency marked the end of the era of (human) soldiers.
Born from the wildly popular weekly blog in 2020, Marketer in Chief repackages presidential history in a way that's more natural for American consumers - the average person might take a history course in high school or college, but they make a purchase every single day. It's irreverent, occasionally foul mouthed, and surprisingly insightful. Who knows? Once Americans know how they're being sold, they might demand a better product.
Why was the Spanish Peso more valuable than the U.S. Dollar? How did a public relations fiasco derail Cuban statehood? Would we remember Herbert Hoover as the Jeff Bezos of his time had he been elected eight years earlier? If these don't sound like questions you heard in history class, you're right. They're not. These are the questions you ask when you look at presidential history through the eyes of an advertising executive. Except Jason Voiovich isn't your typical "Mad Man." His penchant for asking weird questions has earned him a reputation as one of marketing's most original thinkers. Now, he's turned his unconventional eye on the conventional wisdom of presidential history. He retells the story of America through the eyes of its most influential salesperson - its president. America's Marketer in Chief.
Jason reconsiders the president's role in American life - in fact, the entire idea of America as a nation - from a tantalizing and fresh perspective. He recasts the president as a brand manager of the American idea, much as Henry Ford shaped the development of the automobile, or as Steve Jobs introduced the world to the smartphone. No less than the Model T and the iPhone, America itself is an innovation in government and culture. Jason takes us on a wild ride through the lifecycle of America - from its first introduction, through its rapid growth, and finally, into its disruption and renewal. He reimagines Thomas Jefferson's Louisiana Purchase as a family board game. He solves the riddle of how Calvin Coolidge forged the link between religion and politics. And he shows us why Barack Obama's presidency marked the end of the era of (human) soldiers.
Born from the wildly popular weekly blog in 2020, Marketer in Chief repackages presidential history in a way that's more natural for American consumers - the average person might take a history course in high school or college, but they make a purchase every single day. It's irreverent, occasionally foul mouthed, and surprisingly insightful. Who knows? Once Americans know how they're being sold, they might demand a better product.
634 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 4, 2021
8 people are currently reading
376 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
November 14, 2021
I rarely read non-fiction, but I know Jason, so I decided to give this book a try. I'm glad I did.
This book is very well-researched and academic-sounding, but it is very enjoyable to read. The idea to analyze just one aspect of each presidency instead of recounting the entire term made 46 chapters go quickly. And choosing a unique aspect of each presidency made for lots of variety.
While Jason can at times be a little long-winded on Zoom calls, his writing is succinct, precise, and to the point. He also isn't afraid to drop in the occasional f-bomb for emphasis. The footnotes deserved to be at the bottom of the pages because instead of dry source references, they often had funny asides and comments. He also geeked out a little too much on the chapters that focused strictly on marketing practices and techniques (Clinton and Trump).
The most memorable chapters for me were presidents about whom I knew little more than their name. Coolidge and Hoover were fascinating. I was also fascinated with the first five presidents. I guess I never realized that winning our independence was just the beginning of the story. These five had to figure out how to run a democracy, or it would all have been for naught.
I might disagree with the title, Marketer in Chief. I thought the book was going to be about how each president marketed the US to the rest of the world, or how he marketed his vision for the country to the American people. In reality it was about the actions each president took to advance the country during his years at the helm, from the Louisana Purchase to changing the way we wage war. So I would say he was really describing a CEO executing their vision, not a marketer.
This book is very well-researched and academic-sounding, but it is very enjoyable to read. The idea to analyze just one aspect of each presidency instead of recounting the entire term made 46 chapters go quickly. And choosing a unique aspect of each presidency made for lots of variety.
While Jason can at times be a little long-winded on Zoom calls, his writing is succinct, precise, and to the point. He also isn't afraid to drop in the occasional f-bomb for emphasis. The footnotes deserved to be at the bottom of the pages because instead of dry source references, they often had funny asides and comments. He also geeked out a little too much on the chapters that focused strictly on marketing practices and techniques (Clinton and Trump).
The most memorable chapters for me were presidents about whom I knew little more than their name. Coolidge and Hoover were fascinating. I was also fascinated with the first five presidents. I guess I never realized that winning our independence was just the beginning of the story. These five had to figure out how to run a democracy, or it would all have been for naught.
I might disagree with the title, Marketer in Chief. I thought the book was going to be about how each president marketed the US to the rest of the world, or how he marketed his vision for the country to the American people. In reality it was about the actions each president took to advance the country during his years at the helm, from the Louisana Purchase to changing the way we wage war. So I would say he was really describing a CEO executing their vision, not a marketer.
October 28, 2021
Different perspective
This book definitely presents a different perspective. I don't usually consider marketing because it is not in my ken. I don't know how to market my creativity. The perspective presented in this book is foreign to me. By reading it, I learned a lot, but I was also in over my head. To get a better understanding, I would need to do some research and talk with some r who has a better grasp on marketing.
I recommend this book to anyone in marketing, finance, politics, or history.
I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway.
This book definitely presents a different perspective. I don't usually consider marketing because it is not in my ken. I don't know how to market my creativity. The perspective presented in this book is foreign to me. By reading it, I learned a lot, but I was also in over my head. To get a better understanding, I would need to do some research and talk with some r who has a better grasp on marketing.
I recommend this book to anyone in marketing, finance, politics, or history.
I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway.
August 6, 2022
Really enjoyed this fresh perspective on these historical figures.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews