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Sadvertising
An electrifying collection of stories from the febrile imagination of a young writer who traverses culture, genre and form.
A man grows tired of his open-plan office and builds a fort made of stationery. A woman’s euphoria at finally achieving Desktop Zero is quickly replaced with despair. A group of copywriters dream of being poets, and a disillusioned sales executive overthinks his think piece.
In the mind-bendingly upside-down world of Sadvertising, iPhones have feelings, brands come to life, creative directors disappear into parallel universes and lowly freelancers become immortal. It’s a world where gods, ghosts and muses stalk the corridors of bland and placeless offices, and the wondrous exists alongside the mundane.
Short, punchy and direct, Ennis Cehic’s satirical fables are box-fresh and shot through with pitch-black humour, existential dread and late capitalist yearning for meaning. They grapple with love and loneliness, art and commerce, dream and reality, and reflect the absurdity of the modern condition.
Sadvertising is a surreal, subversive and utterly contemporary literary debut from an unforgettable new voice.
Funny, smart, crazy, audacious, and above all humane, this book marks the deeply unusual arrival of a singular new talent.
---
MOHSIN HAMID
Sadvertising is a tonic, a work of thrilling, audacious verve and wit, capturing the absurdity of the hyperconnected world in which we live. Cehic’s intelligence and humour are singular, and his playful love for the possibilities of language is exhilarating. Often in reading his book I wanted to stand up and burst into spontaneous applause. And why not? Sadvertising deserves a standing ovation.
CHRISTOS TSIOLKAS
Part-satire, part-lament for all that humanity has already lost to the digital netherworld, these are shimmering, bittersweet fables of the age of advertising and ego-curation in which we live. Reading this book might open up a portal to the multiverse - as actually happens to one of the unforgettable characters - but I promise it will be worth it, even if you never find your way back home.
CERIDWEN DOVEY
An unsettling, bad-arse book with a big heart. Clever, cool, funny and very, very strange. Ennis Cehic is a remarkable writer with a bright future.
OMAR MUSA
George Saunders meets Bohumil Hrabl meets Ben Marcus meets your creative account manager. Pointed and wry, Sadvertising layers the mundane with the frankly, brazenly bizarre, and in doing so makes strange, and particular, the deadening spaces in which they so often meet: the office, the screen, the motivational poster. Ennic Cehic does it all with a gentle kind of knowing. I loved this collection.
ELLENA SAVAGE
With scathing wit and black humour, Sadvertising offers hope and ennui in equal measure, and challenges readers to interrogate how, and what, they consume.
A man grows tired of his open-plan office and builds a fort made of stationery. A woman’s euphoria at finally achieving Desktop Zero is quickly replaced with despair. A group of copywriters dream of being poets, and a disillusioned sales executive overthinks his think piece.
In the mind-bendingly upside-down world of Sadvertising, iPhones have feelings, brands come to life, creative directors disappear into parallel universes and lowly freelancers become immortal. It’s a world where gods, ghosts and muses stalk the corridors of bland and placeless offices, and the wondrous exists alongside the mundane.
Short, punchy and direct, Ennis Cehic’s satirical fables are box-fresh and shot through with pitch-black humour, existential dread and late capitalist yearning for meaning. They grapple with love and loneliness, art and commerce, dream and reality, and reflect the absurdity of the modern condition.
Sadvertising is a surreal, subversive and utterly contemporary literary debut from an unforgettable new voice.
Funny, smart, crazy, audacious, and above all humane, this book marks the deeply unusual arrival of a singular new talent.
---
MOHSIN HAMID
Sadvertising is a tonic, a work of thrilling, audacious verve and wit, capturing the absurdity of the hyperconnected world in which we live. Cehic’s intelligence and humour are singular, and his playful love for the possibilities of language is exhilarating. Often in reading his book I wanted to stand up and burst into spontaneous applause. And why not? Sadvertising deserves a standing ovation.
CHRISTOS TSIOLKAS
Part-satire, part-lament for all that humanity has already lost to the digital netherworld, these are shimmering, bittersweet fables of the age of advertising and ego-curation in which we live. Reading this book might open up a portal to the multiverse - as actually happens to one of the unforgettable characters - but I promise it will be worth it, even if you never find your way back home.
CERIDWEN DOVEY
An unsettling, bad-arse book with a big heart. Clever, cool, funny and very, very strange. Ennis Cehic is a remarkable writer with a bright future.
OMAR MUSA
George Saunders meets Bohumil Hrabl meets Ben Marcus meets your creative account manager. Pointed and wry, Sadvertising layers the mundane with the frankly, brazenly bizarre, and in doing so makes strange, and particular, the deadening spaces in which they so often meet: the office, the screen, the motivational poster. Ennic Cehic does it all with a gentle kind of knowing. I loved this collection.
ELLENA SAVAGE
With scathing wit and black humour, Sadvertising offers hope and ennui in equal measure, and challenges readers to interrogate how, and what, they consume.
- GenresShort StoriesFiction
304 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 2022
14 people are currently reading
254 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
April 24, 2022
Every so often, a short story collection comes along that changes the game completely. In 2017, it was Carmen Maria Machado’s Her Body And Other Parties. I’m pretty confident that Ennis Ćehić’s Sadvertising is next.
My full review of Sadvertising can be found on Keeping Up With The Penguins.
My full review of Sadvertising can be found on Keeping Up With The Penguins.
May 1, 2023
3.5 stars. An original, interesting, sometimes humorous, sometimes absurdist, sometimes dystopian, sometimes meta fiction, sometimes satirical, debut short story collection mainly about individuals who work in the advertising industry.
There are over fifty short stories about issues including consumerism, advertising, the individual versus the corporation, and copywriters who want to be authors. There are a large variety of stories. For example, iPhones that have feelings and an advertising genius who blocks out everyone from seeing him at his office desk.
There are some excellent, thought provoking short stories in this collection. A book worthwhile rereading.
This book was first published in 2022.
There are over fifty short stories about issues including consumerism, advertising, the individual versus the corporation, and copywriters who want to be authors. There are a large variety of stories. For example, iPhones that have feelings and an advertising genius who blocks out everyone from seeing him at his office desk.
There are some excellent, thought provoking short stories in this collection. A book worthwhile rereading.
This book was first published in 2022.
June 12, 2025
I loved this book. Short fictional and absurd stories about the people and their working lives in an office. Reminded me of all the inane stuff I used to think about when I worked in corporate writing longing to break out of there for a creative life. Yes, we can all be poets.
Video review here: Sadvertising by Ennis Ćehić (Book Review)
https://youtu.be/dXl58ryPeag
Video review here: Sadvertising by Ennis Ćehić (Book Review)
https://youtu.be/dXl58ryPeag
May 3, 2022
Sadvertising is a lively collection of creatively ambitious short stories - each more wild and insightful than the last - examining a life surrounded by advertising. Ćehić crafts a unique literary universe that sheds light on our consumerism-obsessed reality, whilst also touching on poignant themes of identity and loneliness.
Working in the world of creative advertising myself, this novel was exceptionally enjoyable; framing my sometimes monotonous day-to-day desk job in an absurd and exciting light: a creative director brainstorms himself into another dimension, an art director loses his ability to imagine.
This brilliant combination of critique, creativity, and - at times - counsel, results in a debut that I would recommend to my work colleagues and everybody else who’s ever clicked a ‘buy now’ button.
5/5 ⭐️
Working in the world of creative advertising myself, this novel was exceptionally enjoyable; framing my sometimes monotonous day-to-day desk job in an absurd and exciting light: a creative director brainstorms himself into another dimension, an art director loses his ability to imagine.
This brilliant combination of critique, creativity, and - at times - counsel, results in a debut that I would recommend to my work colleagues and everybody else who’s ever clicked a ‘buy now’ button.
5/5 ⭐️
June 30, 2025
only a MADMAN could write this book. most of the stories in it were genuinely genius and awesome. raving mad. i wish aus fiction spotlighted these type of authors more. begone, classically trained diana reid and nursing home favourite helen garner!! hello to these absurdist takes on consumerism and publishing !
January 24, 2022
An incredible collection well worth the read, perfect literary bursts of absurdity with a side of existential dread and late-capitalist critiques. Christos Tsiolkas puts it better than I can: 'Sadvertising is a tonic, a work of thrilling, audacious verve and wit, capturing the absurdity of the hyperconnected world in which we live.'
June 27, 2022
Great debut from a Melbourne writer!
I’d thought it was just a rare impulse buy when this book caught my attention in-store with it’s glossy neon orange cover, the slick self-explanatory portmanteau title, the blurb on the back seducing me (absolutely the target demographic of this book) with promises of sexy musings on the “late capitalist yearning for meaning” and shit.
It truly was a “surreal, subversive and utterly contemporary” moment (as the book’s blurb brags) when later reading a first-person short story describing literally the book “Sadvertising” stalking and sending targeted online advertisements to a man, not dissimilar to me, in order to eventually coerce him into buying the book, and also that the author himself is a seasoned copywriter and brand strategist working in the advertising industry. I couldn’t help but feel tricked into purchasing this book. Luckily for me however, the book turned out to be quite good.
Just like real advertising copy, some of the one-liners in this thing you cant help but get a kick out of such as “The problem with the content department was that no one was content with the content they were writing” and “When ISIS started beheading people and putting the videos on YouTube, Daniil wondered if he had any cause for concern - he was the only Muslim in the agency”. The absurd situations people find themselves in often play out over Instagram stories or Siri conversations or Zoom calls, and I love that these brands are explicitly brought up without significance being drawn to them. Silicon Valley having a grip on everyday life is just part of the wallpaper.
Just like real advertising copy also, the consumer experiences a cognitive dissonance between the unattainable promise being sold and their post-purchase feeling of regret. I can’t help but suspect that some of these stories, especially in the first section, are really intended for the casual scroll-through Twitter screen-shot audience. There are just a few too many wink-at-the-camera-obvious social commentary moments mixed in with the genuinely inventive moments; it makes me question Cehic’s own sincerity toward his readership.
Overall it’s a blast to read, like the lighter funnier side of David Foster Wallace’s “The Pale King”, but it seems to have delivered on it’s promise of dystopian corporate comedy while compromising; that’s a minor shame to the reader that wants to take Cehic even more seriously. “Before getting into today’s content, let’s talk about our sponsor today SkillShare…”
I’d thought it was just a rare impulse buy when this book caught my attention in-store with it’s glossy neon orange cover, the slick self-explanatory portmanteau title, the blurb on the back seducing me (absolutely the target demographic of this book) with promises of sexy musings on the “late capitalist yearning for meaning” and shit.
It truly was a “surreal, subversive and utterly contemporary” moment (as the book’s blurb brags) when later reading a first-person short story describing literally the book “Sadvertising” stalking and sending targeted online advertisements to a man, not dissimilar to me, in order to eventually coerce him into buying the book, and also that the author himself is a seasoned copywriter and brand strategist working in the advertising industry. I couldn’t help but feel tricked into purchasing this book. Luckily for me however, the book turned out to be quite good.
Just like real advertising copy, some of the one-liners in this thing you cant help but get a kick out of such as “The problem with the content department was that no one was content with the content they were writing” and “When ISIS started beheading people and putting the videos on YouTube, Daniil wondered if he had any cause for concern - he was the only Muslim in the agency”. The absurd situations people find themselves in often play out over Instagram stories or Siri conversations or Zoom calls, and I love that these brands are explicitly brought up without significance being drawn to them. Silicon Valley having a grip on everyday life is just part of the wallpaper.
Just like real advertising copy also, the consumer experiences a cognitive dissonance between the unattainable promise being sold and their post-purchase feeling of regret. I can’t help but suspect that some of these stories, especially in the first section, are really intended for the casual scroll-through Twitter screen-shot audience. There are just a few too many wink-at-the-camera-obvious social commentary moments mixed in with the genuinely inventive moments; it makes me question Cehic’s own sincerity toward his readership.
Overall it’s a blast to read, like the lighter funnier side of David Foster Wallace’s “The Pale King”, but it seems to have delivered on it’s promise of dystopian corporate comedy while compromising; that’s a minor shame to the reader that wants to take Cehic even more seriously. “Before getting into today’s content, let’s talk about our sponsor today SkillShare…”
January 19, 2024
It’s Etger Keret for the modern era - which is very high praise indeed! Whimsical, playful, quaint and joyful in turns and strokes. Short form writing at its most wonderful.
March 15, 2022
Sharp, funny, dystopian and not at all what I expected. Think black mirror meets the advertising industry. I would recommend this to anyone working in the creative field.
March 6, 2022
Wry, funny and damming exploration of the existential dramas of the advertising industry. As a copywriter with a lot of agency experience, this was almost too on the nose.
Nice amount of surrealism and dystopia chucked in for good measure (not too much but enough to add a little thrill at the absurdity and inevitability of it all).
Like all short story collections, some are stronger than others. For me, the best ones skewered the creative malaise of the modern ‘creative’ or had a weird, quirky heart. All of them had a great premise and satisfying amount of dark humour.
Nice amount of surrealism and dystopia chucked in for good measure (not too much but enough to add a little thrill at the absurdity and inevitability of it all).
Like all short story collections, some are stronger than others. For me, the best ones skewered the creative malaise of the modern ‘creative’ or had a weird, quirky heart. All of them had a great premise and satisfying amount of dark humour.
July 15, 2022
So unlike anything i’ve ever read before. The stories, most of which imagine bizarre what-if scenarios, are ridiculous but sharp and humorous. You can clearly see the inspiration Ennis took from Nam Le’s The Boat (one of the best books of short stories ever).
did-not-finish
September 4, 2022DNF’ed this one, I wanted to read it because I work in advertising but it’s a bit too pretentious and not nearly insightful enough for me (oh the irony).
January 13, 2025
I admire what Ćehić is trying to do here but it doesn't work for me. The ad world might be a fertile setting for human dramas that aren't actually about advertising, but Sadvertising is not that. Its chief concern is advertising itself, and it's a theme that just doesn't have the level of depth needed for the sort of writing Ćehić clearly wants to do.
I say this because for all their experimental gloss, most of the stories in Sadvertising read like a catalogue of familiar agency tropes: briefs are cracked, pitches are won, mercurial creative directors act mercurially, and so on. And there's not a great deal underneath any of that. Its pithy industry insights often feel like just that: industry insights which sometimes sound dangerously close to LinkedIn posts (e.g. moralistic tales of agencies which discover the powers of UX and collaborative working). Ideas that feel at home at industry conferences, but underwhelm in fiction.
To be fair, there are moments when Sadvertising manages to get past fictional evocations of brand strategy and agency politics to delve into real questions of identity and creativity. Proof that the real thematic juice of it all doesn't lie in advertising, but in the people who create and consume it. Yet somehow that feels undersung.
And I should add that I really wanted this to work. Not just because I work in the industry, but because I too believed that maybe advertising had some sort of hidden depth that could be uncovered via the processes of fiction. Now I'm not so sure that it does. And that's no shade on Ennis Ćehić. Only after reading Sadvertising do I begin to think that maybe advertising just (apologies in advance)... is what it is.
I say this because for all their experimental gloss, most of the stories in Sadvertising read like a catalogue of familiar agency tropes: briefs are cracked, pitches are won, mercurial creative directors act mercurially, and so on. And there's not a great deal underneath any of that. Its pithy industry insights often feel like just that: industry insights which sometimes sound dangerously close to LinkedIn posts (e.g. moralistic tales of agencies which discover the powers of UX and collaborative working). Ideas that feel at home at industry conferences, but underwhelm in fiction.
To be fair, there are moments when Sadvertising manages to get past fictional evocations of brand strategy and agency politics to delve into real questions of identity and creativity. Proof that the real thematic juice of it all doesn't lie in advertising, but in the people who create and consume it. Yet somehow that feels undersung.
And I should add that I really wanted this to work. Not just because I work in the industry, but because I too believed that maybe advertising had some sort of hidden depth that could be uncovered via the processes of fiction. Now I'm not so sure that it does. And that's no shade on Ennis Ćehić. Only after reading Sadvertising do I begin to think that maybe advertising just (apologies in advance)... is what it is.
July 31, 2025
Short speculative fiction stories based around life in the advertising industry.
I was hoping for something like Black Mirror, and the title was appealing but I didn’t relate to the content here.
Stories were set in modern times but they felt dated somehow, like they could have been written in the nineties if not for the presence of social media and smart phones.
It felt like a product of the corporate world rather than observing and providing commentary on it. Office vernacular to me is soulless and I don’t connect with it. If it was meant to be satire that wasn’t clear.
It felt a bit pretentious at times to be honest, as if the characters thought they were the only ones to ever be interested in art and literature and so they were better than everyone else.
It was easy and enjoyable enough to read but very few of the stories were satisfying. There were some good ideas but they felt incomplete and shallow.
‘Ad Nauseum’ had one of the better ideas - surgery to make your brain immune to advertising. Putting ads directly into your brain and dreams must be the holy grail for capitalism which was an interesting subject to speculate on.
‘Modern Feed’ was another nice idea - Twitter feed presented on a plate as a meal, but it could have developed further themes like overconsumption, empty calories or whatever for example to feel more fleshed out.
A man falls in love with Siri in ‘Snoop’ and that one was OK.
The mythology in Patience was also OK.
‘Meta Ennis: Part III’ saved some of the best work until last, with the OCD story and ‘rules of 3’. It felt the most authentic and personal which I had been waiting for. More like that next time Ennis!
I think this would have been better with fewer stories (there were 50 in 300 pages), and the good ideas kept but explored in more detail.
I was hoping for something like Black Mirror, and the title was appealing but I didn’t relate to the content here.
Stories were set in modern times but they felt dated somehow, like they could have been written in the nineties if not for the presence of social media and smart phones.
It felt like a product of the corporate world rather than observing and providing commentary on it. Office vernacular to me is soulless and I don’t connect with it. If it was meant to be satire that wasn’t clear.
It felt a bit pretentious at times to be honest, as if the characters thought they were the only ones to ever be interested in art and literature and so they were better than everyone else.
It was easy and enjoyable enough to read but very few of the stories were satisfying. There were some good ideas but they felt incomplete and shallow.
‘Ad Nauseum’ had one of the better ideas - surgery to make your brain immune to advertising. Putting ads directly into your brain and dreams must be the holy grail for capitalism which was an interesting subject to speculate on.
‘Modern Feed’ was another nice idea - Twitter feed presented on a plate as a meal, but it could have developed further themes like overconsumption, empty calories or whatever for example to feel more fleshed out.
A man falls in love with Siri in ‘Snoop’ and that one was OK.
The mythology in Patience was also OK.
‘Meta Ennis: Part III’ saved some of the best work until last, with the OCD story and ‘rules of 3’. It felt the most authentic and personal which I had been waiting for. More like that next time Ennis!
I think this would have been better with fewer stories (there were 50 in 300 pages), and the good ideas kept but explored in more detail.
July 30, 2023
When I first saw this book in a Brisbane bookstore and flipped through its pages, I knew I was in for a treat. Without even walking out of the store, I sat down and read its first couple stories. The wittiness is captivating and I found myself on multiple occasions laughing out loud and turning to whoever I was with in a hopes to share the author’s creativity. The last story is truly the best piece of writing I have ever read and is a story I will turn back to and share with anyone who will listen. The writing style and themes contained everything I love about art—the satire and the constant thought of whether the story is fiction or fact. Loved every moment of it.
August 29, 2025
Sheeple wake up! A good reminder that corporate jobs bore and drain creative lifeforce.
A zesty collection of short stories that were relevant, off beaten path, brief, powerful. Just as I entered into one world, I was kicked out, often finishing the narrative in my own mind. Daydreaming dreamscape, feeling like I co-authoring some endings in my mind.
I liked the personification of everyday pop-y items.
Still not sure what a copywriter is, learned a lot about ad agencies. Blurred lines between real and ethereal realms. Meta Ennis slaps.
Emilies annotations chef’s kiss
A zesty collection of short stories that were relevant, off beaten path, brief, powerful. Just as I entered into one world, I was kicked out, often finishing the narrative in my own mind. Daydreaming dreamscape, feeling like I co-authoring some endings in my mind.
I liked the personification of everyday pop-y items.
Still not sure what a copywriter is, learned a lot about ad agencies. Blurred lines between real and ethereal realms. Meta Ennis slaps.
Emilies annotations chef’s kiss
September 14, 2023
3.5 🌟
“As she sips on her pressed apple tea, and watches me disappear in the crowd near Sebilj, she thinks how, in the end, all hearts break and all lives end. As it plaits implicit meanings through her mind, Ina wonders if she would rather have her heart broken and her life ended through the pursuit of her innermost dream, or, like the woman in my story, only realise it when it was too late.”
“As she sips on her pressed apple tea, and watches me disappear in the crowd near Sebilj, she thinks how, in the end, all hearts break and all lives end. As it plaits implicit meanings through her mind, Ina wonders if she would rather have her heart broken and her life ended through the pursuit of her innermost dream, or, like the woman in my story, only realise it when it was too late.”
June 30, 2022
I staggered along to the end of the collection, skimming through the last two or three stories. I enjoyed the book at first, but though the stories were often clever and innovative, I still found them a bit repetitive. Maybe I am not that interested in the advertising industry.
April 29, 2023
3.5
This took me a while to read and I was getting sick of it towards the end, but in retrospect I enjoyed it.
Every story is based on the advertising industry however, which I didn’t expect, so that was a little weird.
This took me a while to read and I was getting sick of it towards the end, but in retrospect I enjoyed it.
Every story is based on the advertising industry however, which I didn’t expect, so that was a little weird.
February 25, 2024
Doesn’t really stick out to me. Interesting short stories with a mythical undertone. The nymph one was my favourite and the story “final frontier”. Aside from these most of the book is unmemorable and I had to re read some stories multiple times as they simply didn’t make sense
Want to read
March 1, 2022I got this as a targeted ad on Instagram and after reading the blurb idk what kind of dystopia we live in
May 1, 2022
Really a 3.5, but the strength of the good stuff means I’ll happily round up to 4. Ćehić is just so, so good with tone. The prose is clear, dry and incisive (sometimes reminiscent of DeLillo, other times Borges), and there is a joyful looseness to the way his stories unfurl. Some of the punchlines don’t land, and there is a certain reverence towards the ‘art’ of advertising that felt slightly difficult to swallow. But otherwise, I had such a blast with this. Magical realist fables borne from the inhuman world of admen and copywriting.
July 10, 2022
mostly a really strong collection that sometimes strays a bit too far into “phone bad”/“what if your kid was a phone” territory, but for the most part wildly inventive and darkly funny.
September 26, 2022
Last chapter was really good but some of the stories really dragged
May 30, 2023
Prayer for a creative soul trapped in a corporate world.
December 14, 2023
I wish I could come up with and write short stories as cool as this! An 11/10 entertaining read.
January 21, 2024
An intelligent satire of the real worldliness and adulthood as a creative, the soul crushing comedy of making a career or even an income from your creative talents.
December 7, 2025
Very unique stories!
April 29, 2022
Sadvertising is a modest take on advertising through Cehic’s eyes. Drawing references from his own experiences as an adman, he has tried to reinstate the fact that creativity is paramount, and advertising isn’t any interference to it but is an advantage. It does get messy and chaotic in parts, but it is still the very core of our existence.
I truly loved the characters in Sadvertising. They range from everyday, carefree blood to polished and proper cosmopolitan (Kendall Jenner’s & Brand Manifesto stories are a part of my favourites). The beauty of Cehic’s work lies in the fact that while he has made the chapters simple, concise, and clear- they refuse to leave your mind long after you’ve finished reading them. Take this line, for instance- Introverts are very good collaborators. They bring a sense of calm, reason, and thoughtfulness to the collaborative process.
Read the full review at https://www.cheerfulworrier.com/2022/...
I truly loved the characters in Sadvertising. They range from everyday, carefree blood to polished and proper cosmopolitan (Kendall Jenner’s & Brand Manifesto stories are a part of my favourites). The beauty of Cehic’s work lies in the fact that while he has made the chapters simple, concise, and clear- they refuse to leave your mind long after you’ve finished reading them. Take this line, for instance- Introverts are very good collaborators. They bring a sense of calm, reason, and thoughtfulness to the collaborative process.
Read the full review at https://www.cheerfulworrier.com/2022/...
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews