Nobody's Perfect: Bill Bernbach and the Golden Age of Advertising

by Doris Willens

The inside story of the legendary advertising agency, Doyle Dane Bernbach, and its founder, Bill Bernbach, as told by the former public relations director of DDB

208 pages, Paperback

First published May 6, 2009

Reviews

[Crissy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Based on the online reader reviews, many people didn't find this book salacious enough, presumably after watching *Mad Men.* It's a bit dry, but Doris Willens was the VP of PR at Doyle Dane Bernbach (DDB) and a journalist after that, so it's meant to be. This is a well-researched history of one of the most important agencies in advertising history; many would argue that it's the most important. Bill Bernbach is considered by many to be one of the best copywriters of all time and the father of modern advertising. He deemed advertising an art, as opposed to the other camp which considered it a medium for communication and information. If I must, I'll choose David Ogilvy out of the four or five contenders for *best ever* but in reality, the lines are artificial constructs.

The influence of DDB's style is evident in most contemporary print ads of the 1980s, '90s and '00s: large graphic, prominent and witty headline, minimal body copy and lots of white space. Volkswagen (Think Small, Lemon, etc.) and Avis (We're #2, We Try Harder) are two of the most well-known DDB print campaigns.

Willens tries to maintain journalistic objectivity but still favors DDB a bit too much, not creating a very good picture of the competitive field at the time. In most of the accounts that I've read, everyone who's written about Bernbach has done so with a certain amount of reverence, even if he did look like an accountant.

The most poignant portions of the book are those reflecting on Bernbach's last years at the agency, both before and after he was diagnosed with terminal cancer. He stayed with the business much longer than his partners, who sold out early, and was therefore unhappy with the amount of money he would get when selling. Mary Wells Lawrence actually spent several weeks with him trying to find out a way for Wells Rich Greene to buy DDB and get Bernbach the money he wanted, but was forced to abandon the attempt when the info was leaked to the press.

Bernbach's most inexplicable action is really an inaction, and Willen's spends a lot of time trying to analyze it: Bernbach never directly or indirectly designated a creative successor. It's possible that he planned to do this just before his retirement to avoid agency infighting but was caught unawares by his cancer diagnosis and simply didn't care anymore. However, he had many, many opportunities to select a nominal successor many, many times before this point and did not. Willens posits that she and others believe that the competition and infighting between those who wanted to inherit Bernbach's position were primary reasons for the agency's decline.

A must read for anyone interested in advertising and it's history. As a bonus, if you read this book before the more informal *From Those Wonderful Folks Who Gave You Pearl Harbor* by Jerry Della Femina, you'll be able to identify most of the players in many of the scandals he describes.

[Rick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Someone complained about this book being too much about the agency and its politics and it's drama but that is EXACTLY why I loved it. I've read enough of Bernbach's witticisms and funny bon mots. I wanted to know about the man, and the agency and the politics and challenges. This delivered. It was heartening. Every agency ever has had the same dramas, the same politics, and the same challenges. It's heartening. I FELE BETTER. You will too if you are running an agency. We're all messed up! Yay!

[Steven Pofcher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finally finished the book.
I enjoy reading about Madison Avenue advertising agency history. There was a lot of creativity housed there.
At first, the book was difficult to get through, since the writing is rather dry. This is not like the writing of George Lois or Jerry Della Femina. But after a while, I got into it. The book is mostly about Bill Bernabch, however Doris Willens explores numerous personalities - warts, politics and all.
And there were a lot of warts and politics.