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The Man Who Sold America: The Amazing (but True!) Story of Albert D. Lasker and the Creation of the Advertising Century
We're living in the Age of Persuasion. Leaders and organizations of all kinds--public and private, large and small--fulfill their missions only by competing in the marketplace of images and messages. To win in that marketplace, they need advertising. This has been true since the advent of mass media, from mass-circulation magazines and radio through the age of television and the Internet.
Yet even as they use advertising to capture consumers' imaginations and build their brands, few people know of the ingenious and tormented man who built the modern advertising industry and shaped a new consumer sensibility as the twentieth century unfolded: Albert D. Lasker.
Drawing on a recently uncovered trove of Lasker's papers, Jeffrey Cruikshank and Arthur Schultz have written a fascinating biography of one of the past century's most influential, intriguing, troubled, and instructive figures. Lasker's creative and powerful use of "reason-why" advertising to inject ideas and arguments into ad campaigns had a profound impact on modern advertising, foreshadowing the consumer-centered "unique selling proposition" approach that dominates the industry today. His tactics helped launch or revitalize companies and brands that remain household names--including Palmolive, Goodyear, and Quaker Oats.
As Lasker rose in prominence, he went beyond consumer products to apply his brilliance to presidential politics, government service, and professional sports, changing the game wherever he went, and building a vast fortune along the way. But his intensity had a price--he was felled by mental breakdowns throughout his life. This book also tells the story of how he fought back with determination and with support from family and friends in an age when lack of effective treatment doomed most mentally ill people.
The Man Who Sold America is a riveting account of a man larger than life, who shaped not only an industry but also a century.
Yet even as they use advertising to capture consumers' imaginations and build their brands, few people know of the ingenious and tormented man who built the modern advertising industry and shaped a new consumer sensibility as the twentieth century unfolded: Albert D. Lasker.
Drawing on a recently uncovered trove of Lasker's papers, Jeffrey Cruikshank and Arthur Schultz have written a fascinating biography of one of the past century's most influential, intriguing, troubled, and instructive figures. Lasker's creative and powerful use of "reason-why" advertising to inject ideas and arguments into ad campaigns had a profound impact on modern advertising, foreshadowing the consumer-centered "unique selling proposition" approach that dominates the industry today. His tactics helped launch or revitalize companies and brands that remain household names--including Palmolive, Goodyear, and Quaker Oats.
As Lasker rose in prominence, he went beyond consumer products to apply his brilliance to presidential politics, government service, and professional sports, changing the game wherever he went, and building a vast fortune along the way. But his intensity had a price--he was felled by mental breakdowns throughout his life. This book also tells the story of how he fought back with determination and with support from family and friends in an age when lack of effective treatment doomed most mentally ill people.
The Man Who Sold America is a riveting account of a man larger than life, who shaped not only an industry but also a century.
480 pages, Hardcover
First published June 21, 2010
22 people are currently reading
327 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
May 9, 2013
True to its claims this book takes you through one of the major minds of the advertising world.I now know the person who changed the face of Palmolive, Sunkist, Pepsodent, Whirlpool or even Kotex. A self-effacing and yet the astute man he was, pulled off poignant ads to help Harding win the Presidential elections of 1920 in a major victory over the yet-to-be famous Franklin D Roosevelt. His generosity is pictured over the whole book, for instance, his work with Mary Lasker in promoting American Cancer Society. Ironically to promote Lucky cigarettes he had swayed women to smoke and stay leaner :D, back when dangers of smoking weren't well known. His impassioned appeal to help Leo Frank(a Jewish-American charged with rape & murder of a 13 year old girl, convicted without much evidence),it was more of a matter of nerve when antisemitism hit new heights. Of lauded efforts in restoring baseball as the favourite pastime of America after the notorious Black Sox scandal or even his personal illness with the borderline case of bipolar disorder, it was an enriching experience knowing him. A little coursework flavoured, but its fun!
October 28, 2020
- The writing isn't the most engaging when I am reading it after finishing up work. It's like a very long Wikipedia article come to life. Still, the story of Lasker is very interesting. Many of the quotes are pithy.
- Sometimes, I felt like I was escaping into the US in a different century. But then, the stories of Lasker's advertising genius, ventures into politics, personal life in the public eye, and attempts to counter anti-Semitism (most significantly, the trial and lynching of Leo Frank in 1914) in the US resonate deeply today.
- I am not in the business of marketing, but I really enjoyed learning about his marketing strategies.
- Kind of reads like a lifetime achievement speech, even more so than many other biographies I learn. The deprecating pokes at Lasker's personality by his colleagues, friends, and family littered every other paragraph may be why.
- Sometimes, I felt like I was escaping into the US in a different century. But then, the stories of Lasker's advertising genius, ventures into politics, personal life in the public eye, and attempts to counter anti-Semitism (most significantly, the trial and lynching of Leo Frank in 1914) in the US resonate deeply today.
- I am not in the business of marketing, but I really enjoyed learning about his marketing strategies.
- Kind of reads like a lifetime achievement speech, even more so than many other biographies I learn. The deprecating pokes at Lasker's personality by his colleagues, friends, and family littered every other paragraph may be why.
January 21, 2024
This is an interesting biography of Albert Lasker, the "father of modern advertising", who built one of the largest and most influential advertising agencies in the United States at the beginning of the 20th century. A man that stood out for his tremendous energy and imagination, his never-stopping initiatives, his work ethic and drive, as well as many personal issues with an explosive, demanding personality and depression.
Lasker worked his magic through the power of ideas, and with that he helped to created tremendously successful brands: Palmolive, Quaker Oats Puffed Wheat and Puffed Rice, Sunkist and Sun-Maid brands, Goodyear, Kotex and Kleenex, Lucky Strike or Pepsodent (with radio and Bob Hope). He also helped many relevant political campaigns with his friend Hays, including the election of president Harding.
He shared his professional duties with a high position at the government, as Chief of the .... He also loved baseball and saved the league from corruption with his support to the Chicago Cubs. He built a famous golf course in his estate designed with William S. Flynn. He collected art, was good friend of many top executives and played cards with many presidents of the US.
Advertising, once a province of circuses and patent-medicine vendors, had a terrible reputation. Lasker wanted to work in newspapers but started early his career in Lord & Thomas, a Chicago agency, and had initially great success as a salesman. Agencies used to broker space between advertisers and newspapers, and did little more than that. Soon Lasker discovered the power of creativity in copy.
With the help of John E. Kennedy, he thought about advertising as the "salesman in print", and the "reasons why" copy, which was revolutionary in a time in which companies believed consumers should purchase their goods because it was good for the advertisers. He indeed appealed to the consumer self-interest, and treat his audience as if it were in person. He also frequently underlined benefits that all competition might have but nobody had claimed before. He pioneered using personalities as spokepersons. He understood that public relations is the art of private relations. He also learned the effect of sampling and saturating the market with pamphlets, and later the power of the new medium radio, with a model (commercials in return of free entertainment) that is today prevalent. He pioneered the sponsoring of serial dramas sponsored by brands. He also used extensively research to test and validate his advertising approaches. With the success of its ad campaigns he also pushed manufacturers to meet the promises and improve the quality of their products.
I particularly loved a story about his daughter starting working in his agency, against his will. When he found out, he wrote her this letter:
"My darling Mary,
Welcome to Lord & Thomas. I hope we have a long business association together - if we do, we will both get much joy from it.
Both as a father and as an employer I give you this advice - try to learn from everyone (high and low), try to be of service to every one (high and low). He finally leads who first learns to serve. And remember- we spend our lives learning. Above all, be yourself - your best self. Always think of the other fellow's viewpoint and try to get him to think of yours. Learn to walk before your run. Believe in yourself- and believing, strive to learn every day and grow creatively every minute so that you will justify your belief.
All my love, Father. "
Lasker worked his magic through the power of ideas, and with that he helped to created tremendously successful brands: Palmolive, Quaker Oats Puffed Wheat and Puffed Rice, Sunkist and Sun-Maid brands, Goodyear, Kotex and Kleenex, Lucky Strike or Pepsodent (with radio and Bob Hope). He also helped many relevant political campaigns with his friend Hays, including the election of president Harding.
He shared his professional duties with a high position at the government, as Chief of the .... He also loved baseball and saved the league from corruption with his support to the Chicago Cubs. He built a famous golf course in his estate designed with William S. Flynn. He collected art, was good friend of many top executives and played cards with many presidents of the US.
Advertising, once a province of circuses and patent-medicine vendors, had a terrible reputation. Lasker wanted to work in newspapers but started early his career in Lord & Thomas, a Chicago agency, and had initially great success as a salesman. Agencies used to broker space between advertisers and newspapers, and did little more than that. Soon Lasker discovered the power of creativity in copy.
With the help of John E. Kennedy, he thought about advertising as the "salesman in print", and the "reasons why" copy, which was revolutionary in a time in which companies believed consumers should purchase their goods because it was good for the advertisers. He indeed appealed to the consumer self-interest, and treat his audience as if it were in person. He also frequently underlined benefits that all competition might have but nobody had claimed before. He pioneered using personalities as spokepersons. He understood that public relations is the art of private relations. He also learned the effect of sampling and saturating the market with pamphlets, and later the power of the new medium radio, with a model (commercials in return of free entertainment) that is today prevalent. He pioneered the sponsoring of serial dramas sponsored by brands. He also used extensively research to test and validate his advertising approaches. With the success of its ad campaigns he also pushed manufacturers to meet the promises and improve the quality of their products.
I particularly loved a story about his daughter starting working in his agency, against his will. When he found out, he wrote her this letter:
"My darling Mary,
Welcome to Lord & Thomas. I hope we have a long business association together - if we do, we will both get much joy from it.
Both as a father and as an employer I give you this advice - try to learn from everyone (high and low), try to be of service to every one (high and low). He finally leads who first learns to serve. And remember- we spend our lives learning. Above all, be yourself - your best self. Always think of the other fellow's viewpoint and try to get him to think of yours. Learn to walk before your run. Believe in yourself- and believing, strive to learn every day and grow creatively every minute so that you will justify your belief.
All my love, Father. "
November 27, 2022
Came across this book because I was researching his sister Loula Lasker (the Lasker Rink in Central Park is named in her honor.) The Laskers were a remarkable family. While his sisters were socialists who advocated for housing justice and racial equality, Albert helped companies sell their stuff. My favorite factoid is that Loula, Florina and Etta were big supporters of Margaret Sanger's American Birth Control League, and Albert persuaded Sanger to change the organization's name to Planned Parenthood. Marketing . .. .
August 6, 2023
Amazing story of how advertising influenced and changed the daily lives of Americans. How orange juice became an American breakfast staple is just one example. Health reasons? Maybe. More about: “What can these states do with all of these oranges to make money?” Eye-opening!
June 14, 2013
Very interesting review of the evolution of modern advertising and consumerism. Mr. Lasker was definitely a very pivotal person in the shaping of modern society. The author's did their homework using a wide variety of sources, in particular direct correspondence which is always comforting when writing historical accounts. Likewise they give multiple point of views on various events further entrenching their dedication to an accurate story vs just selling the most "dramatic" accounts they could find. The book does jump around quite a bit, therefore a lot of the chronology is hard to decipher and likewise some events are glossed over whereas other parts of the book might be too detailed.
October 19, 2010
It is interesting to see how advertising techniques we take for granted were at one point revolutionary. Laskey is an interesting character, and his life certainly spanned an exciting period of change in US history. I was especially interested to read that chain stores were already being seen as a threat by small shop owners in the 1930s.
January 28, 2016
please see my review in advertising age:
http://adage.com/article/book-reviews...
and also here: http://the-agency-review.com/man-who-...
http://adage.com/article/book-reviews...
and also here: http://the-agency-review.com/man-who-...
September 26, 2010
Publishers Weekly Review
Want to read
August 23, 20108/19/10
October 27, 2010
Long and detailed-had to skim parts-but learned a lot about early 20th century America. In the end gald I read it.
November 22, 2010
Interesting but that much information on how our advertising age came to be was slightly depressing.
September 14, 2012
slow at the start but gets better
June 19, 2013
Great start but starts to lose steam in the second half of the book. Basically first half is the life of Don Draper (Mad Men).
September 16, 2014
I had never heard of Albert Lasker, but he made a lot of contributions to the advertising world. Interesting read for anyone that likes pop culture and advertising.
April 2, 2016
I started reading this book because I ave joined the agency he started. I enjoyed the book because Albert Lasker was an incredible character who achieved so much. Truly inspiring.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews