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From Those Wonderful Folks Who Gave You Pearl Harbor: Front-Line Dispatches from the Advertising War
Vividly reminiscent of the goings-on at Sterling Cooper — the late nights, the three-martini lunches, the sex on couches, and, of course, the actual work of plugging products — this is the story of what Madison Avenue was really like in the ’60s. A worldwide bestseller when first published in 1970, this frank, irreverent, and hilarious memoir is a one-of-a-kind cult classic.
288 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1970
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January 20, 2015
[Yet another charity (thrift) shop find, and in as-new condition, too!]
Five years after this book was first published; the first priceless episode of the hugely successful BBC sitcom, “The Good Life”, was broadcast. In that script, Tom Good hands in his notice at work, to be freed from the soul-destroying task of designing little plastic toys to be added to packets of breakfast cereal (back in the days before such marketing giveaways were deemed to be a choking risk).
“FTWFWGYPH” describes a similar way of life. The shallow business of not adding to the sum total of human happiness. A job where satisfaction gained relied (relies?) more on grinding fellow workers or “lunkheads” (slow-witted persons) (p.33) into the ground, and spending the salary / remuneration real fast, before it can be clawed back or taken away. Always on edge. What went wrong? Advertising used to be polite, persuasive and warmly invitational in its endeavours to advise of positive benefits to the potential customer.
It can be positively distressing to actually just stop and think how much money must flow, and has flowed, through the parasites of the advertising sector. Does “Clients today really aren’t aware of the extent of the weird behaviour in agencies. They don’t know about the real loose nuts in the agency.” (p.156), still hold true? Some of the nuts described are really very entertaining, though ultimately very sad.
How much of the purchase price of an item or service is accounted for by the costs of so-called ‘creative’ advertising’? Why do we lap it up? Why do we trust, rather than examine form, function and engineering closely for ourselves? How much of our precious time today is interrupted by unwelcome advertising? Advertising serves to grow small corporations into large ones. Does that serve social need in all instances?
…. and so as I read on, I became irritated. How much of my valuable reading time was disappearing thanks to JDF constantly recasting his spiel; advertising clearly in his blood? The text spouts arrogantly between a ramble and diarrhoea. It’s a verbal splurge which would be better tightened and taken off the page …. as it has been for the (2007– ) TV series “Mad Men” (which I haven’t seen).
I can understand why some readers on Goodreads gave this book up. With nothing to be proud of, I ended up finishing this book in voyeuristic sympathy for the sheer and utter ghastliness of the lives of many of the employees … perhaps more noteworthy once I observed how JDF also paints, in general, a pretty accurate picture of office politics today: one that every junior pent on survival needs to learn fast, whatever industry they work in. Today’s killer sharks are not to be found solely in the oceans; and they’re now more cunning too.
p.s. For enthusiasts of fonts, the text in this 2010 ppbk edition is set in Dolly Roman and Frutiger Black Condensed.
Five years after this book was first published; the first priceless episode of the hugely successful BBC sitcom, “The Good Life”, was broadcast. In that script, Tom Good hands in his notice at work, to be freed from the soul-destroying task of designing little plastic toys to be added to packets of breakfast cereal (back in the days before such marketing giveaways were deemed to be a choking risk).
“FTWFWGYPH” describes a similar way of life. The shallow business of not adding to the sum total of human happiness. A job where satisfaction gained relied (relies?) more on grinding fellow workers or “lunkheads” (slow-witted persons) (p.33) into the ground, and spending the salary / remuneration real fast, before it can be clawed back or taken away. Always on edge. What went wrong? Advertising used to be polite, persuasive and warmly invitational in its endeavours to advise of positive benefits to the potential customer.
It can be positively distressing to actually just stop and think how much money must flow, and has flowed, through the parasites of the advertising sector. Does “Clients today really aren’t aware of the extent of the weird behaviour in agencies. They don’t know about the real loose nuts in the agency.” (p.156), still hold true? Some of the nuts described are really very entertaining, though ultimately very sad.
How much of the purchase price of an item or service is accounted for by the costs of so-called ‘creative’ advertising’? Why do we lap it up? Why do we trust, rather than examine form, function and engineering closely for ourselves? How much of our precious time today is interrupted by unwelcome advertising? Advertising serves to grow small corporations into large ones. Does that serve social need in all instances?
…. and so as I read on, I became irritated. How much of my valuable reading time was disappearing thanks to JDF constantly recasting his spiel; advertising clearly in his blood? The text spouts arrogantly between a ramble and diarrhoea. It’s a verbal splurge which would be better tightened and taken off the page …. as it has been for the (2007– ) TV series “Mad Men” (which I haven’t seen).
I can understand why some readers on Goodreads gave this book up. With nothing to be proud of, I ended up finishing this book in voyeuristic sympathy for the sheer and utter ghastliness of the lives of many of the employees … perhaps more noteworthy once I observed how JDF also paints, in general, a pretty accurate picture of office politics today: one that every junior pent on survival needs to learn fast, whatever industry they work in. Today’s killer sharks are not to be found solely in the oceans; and they’re now more cunning too.
p.s. For enthusiasts of fonts, the text in this 2010 ppbk edition is set in Dolly Roman and Frutiger Black Condensed.
February 7, 2020
I read this book just a little time ago, and quite honestly, I've already forgotten what it was all about. Even though we get a good perspective of advertising back in the days, barely anything rings true today. And it hasn't aged well at all, thanks to its weirdly sexist and racist remarks. That being said, it is a well-written and clear portrait into the 60s. I visibly scoffed at the parts which spoke about taking weeks to research a product and then some more to write lines. Oh how we wish now.
Still, being a unique premise with its insight into the madmen era, and with quips sprinkled throughout, this book is worth reading once for anyone in advertising.
Still, being a unique premise with its insight into the madmen era, and with quips sprinkled throughout, this book is worth reading once for anyone in advertising.
October 15, 2024
Креативный директор Джерри Делла Фемина рассказывает разные интересные (и не очень) детали того, как менялся мир рекламных агентств в 60-е. Первое издание 1970 года, и наполнено множеством примет своего времени, включая все виды неполиткорректности и плохих шуток (сам автор поясняет, что вырос на улице, и юмор у него соответствующий).
Даже в названии книги уже все это есть. Дело было так: однажды в агенство, где работал Делла Фемина, пришел заказ от Panasonic. Японская техника тогда была в США неизвестна, и в команде случился креативный ступор. Тогда он разрядил обстановку, предложив в качестве заголовка рекламного объявления фразу «От тех прекрасных ребят, которые устроили Перл-Харбор».
Если понравилась шутка, вот вторая: в агенстве был топ-менеджер, которого старались отстранять от любых переговоров, потому что он не следил за языком и из-за этого срывались сделки. Однажды он поехал в составе делегации к большому клиенту на новом рынке Мексики. Несколько дней все шло хорошо, топ-менеджер молчал, стороны договорились. И уже в самом конце, прощаясь с руководителем мексиканской корпорации, он добавил: «Если вы и дальше будете такими приятными ребятами, Хосе, мы, возможно, вернем вам Техас!»
Хорошо, а теперь история ближе к нашему времени. Джерри рассказывает, что менеджеры в агентствах все время находятся в состоянии ужаса. Он спросил однажды аккаунт-директора, который во Вторую Мировую Войну был летчиком-истребителем, что же произошло за двадцать лет, что ему теперь страшнее, чем тогда. Он посмотрел на Джерри и ответил: «Ну, как минимум, нацисты никогда не пытались увести у меня клиента».
Еще запомнилась часть, где Делла Фемина объясняет, почему разные ходы в рекламе пива работают, а другие нет. Например, слоганы «Почему бы не взять вторую» и «Пиво, которое можно выпить, когда уже выпил лишнего» понятны аудитории, а, например, «Пена, которая держится десять минут» — нет (потому что аудитория пьет пиво быстрее).
В сумме получается эклектичное, местами яркое, местами безнадежно устаревшее свидетельство другого мира, где все было новым, любой творческий ход приносил деньги, а заголовок рекламного объявления копирайтер мог придумывать несколько месяцев и при этом зарабатывать столько, чтобы покупать дома в хороших районах.
Цитаты:
«Once you arrive at the problem, then your job is really almost over, because the solving of the problem is nothing. The headache is finding out what the problem is.
You learn, you have to to survive. thing you do after picking up an account is learn. When we got the American Broadcasting Company’s owned-and-operated stations, we traveled to their five stations. We heard all their news programs. We talked to their station managers. We learned, learned, learned, until we were almost ready to drop. It was a cram course in broadcasting and the thing was coming out of our ears.»
«The dilemma is that the good writers in this town are those who are really not afraid. You’ve got to be loose. It’s the one business where you’ve got to be so loose when you’re sitting down to work that you can’t sit there and worry about what’s going on next door or am I going to lose my job. And there are very few people like that in the creative end of advertising. Practically none.»
«Destination advertising is the easiest stuff in the world to do. When I was at Delehanty we had the TAP (Portuguese) Airline account. You don’t have to show a plane. You show the place you get to if you get on that plane. We turned out beautiful ads because Portugal is a great place to do ads for. We were very careful not to mention Salazar or the fact that if you did something wrong in Portugal you could have the world’s first thirty-year vacation.
But I’m always amused by the fact that some of the country’s great liberals are in advertising and the ads these guys do for some of our better-known dictatorships in the world are terrific. They do great stuff for Spain, almost as good as Portugal. It’s interesting how some people drop their political convictions when it comes to advertising. I know guys who would make you fly Nazi Airlines or get you to pack your voodoo kit for a little trip to Haiti.»
«It used to kill me that I never saw a copywriter over forty. Very, very few. There are one or two guys worth mentioning but that’s it. I can’t figure out where they go after forty. But they leave. There must be an island somewhere that is populated only by elephants, copywriters and art directors. I can see it now. One tiny island jammed with old elephants, burned-out copywriters and art directors. That must be where they go.»
«The average model is, first of all, so dumb that nobody even wants to approach her. And neurotic! This is the most neurotic group of people that you could ever want to be with. The average model is so uptight that she’s impossible.
The only people who wind up sleeping with models are photographers. And photographers are monkeys. I mean, they’re really monkeys. You know, most photographers are very short and have very long arms. I guess the long arms come from carrying those bags around – that’s a lot of equipment they haul around. Some photographers’ arms scrape the ground, they’re so long.»
«Most copywriters and art directors close the door and don’t mention the product for hours – sometimes days, if we’ve got a lot of time. We sit there and shoot the breeze. Maybe we talk about sex, maybe we talk about the movies. Sometimes the relationship is one of hostility.»
«What they didn’t figure on was the NBC censor, who takes one look at the commercial and says, ‘That’s a belly button. My God, you can’t show a belly button.’ The theory was that kids might be watching and would see the belly button. Of course the NBC censor didn’t realize that when kids go into their tub they look down and they see their belly buttons. But no belly buttons on the air. Not good.»
«One of my heroes, really, is Mike Todd. The great Mike Todd story is that once he had a show running at the Winter Garden in 1944 and it was about to close.
So he threw out the guy he had at the box office and hired a lady who had arthritis very bad. She could move her hands, but very slowly. Somebody would come up to the box office to buy a ticket and it would take her maybe ten minutes to make change. The day he hired her he was in business. She took so long that she built a line. Every time three people tried to buy a ticket the line grew. Pretty soon they had lines all around the Winter Garden.»
Даже в названии книги уже все это есть. Дело было так: однажды в агенство, где работал Делла Фемина, пришел заказ от Panasonic. Японская техника тогда была в США неизвестна, и в команде случился креативный ступор. Тогда он разрядил обстановку, предложив в качестве заголовка рекламного объявления фразу «От тех прекрасных ребят, которые устроили Перл-Харбор».
Если понравилась шутка, вот вторая: в агенстве был топ-менеджер, которого старались отстранять от любых переговоров, потому что он не следил за языком и из-за этого срывались сделки. Однажды он поехал в составе делегации к большому клиенту на новом рынке Мексики. Несколько дней все шло хорошо, топ-менеджер молчал, стороны договорились. И уже в самом конце, прощаясь с руководителем мексиканской корпорации, он добавил: «Если вы и дальше будете такими приятными ребятами, Хосе, мы, возможно, вернем вам Техас!»
Хорошо, а теперь история ближе к нашему времени. Джерри рассказывает, что менеджеры в агентствах все время находятся в состоянии ужаса. Он спросил однажды аккаунт-директора, который во Вторую Мировую Войну был летчиком-истребителем, что же произошло за двадцать лет, что ему теперь страшнее, чем тогда. Он посмотрел на Джерри и ответил: «Ну, как минимум, нацисты никогда не пытались увести у меня клиента».
Еще запомнилась часть, где Делла Фемина объясняет, почему разные ходы в рекламе пива работают, а другие нет. Например, слоганы «Почему бы не взять вторую» и «Пиво, которое можно выпить, когда уже выпил лишнего» понятны аудитории, а, например, «Пена, которая держится десять минут» — нет (потому что аудитория пьет пиво быстрее).
В сумме получается эклектичное, местами яркое, местами безнадежно устаревшее свидетельство другого мира, где все было новым, любой творческий ход приносил деньги, а заголовок рекламного объявления копирайтер мог придумывать несколько месяцев и при этом зарабатывать столько, чтобы покупать дома в хороших районах.
Цитаты:
«Once you arrive at the problem, then your job is really almost over, because the solving of the problem is nothing. The headache is finding out what the problem is.
You learn, you have to to survive. thing you do after picking up an account is learn. When we got the American Broadcasting Company’s owned-and-operated stations, we traveled to their five stations. We heard all their news programs. We talked to their station managers. We learned, learned, learned, until we were almost ready to drop. It was a cram course in broadcasting and the thing was coming out of our ears.»
«The dilemma is that the good writers in this town are those who are really not afraid. You’ve got to be loose. It’s the one business where you’ve got to be so loose when you’re sitting down to work that you can’t sit there and worry about what’s going on next door or am I going to lose my job. And there are very few people like that in the creative end of advertising. Practically none.»
«Destination advertising is the easiest stuff in the world to do. When I was at Delehanty we had the TAP (Portuguese) Airline account. You don’t have to show a plane. You show the place you get to if you get on that plane. We turned out beautiful ads because Portugal is a great place to do ads for. We were very careful not to mention Salazar or the fact that if you did something wrong in Portugal you could have the world’s first thirty-year vacation.
But I’m always amused by the fact that some of the country’s great liberals are in advertising and the ads these guys do for some of our better-known dictatorships in the world are terrific. They do great stuff for Spain, almost as good as Portugal. It’s interesting how some people drop their political convictions when it comes to advertising. I know guys who would make you fly Nazi Airlines or get you to pack your voodoo kit for a little trip to Haiti.»
«It used to kill me that I never saw a copywriter over forty. Very, very few. There are one or two guys worth mentioning but that’s it. I can’t figure out where they go after forty. But they leave. There must be an island somewhere that is populated only by elephants, copywriters and art directors. I can see it now. One tiny island jammed with old elephants, burned-out copywriters and art directors. That must be where they go.»
«The average model is, first of all, so dumb that nobody even wants to approach her. And neurotic! This is the most neurotic group of people that you could ever want to be with. The average model is so uptight that she’s impossible.
The only people who wind up sleeping with models are photographers. And photographers are monkeys. I mean, they’re really monkeys. You know, most photographers are very short and have very long arms. I guess the long arms come from carrying those bags around – that’s a lot of equipment they haul around. Some photographers’ arms scrape the ground, they’re so long.»
«Most copywriters and art directors close the door and don’t mention the product for hours – sometimes days, if we’ve got a lot of time. We sit there and shoot the breeze. Maybe we talk about sex, maybe we talk about the movies. Sometimes the relationship is one of hostility.»
«What they didn’t figure on was the NBC censor, who takes one look at the commercial and says, ‘That’s a belly button. My God, you can’t show a belly button.’ The theory was that kids might be watching and would see the belly button. Of course the NBC censor didn’t realize that when kids go into their tub they look down and they see their belly buttons. But no belly buttons on the air. Not good.»
«One of my heroes, really, is Mike Todd. The great Mike Todd story is that once he had a show running at the Winter Garden in 1944 and it was about to close.
So he threw out the guy he had at the box office and hired a lady who had arthritis very bad. She could move her hands, but very slowly. Somebody would come up to the box office to buy a ticket and it would take her maybe ten minutes to make change. The day he hired her he was in business. She took so long that she built a line. Every time three people tried to buy a ticket the line grew. Pretty soon they had lines all around the Winter Garden.»
December 10, 2021
From Those Wonderful Folks Who Gave You Pearl Harbor by Jerry Della Femina is an insider's irreverent, tongue-in-cheek take on the advertising industry and how it has evolved. From the back cover: "I refuse to apologize for telling the truth about advertising, and if it offended some people, that's just too bad. If I had wanted to be loved by those people I would have joined the Peace Corps." Jerry Della Femina said that. He also said: "Advertising is the most fun you can have with your clothes on." And the critics agree! Take a break from all that dark, depressing, hard core reading you are in and get ready for some laughs.
March 17, 2018
I really enjoyed this book. I thought it was a fast-paced, lively recount of an interesting time period in advertising and the creative industry. Some people noted it was fairly sexist/racist, and it is, but at the same time it is also staying true to its time. I think someone interested in this sort of business will get a big kick from reading this and a pretty decent list of straightforward useful advice. It is also a pretty funny and quick read with a sharp personality to it.
Read
October 10, 2017Insightful, amusing, occasionally annoying and very much of its time (late 1960s). No idea how it would compare to the current state of advertising.
March 10, 2024
I can see how Mad Men were inspired by this text
March 2, 2019
A not-so-literary work, kind of a memoir/tell all behind the scenes at the big NY advertising agencies in the 60s, 70s etc. Like having a guy bend your ear at a bar talking non stop about the old days. Apparently this was originally published quite some time ago and is some of the source material for the award winning TV show Madmen. The author was frequently consulted during its development. The stories just sort of run together, and he doesn't really reflect on the right or wrongness of any of it. There is a lot of bad behavior, disrespect for the consumer, etc., but also a glimpse at the prevailing culture of the time, the role of government, TV, sales, women.
June 27, 2014
One of my mentors suggested that I read this for an article I'm writing.
It was the most tedious thing I've read, ever.
There was one paragraph that was money, and the rest was the incoherent ramblings of a self-aggrandizing, amoral, unintelligent . . . well, whatever. At least it reminded me why I don't wish to live in a moral universe that is defined solely by success.
The money paragraph:
"The American businessman has discovered the vagina and like it's the next thing going. What happened is that the businessman ran out of parts of the body. We had headaches for a while but we took care of them. The armpit had its moment of glory, and the toes, with their athlete's foot, they had the spotlight, too. We went through wrinkles, we went through diets. Taking skin off, putting skin on. We went through the stomach with acid indigestion and we conquered hemorrhoids. So the businessman sat back and said, 'What's left?' And some smart guy said, 'The vagina.' We've now zeroed in on it. And this is just the beginning. Today the vagina, tomorrow the world."
I doubt the author has any idea of the meaning or importance of what he wrote in that one paragraph.
The story about selling sewing machines on credit to indigenous Peruvians without electricity, and then trying to collect on their past-due credit accounts, was almost as lovely.
It was the most tedious thing I've read, ever.
There was one paragraph that was money, and the rest was the incoherent ramblings of a self-aggrandizing, amoral, unintelligent . . . well, whatever. At least it reminded me why I don't wish to live in a moral universe that is defined solely by success.
The money paragraph:
"The American businessman has discovered the vagina and like it's the next thing going. What happened is that the businessman ran out of parts of the body. We had headaches for a while but we took care of them. The armpit had its moment of glory, and the toes, with their athlete's foot, they had the spotlight, too. We went through wrinkles, we went through diets. Taking skin off, putting skin on. We went through the stomach with acid indigestion and we conquered hemorrhoids. So the businessman sat back and said, 'What's left?' And some smart guy said, 'The vagina.' We've now zeroed in on it. And this is just the beginning. Today the vagina, tomorrow the world."
I doubt the author has any idea of the meaning or importance of what he wrote in that one paragraph.
The story about selling sewing machines on credit to indigenous Peruvians without electricity, and then trying to collect on their past-due credit accounts, was almost as lovely.
March 27, 2011
One of the most casually, arrogantly, conceitedly, obnoxious books I've ever read. The authors disdain and contempt for all things not in and of New York City is elitist, paternalistic, and borderline racist. Ogilvy he is not. This is a businessman's "Ball Four" minus the popular characters and entertaining stories. Aside from nostalgia, it offers no value other than as a cautionary tale against hiring Ad men from New York.
January 27, 2011
The rough basis for the TV show "Mad Men." If you are a fan of the television show, you'll get a kick out of this book.
September 6, 2017
Trzeba wziąć poprawkę na czasy, w których powstwała ta książka - inaczej wszechobecny seksizm i rasistowskie uwagi (tam zupełnie serio pojawia się słowa "negro" jako okreslenie czarnoskórej osoby) rażą po latach okrutnie i powodują niesmak. Sam Della Femina... cóż, nie jest najsympatyczniejszym facetem, sprawia wrażenie aroganckiego, zapatrzonego w siebie dupka z manią wielkości. Być może ma ku temu podstawy, jednak buta 30-paro letniego autora nie daje wrażenia profesjonalizmu.
Z drugiej jednak strony to kopalnia ciekawostek i anegdotek, bezkompromisowy portret kształtującej się branży reklamowej. Dziesiątki przykładów interesujących kampanii (warto po nie sięgać w trakcie lektury) i historii o agencyjnym życiu dają pogląd na to, jak wyglądały realia tej pracy na początku drugiej połowy XX wieku w Nowym Jorku.
Oburzać może cynizm autora i jest postawa moralna, w ramach której mieści się przekraczanie granic czysto ludzkiej przyzwoitości lub etyki, ale nikogo, kto pracuje w branży, nie powinno to dziwić. Czy moralnym jest reklamować papierosy? A wakacje w Portugalii pod dyktaturą Salazara? Della Femina nie ma z tym problemu i podobnie nie posiada go większość pracowników branży reklamowej, którym ta robota wyssała duszę. Ot, realia.
To nie jest książka, dzięki której można nauczyć się czegoś o pracy w reklamie, to nie jest podręcznik ani poradnik. To raczej pozycja dla tych, których interesuje historia branży i którzy zafascynowani są mechanizmami reklamy jako takiej; powinna sposobać się też fanom "Mad Men", chociaż pozbawiona jest elegancji i stylu charakterystycznego dla serialu. Czyta się to jednak świetnie, chociaż trzeba mieć grubą skórę, żeby tolerować postawę autora. Nie aż tak dziwną, biorąc pod uwagę czasy, w których pisał.
Z drugiej jednak strony to kopalnia ciekawostek i anegdotek, bezkompromisowy portret kształtującej się branży reklamowej. Dziesiątki przykładów interesujących kampanii (warto po nie sięgać w trakcie lektury) i historii o agencyjnym życiu dają pogląd na to, jak wyglądały realia tej pracy na początku drugiej połowy XX wieku w Nowym Jorku.
Oburzać może cynizm autora i jest postawa moralna, w ramach której mieści się przekraczanie granic czysto ludzkiej przyzwoitości lub etyki, ale nikogo, kto pracuje w branży, nie powinno to dziwić. Czy moralnym jest reklamować papierosy? A wakacje w Portugalii pod dyktaturą Salazara? Della Femina nie ma z tym problemu i podobnie nie posiada go większość pracowników branży reklamowej, którym ta robota wyssała duszę. Ot, realia.
To nie jest książka, dzięki której można nauczyć się czegoś o pracy w reklamie, to nie jest podręcznik ani poradnik. To raczej pozycja dla tych, których interesuje historia branży i którzy zafascynowani są mechanizmami reklamy jako takiej; powinna sposobać się też fanom "Mad Men", chociaż pozbawiona jest elegancji i stylu charakterystycznego dla serialu. Czyta się to jednak świetnie, chociaż trzeba mieć grubą skórę, żeby tolerować postawę autora. Nie aż tak dziwną, biorąc pod uwagę czasy, w których pisał.
November 4, 2017
If you enjoyed "Mad Men" you might enjoy this book. It is described as one of the sources used by Matt Weiner for the series. Written as a "tell-all" by one of the leading new-agency guys in 1970, it is a time capsule of the industry and social attitudes in the world of Madison Ave advertising at that time. It was re-released with a new forward from the author in 2010 capitalizing on the popularity of "Mad Men". The book depicts a puerile, sexist, "anything goes as long as it makes money" business culture. While certainly business culture is more politically correct today, I leave it to the reader to decide how much has really changed.
The stories of outrageous (and juvenile) antics are entertaining for awhile, but I found his insiders take how the business was done, the changing industry itself and the personal toll it extracted on the "players" at the time to be more interesting. At its best, the author ties together his stories in a theme that offer some insight into the people and culture but at other times it just offers a list of one crazy story after another.
The story is filled with anecdotes, names, events, agencies and products that were in the public eye in 1970 but for many current readers they may just draw a blank. Indeed, the book suffers from having a dual personality: it both reads as an insiders account written for those who were in advertising at the time and secondly as an expose for the general public who were in thrall to the glamour of Madison Avenue.
If you liked "Mad Men" you may find it interesting.
The stories of outrageous (and juvenile) antics are entertaining for awhile, but I found his insiders take how the business was done, the changing industry itself and the personal toll it extracted on the "players" at the time to be more interesting. At its best, the author ties together his stories in a theme that offer some insight into the people and culture but at other times it just offers a list of one crazy story after another.
The story is filled with anecdotes, names, events, agencies and products that were in the public eye in 1970 but for many current readers they may just draw a blank. Indeed, the book suffers from having a dual personality: it both reads as an insiders account written for those who were in advertising at the time and secondly as an expose for the general public who were in thrall to the glamour of Madison Avenue.
If you liked "Mad Men" you may find it interesting.
August 11, 2017
Dated, but not. From what little I know of advertising the big truths remain. Sex sells, you sell things to people by talking to them in their language, and you can bend the truth but you cannot outright lie. Censors make no sense, these days it's stuff like you can't show people drinking beer instead of you cant use the words feminine hygiene more than once or twice in a commercial about it.
It was a sort of trip down memory lane for me. Many of the companies I had never heard of, or have gone the way of the dodo. Others are still around but have become the staid advertisers he complains of as the old men. Sexism is rampant in the book. If you are easily offended by how women are viewed, don't read it. It is a product of the 60s and 70s
His revelations of someone just out of school being hired to replace a more expensive older employee did not start in the 60s. Maybe it hit Madison Avenue then, but it had been around in other industries. Very few people managed to start out in the mail room (which he did ) and move up to CEO even then. He too had bought into the myth of being a company man for your whole life. That has not been true since at least the Great Depression, if it ever was. His revelation of someone just out of school being hired to replace a more expensive older employee did not start in the 60s.
All in all if you read this and then read e by Matthew Beaumont, or the sections on Mona from the Tales of City series, you will swear that this is where they got their ideas and material for advertising firms.
It was a sort of trip down memory lane for me. Many of the companies I had never heard of, or have gone the way of the dodo. Others are still around but have become the staid advertisers he complains of as the old men. Sexism is rampant in the book. If you are easily offended by how women are viewed, don't read it. It is a product of the 60s and 70s
His revelations of someone just out of school being hired to replace a more expensive older employee did not start in the 60s. Maybe it hit Madison Avenue then, but it had been around in other industries. Very few people managed to start out in the mail room (which he did ) and move up to CEO even then. He too had bought into the myth of being a company man for your whole life. That has not been true since at least the Great Depression, if it ever was. His revelation of someone just out of school being hired to replace a more expensive older employee did not start in the 60s.
All in all if you read this and then read e by Matthew Beaumont, or the sections on Mona from the Tales of City series, you will swear that this is where they got their ideas and material for advertising firms.
June 13, 2023
I have enjoyed reading books on advertising in the past, and this one was another good one. What struck me was the playfulness that the author put into the writing. Also, I found his descriptions of selling advertising campaigns to be so very similar to my work selling enterprise software. In Della Femina’s case, he was pitching a concept, but what sold the concept was the team behind the work. It was really the team that was being bought. In my case, we were also selling a concept, one that would require massive time and energy commitments from management to make the benefits come to fruition. And often the project would get reduced along the way. So the customer was buying the idea, as well as the team to implement that idea, the team that could drag a project over the bumps in the road. Idea sales for business has some similarities.
December 31, 2017
Um livro com histórias um pouco afastadas das que vemos em Mad Men (série), excepto nas bebedeiras e no convivio laboral.
Este é um livro que devenda as artimanhas da publicidade, onde a criatividade não é só uma exigência para criativos mas também para os homens de negócios dada a fragilidade de uma cadeia de favores, conhecimentos e interesses privados. Deita por chão as fantasias de pequenos aspirantes a publicitários mas também eleva, por vezes, este trabalho a arte.
Um testemunho importante para quem tenha visto ou esteja a ver Mad Men e queira por tudo encontrar algures o Don Draper depois do anúncio da Coca Cola. Um livro idêntico na primeira pessoa do singular do género feminino seria muito bem vindo a esta apreciadora. Que diria a Peggy?
Este é um livro que devenda as artimanhas da publicidade, onde a criatividade não é só uma exigência para criativos mas também para os homens de negócios dada a fragilidade de uma cadeia de favores, conhecimentos e interesses privados. Deita por chão as fantasias de pequenos aspirantes a publicitários mas também eleva, por vezes, este trabalho a arte.
Um testemunho importante para quem tenha visto ou esteja a ver Mad Men e queira por tudo encontrar algures o Don Draper depois do anúncio da Coca Cola. Um livro idêntico na primeira pessoa do singular do género feminino seria muito bem vindo a esta apreciadora. Que diria a Peggy?
June 30, 2018
I guess if I hadn't watched Mad Men, ( which it is claimed was inspired by this book), the stories my have packed more of a punch. As it was, they seem somewhat tame in comparison. The book is also quite dated now, and some of the language and descriptions used when referring to homosexuals is pretty offensive, even for the time it was written. I also found the american narrator's voice quite sharp and difficult to listen to for any great length of time.
January 5, 2022
The king of New York advertising executives---the original Mad Man---shares the secrets of how to sell anybody anything. The title is a reference to how the Japanese conquered the U.S. car and motorcycle market in the Sixties despite the stigma of Pearl Harbor. (Still true today; Toyota is the number one automobile sold in America.) Celebrity endorsements, quiet digs, or brutal if necessary, at rivals and linking your product---even dog food--- to sex are quintessential Mad Av.
April 1, 2023
Pretty good book! Goes on for a little long and is dated but the guys a gifted storyteller and it really feels like you're in the room with him as he recounts these crazy stories. It's an intriguing world and time/place to be a part of and I wonder what the making of ad campaigns looks like 50+ years later. Probably more 'suit' reviews and less creatives.
June 20, 2024
Good old days
It's really more of a history book about advertising in America. But it's written by a man who worked in the business all his life. Its so witty and full of great anecdotes and being a good copywriter means he applies the skills of brevity and knows how to keep you interested.
If you liked "mad men" you will enjoy this.
It's really more of a history book about advertising in America. But it's written by a man who worked in the business all his life. Its so witty and full of great anecdotes and being a good copywriter means he applies the skills of brevity and knows how to keep you interested.
If you liked "mad men" you will enjoy this.
February 8, 2018
c1970 (6) It is sometimes refreshing to read a book where none of the modern day PC mania is evident. In saying that, even I cringed at some off hand comments. Mad Men indeed. Recommended to those of the normal crew that are not easily offended.
September 3, 2020
Some ripping stories about the glory days of advertising, author was clearly from a different time in terms of sexism/homophobia, and it put me out of charity with him. Book club conversation around advertising was better than the book.
July 28, 2021
I expected a more autobiographical book, but this is more like a lot of anecdotes that explain the inner workings of the advertisement industry in the 60s, which is still interesting but less "character" driven.
January 14, 2022
A thoroughly entertaining read! He explains, he teaches, he rants, he appreciates .... a lot, he is honest, he is brutal but he does not preach at all.
One of the better books that I have read about the advertising industry for sure.
One of the better books that I have read about the advertising industry for sure.
February 24, 2023
60% frat house braggadocio, so much so that you wonder if there’s any real truth to the story or is Famina just bitter that models never slept with him. 15% sexist or homophonic remarks. 10% advertising insights. If this was my “professional” memoir I’d be embarrassed.
March 16, 2023
Mal escrito, confuso, conteúdo sem objetivo, machista, xenofóbico, racista e fraco. Se esse livro remete ao mundo da publicidade em agência, é melhor nem conhecer esse tipo de gente. Muito melhor seria assistir a reprise de cabocla no canal viva.
August 15, 2023
This is the book that inspired Mad Men and was marketed as being quite scandalous. Well, maybe back in 1970. Now it's a bit of a snooze-fest, albeit thst it gives a good impression of the advertising agencies during the Mad Men times. I'd recommend another rewatch over the series over this book.
June 26, 2025
I genuinely picked up this book for a history or advertising - maybe a blow by blow of some advertising wars or at least an example of some key campaigns. What I got was a memoir of some guy sprinkled with bigoted comments.
August 19, 2017
A fantastic insight into the life and times of the 'Mad-Men' of 1950/1960s Madison Avenue.
January 27, 2019
Great book about the magical world of advertising.
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