The Insanity of Advertising: Memoirs of a Mad Man

by Fred S. Goldberg

Overview

In The Insanity of Advertising: Memoirs of a Mad Man, Fred Goldberg gives us an unforgettable glimpse into the chaos, drama, and outright wackiness that fuels one of the most of loved and hated industries in the world. While Goldberg shares plenty of behind-the-scenes dirt on what it was like to craft ad campaigns for some corporate titans, he also doesn’t spare the mad men who worked alongside him. Many had outsize personalities and some were prone to jaw-dropping displays of ego and antics that would make Mad Men's Don Draper and company blush. The Insanity of Advertising: Memoirs of a Mad Man is the real story of mad men in a very mad world.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781571783219
Publisher:	Chicago Review Press, Incorporated
Publication date:	12/01/2013
Pages:	394
Product dimensions:	6.20(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.40(d)

About the Author

Fred S. Goldberg worked for the legendary agency Young & Rubicam for 15 years before taking over operations at Chiat/Day San Francisco and becoming COO of Chiat/Day overall. He later founded Goldberg Moser O’Neill, a highly successful ad agency, with clients that included Dell Computer, Cisco Systems, Dreyer’s Ice Cream, Kia Motors, and Electronic Arts. He lives in Marin County, California.

Table of Contents

Introduction 1

Part I The Harebrained, the Happenings, the History

Chapter 1 How the Cookie Crumbles: General Foods Jell-O 25

Chapter 2 Get the Money!: AVCO Embassy, Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Software Toolworks 33

Chapter 3 The Duke and I: Bristol-Myers 45

Chapter 4 The British are Coming! The British are Coming!: Marshall Cavendish 53

Chapter 5 Hanging by the Gallos: Gallo Wine 63

Chapter 6 How I Got into Advertising: (After Spending 15 Years at Y&R) 83

Chapter 7 Apple "1984" TV Spot (The Greatest Commercial that Almost Wasn't): Apple Computer 97

Chapter 8 One More Reason to Love California: California Cooler 109

Chapter 9 Hi! My Name Is Teddy Ruxpin: Worlds of Wonder 119

Chapter 10 Christmas Balls: Ansa, Ashton-Tate, Oracle 131

Chapter 11 The Emperor Had No Clothes: Jay Chiat 139

Chapter 12 Image is Everything: Esprit 155

Chapter 13 Chiat/Day/No/Mo: Goldberg Moser O'Neill 161

Chapter 14 For Whom the Dell Tolls: Dell Computers 183

Chapter 15 Cisco Kids: Cisco Systems 211

Chapter 16 Made In Korea: Kia Motors 217

Chapter 17 Not the Army, It's The Marines: GMO: How Good Can We Get before We Get Big? 239

Chapter 18 Leaving Nothing to Chance: Casinos 257

Chapter 19 Short But Sweet: Dreyer's Ice Cream 267

Chapter 20 Hell Holliday: Getting Out 273

Part II The Beliefs, the Observations, the Derangements

Chapter 21 The House That Fred Built: Maiden Lane to Battery Street 289

Chapter 22 Cultricide: The Cultures of Ad Agencies 307

Chapter 23 Some of My Best Friends Were Clients: The Bacon Bits in the Salad Bowl of Life 323

Chapter 24 The Only Thing Harder Than Creating A Great Ad Is Selling It 335

Chapter 25 Sandpaper: Odd Stages of Psychosocial Development 349

Epilogue 359

Acknowledgments 365

Index 368

Editorial Reviews

"Refreshing. Funny. Excruciatingly candid. Ths is the most insightful book on advertising since the industry classic, Ogilvy on Advertising."
— MIKE WINDSOR, Former CEO, Ogilvy Interactive; Director, Ogilvy and Mather Worldwide

"From tycoons to geniuses like Steve Jobs, Goldberg reveals everything behind the scenes in a daring direct approach, both hard hitting and hilarious. A great read."
— TOM PERKINS, Venture capitalist, Kleiner Perkins Caulfield and Byers

"This book connects two chronological dots with a wealth of real-life detail that a TV series like Mad Men has neither the time nor the knowl-edge to explore. If you want to come close to “being there” in the “golden years” of the advertising business, you’ll be in it up to your neck when you read The Insanity of Advertising."
— MIKE SLOSBERG, former Creative Director, Young and Rubicam

"Fred and his team made a mark on everything they touched. Especially Dell. [It] recounts some of the incredible unexpected happenings and accomplishments, some we shared together, as well as many other sometimes unimaginable, preposterous stories of the advertising business. It’s a great read."
— JOEL KOCHER, Former President, Dell Computer Corporation

From the Publisher