Tags
1960s, Advertising, Memoir, New York, TV
From Those Wonderful Folks Who Gave You Pearl Harbor: Front-line Dispatches from the Advertising War
by Jerry Della Femina.
This book was originally published in 1970 – an insider’s guide to the goings on in the ad industry in the 1960s by a guy who was there – one of the original Mad Men
Certain scenes and themes in the book which viewers of the TV series will recognise were there: – the accounts guys who move agencies with companies in their pockets (which will lead to their demise at their new agencies); the stoners in the creative department; the never-ending battles between accounts and creative, and the expense-account lifestyle.
Sadly though, this book was a let-down for me on several fronts. Firstly, all the agency names – ad-men are as bad as lawyers for calling themselves after all their partners, creating cumbersome mouthfuls that with few exceptions are not international monickers that we’ve ever heard of with the result that the names rather got in the way a lot of the time. More importantly though, the structure of the book was rambling, repetitive and full of digressions, jumping all over the place and frankly I got rather bored.
But it wasn’t all bad by a long shot. There’s a nice scene where JDF describes when a copywriter and art director click and are on fire with ideas. One thing that comes home though is that advertising is a fickle business – everyone’s jobs are on the line every day, particularly those in accounts:
With the creative guys becoming more important, the account guys are having a tougher time of it. The entire structure of advertising is being disturbed. I get an account, and somebody loses a job someplace….
…. Part of the problem, especially with the account guys, is that they are living way over their heads. Advertising is a business that goes first class all the way. When you get hooked on the expense-account way of life, there’s a tendency to try and live out of the office the way you do in the office….
…. The account man is in the only business in the world where he gets hired, is paid a lot of money for four or five years, and then at one point he’s told he’s not worth anything any more because they’ve lost the account. You know, if you go into any other business in the world and you last five years or so you’re going to live there forever. You go to work in this business and if you last for five years the chances are you’re going to be fired the next day. Seniority means nothing.
It almost makes you feel just a tad of sympathy for oily, pushy Pete Campbell in Mad Men … NAH! Scrap that.
This book was fascinating and maddening in equal measure – but it fed my secret fantasy of working for a top ad agency and coming up with something as brilliant as the Smash Martians or the R White’s Lemonade (which in case you didn’t know starred Elvis Costello’s dad). Such stuff as dreams are made on … as Propsero says in the Tempest.
(6/10) I chose this book from a list supplied to review by Amazon Vine.
P.S. The book title comes from a line JDF tossed into a brainstorm meeting for a Japanese electronics manufacturer.
I love mad men have the first two series on dvd can see the appeal of this book ,its amazing how a simple idea can be so remembered ,the best ads always stick the hamlet ads were genius ,all the best stu
We all remember those great adverts from our childhood. I believe there is a DVD you can buy with all the best ones on – the Leonard Rossiter and Joan Collins Cinzano ones were other favourites of mine.
I’m always so pleased to find another fan of Mad Men — so many people seem not to have heard of it or not to watch it. Not sure I’d read this book, though I’m glad to have read your review of it.
Mad Men is truly my favourite programme ever having overtaken all the other top class US series for me. Everything about it is so perfectly of its time, and the look is utterly superb. They’re not afraid to keep the relationships all slow-burning too which gives both pace and suspense – all very Richard Yates too. Then I wish I could have Peggy’s job, Joan’s body, and a boyfriend like Roger (I prefer him to Don generally).
This book was an odd thing, but I would like to read some of David Ogilvy’s books to get another take on what it was really like back then.
This book wouldn’t have worked for me I don’t think… so I gave my copy to Kimbofo as she is mad on Mad Men who I think will possibly love it.
I hope Kim doesn’t find it as maddening as me! But it was interesting however frustrating the style was. This morning I’ve ordered one of David Ogilvy’s books and a biog of him – I am that hooked on the TV series.
Mad Men (and the women) is fabulous! I’m with you 100% on that!