In New York City in the late 1950s and the 1960s - the era and location of TV's Mad Men - advertising went through a revolution. In a booming market, a punchy and proud new workforce of younger, multi-ethnic writers and art directors gorged themselves on a vibrant and artistic social scene. In many ways they were similar to Don Draper, Roger Sterling and Peggy Olsen: confident, driven and ambitious, they lived the three-martini life and worked the machine to their advantage. Also clever, creative and streetwise, they outclassed and outthought the old advertising establishment, implementing a new way of thinking and behaving which spread across the newspapers, magazines and TV screens of America and beyond. The story of modern advertising starts here, with these real Mad Men - and women - of Madison Avenue who created the most radical and influential advertising ever, transforming the methods, practice and execution of the business. Their legacy still resounds in the industry today. How did this golden age of advertising happen? It is a remarkable, inspiring story of creativity, ingenuity and larger than life personalities who made it up as they went along.
The Real Mad Men
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Review
'Andrew Cracknell tells it like it was - the inside story of the men and women who kept Don Draper awake at night. Witty and invigorating' David Abbott.
'As someone who was in the ad business during the ''Mad Men'' years, Andrew Cracknell has really nailed it. He tells the inside story of the advertising business as only someone who's been right in the middle of it can. I enjoyed reading it, and I'm really looking forward to the day they make a movie out of it because there's a great movie here. I can only hope that George Clooney is around to play my part' Jerry Della Femina.
'I lived through half of what Andrew Cracknell writes about - and there's so much action on each page, my head was spinning. The Real Mad Men nails those days in real time - but take a valium before you read it. It's an eye-popping, roller-coaster ride, and the true story of the original Mad Men. Reading any chapter in Cracknell's book beats the hell out of watching a dozen segments of Mad Men' George Lois.
'Andrew Cracknell has accurately captured what many people called the Golden Age of Advertising - with its postwar milieu, strong personalities and creative philosophies - and pinned it to the wall like an exotic butterfly in a collection. Like the period, the book is fun' Ken Roman.
'...keeps some of that glamour (of Mad Men) as much as it argues for what the counterculture revolution did for advertising ... handsomely produced' Glasgow Herald.
'This handsome volume offers a celebratory oral history of the Manhattan advertising world in the 1950s and 1960s ... (Andrew Cracknell) writes with commendable zip ... Enjoyable' Guardian.
'an entertaining chronicle of the men, women and ideas that first persuaded Americans to part with their money' Good Book Guide.
'Cracknell's book is a sensuous beast. It exudes gloss ... much like a good advertisement, the book successfully informs, entertains and pleases the eye' TLS.
'As someone who was in the ad business during the ''Mad Men'' years, Andrew Cracknell has really nailed it. He tells the inside story of the advertising business as only someone who's been right in the middle of it can. I enjoyed reading it, and I'm really looking forward to the day they make a movie out of it because there's a great movie here. I can only hope that George Clooney is around to play my part' Jerry Della Femina.
'I lived through half of what Andrew Cracknell writes about - and there's so much action on each page, my head was spinning. The Real Mad Men nails those days in real time - but take a valium before you read it. It's an eye-popping, roller-coaster ride, and the true story of the original Mad Men. Reading any chapter in Cracknell's book beats the hell out of watching a dozen segments of Mad Men' George Lois.
'Andrew Cracknell has accurately captured what many people called the Golden Age of Advertising - with its postwar milieu, strong personalities and creative philosophies - and pinned it to the wall like an exotic butterfly in a collection. Like the period, the book is fun' Ken Roman.
'...keeps some of that glamour (of Mad Men) as much as it argues for what the counterculture revolution did for advertising ... handsomely produced' Glasgow Herald.
'This handsome volume offers a celebratory oral history of the Manhattan advertising world in the 1950s and 1960s ... (Andrew Cracknell) writes with commendable zip ... Enjoyable' Guardian.
'an entertaining chronicle of the men, women and ideas that first persuaded Americans to part with their money' Good Book Guide.
'Cracknell's book is a sensuous beast. It exudes gloss ... much like a good advertisement, the book successfully informs, entertains and pleases the eye' TLS.
From the Inside Flap
Of all the places where people make money, advertising is one of the most exotic. People are paid to be crazy and applauded for being heretic. It's where commerce meets showbiz and where hard money meets artistic whimsy. And in New York City in the late 1950s and through the 1960s advertising reached its peak. In a booming market, a punchy and proud new workforce of younger, multi-ethnic writers and art directors gorged themselves on a vibrant artistic and social scene. Then in 1959, a softly spoken ad man by the name of Bill Bernbach, with his agency Doyle Dane Bernbach, launched the now iconic VW campaign, kicking off a dizzying decade of outstanding work, produced by people who knew they were making both waves and history. Confident, driven and ambitious, they lived the three-Martini life and worked the machine to their advantage. But they were also clever, creative and streetwise, outclassing and outthinking the old advertising establishment and starting a new approach, which spread across the newspapers, magazines and TV screens of America and beyond. The story of modern advertising starts here; with these real mad men - and women - of Madison Avenue, who created the most radical and influential advertising ever. This book is about those people, that work and that era.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Andrew Cracknell's account of the Real Mad Men is fascinating, never dull and gives a real insight into the changes that took place in this period, socially, artistically which had their echoes in the advertising revolution that he describes so well. There are many larger than life characters but the book gives just enough of them to give the reader a real flavour. I can't wait for a sequel.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By Rosa
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This book does what it says on the cover. It is about real people in a vibrantly real world re-inventing the advertising of late 50s & 60s America.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading Andrew Cracknell's The Real Mad Men despite not being a fan of the fantasy adland of the TV series. This book is much more fun than that! It is chock full o' nuts, in the nicest possible way. It has characters nobody would dare dream up for fiction and the glory of it is that Cracknell uses their own words, more often than not, to describe some of the more extreme examples of their behaviour. Amusing anecdotes, biting quotes and illuminating memories abound, but the strength of the book is that they are all amplified by intelligent & informed reflection by an author who obviously really knows his stuff. What is apparent throughout is the exhilerating atmosphere prevalent on Madison Avenue in the sixties and the resultant iconoclastic & brilliant work it produced. It reveals the people & the thinking behind classic ads like those for VW, & Alka Selzer, Avis & El Al. Like this book, they were all sharp, innovative, witty and diverting but, on top of being entertaining, they also gave you all the necessary information. The book is a well-researched social document too, portraying the diverse backgrounds of this new wave admen and the cultural & social backdrop which allowed them to emerge. Densely packed with case histories & mini biographies though it is, The Real Madmen is easy & fun to read, I'd highly recommend it to anyone interested in the period- and any aspiring marketing men or women really should read it from cover to cover . The only down-side is, it makes one realise just how meretricious most of our advertising is today & what a dull, grey, lot the ad-folk have become!
I thoroughly enjoyed reading Andrew Cracknell's The Real Mad Men despite not being a fan of the fantasy adland of the TV series. This book is much more fun than that! It is chock full o' nuts, in the nicest possible way. It has characters nobody would dare dream up for fiction and the glory of it is that Cracknell uses their own words, more often than not, to describe some of the more extreme examples of their behaviour. Amusing anecdotes, biting quotes and illuminating memories abound, but the strength of the book is that they are all amplified by intelligent & informed reflection by an author who obviously really knows his stuff. What is apparent throughout is the exhilerating atmosphere prevalent on Madison Avenue in the sixties and the resultant iconoclastic & brilliant work it produced. It reveals the people & the thinking behind classic ads like those for VW, & Alka Selzer, Avis & El Al. Like this book, they were all sharp, innovative, witty and diverting but, on top of being entertaining, they also gave you all the necessary information. The book is a well-researched social document too, portraying the diverse backgrounds of this new wave admen and the cultural & social backdrop which allowed them to emerge. Densely packed with case histories & mini biographies though it is, The Real Madmen is easy & fun to read, I'd highly recommend it to anyone interested in the period- and any aspiring marketing men or women really should read it from cover to cover . The only down-side is, it makes one realise just how meretricious most of our advertising is today & what a dull, grey, lot the ad-folk have become!
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By Sue
Format:Paperback
You don't have to be in advertising to enjoy this book - I'm not and I did! I found it a very readable story - a fast-moving, brilliantly written, authoritative account of the revolution in advertising. It includes marvellous illustrations and is full of amusing and often hilarious anecdotes about the larger than life men and women involved. A fascinating story, which makes you look at adverts in a whole new light after reading it.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderful gift
My husband is delighted with this book, which gives insights into the advertising industry. It is well presented with some excellent photos as well as great text.
Published 2 months ago by J. V. Hayles
5.0 out of 5 stars
Superb!
I couldn't put this down. I thought it might be a lazy book written off the back of Mad Men's popularity but it's anything but. Some fabulous stories brought to life really well.
Published 3 months ago by T. Allen
4.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting perspective on the advertising we see around us daily.
Having been force fed a diet of "The Apprentice" and "Mad Men" while my daughter completed a marking module for her college course, i decided to dive in and give... Read more
Published 5 months ago by caroline
5.0 out of 5 stars
A country without a memory is a country of madmen
There is a quote by the 19th Century spanish philosopher George Santayana that goes something like this;
"A country without a memory is a country of madmen. Read more
"A country without a memory is a country of madmen. Read more
Published 16 months ago by The Dean at School of Communication Arts
5.0 out of 5 stars
Memory Lane
What's happened? Didn't we learn anything? A generation of brilliance would have been forgotten if Cracknell hadn't reminded us. Read more
Published 19 months ago by Mr. N. Parry-williams
5.0 out of 5 stars
A world away from Sterling Cooper
To anyone working in advertising today, or at any time during the past fifty years, the clarity, honesty and intelligence of DDB's work of the 60's for the likes of VW, Avis,... Read more
Published 19 months ago by Barry Cox, Chief Executive The History of Advertising Trust
3.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting but emphasies DDB a little too much
I bought this book as I loved the Mad Men series and after working in advertising over 20 years I thought it would be interesting. Read more
Published 20 months ago by Lozza
5.0 out of 5 stars
Inside information
A fascinating book, revealing to the ordinary bystander the interstices of the advertising industry during a time of visceral change and dramatic lateral thinking. Read more
Published 20 months ago by M. W. F. Swann
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fascinating read - for people in and out of the ad business
See the pioneering admen and women of Madison Avenue as they really were. An adman himself, Cracknell gets the tone just right - it's a great read and gives some brilliant insights... Read more
Published 21 months ago by madwoman
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