The Real Mad Men – Cracknell 2011

Interesting book about the creative revolution and the greatest insight is saved up for the last page: Bernabch succeeded with the creative revolution by making advertising less aspirational: Bill Benbach stopped selling dreams and started selling the truth – wrapped in wit.” (Cracknell, 2011, p.68).

“You didn’t drive a VW or a Volvo, smoke B&H 100s, holiday in Jamaica, eat Horn and Hardart or rent a car from Avis because you aspired to it or because it got you the girl or made you the envy of your neighbours. You did it because it was the clever thing to do. (…) where it (Advertising) used to flatter your status or your apparent wealth, now it flattered your intelligence. (…) DDB and PKL and Calr Ally and the many that followed removed banality and aspiration from advertising.” (Cracknell, 2011, p.219).

And a great line by Sir John Hegarty’s foreword on why history in such a short lived business like advertising is important: “’history isn’t about the past, it’s about the future’. Understanding where we came from, why we did what we did and how it could influence tomorrow was at the heart of his teaching.” (Cracknell, 2011, p.7).

Moreover, and most importantly, a reason, why we are advertising:
“’All of us who professionally use the mass media are the shapers of society. We can vulgarise that society. We can brutalise it. Or we can help lift it onto a higher level.’” (Cracknell, 2011, p.13).

Thus the greatest DDB advertising followed a similar attitude towards the consumer: “Hey, we’re all in this together; you know we’re going to try and sell you something – let’s both enjoy the process.” (Cracknell, 2011, p.13).It was about “having fun with the whole notion of buying and selling and advertising, a conspirational wink between seller and buyer.” (Cracknell, 2011, p.64).

Also the definitive answer to the client’s question to make the logo bigger: Helmuth Krone had a “belief in the indivisibility of ‘look’ and ‘message’ he would create for any client on whose account he worked a page layout that was instantly recognisable from 20 paces as uniquely theirs – even without their logo.” (Cracknell, 2011, p.88).