Fred S. Goldberg - The Insanity of Advertising: Memoirs of a Mad Man

ADVANCE PRAISE FOR THE INSANITY OF ADVERTISING:

The best ad people are great storytellers. Fred Goldbergs book is full of great stories told by the guy who was there in the room and knows how to tell the story. From the giants of the advertising business to industry leaders like Apple, Gallo and Dell, you see the good times and bad through Goldbergs eyes. Its an amazing feat: fitting a lifetime of stories in one book.

DAN BELLAOK. former Chairman of TFB/BBDO; founder, Tycer Fultz Bellack

This book is a wealth of real-life detail that a TV series like Mad Men has neither the time nor the knowledge to explore. If you want to come close to being there in those golden years of the advertising business, youll be in it up to your neck when you read The Insanity of Advertising.

MIKE SLOSBERG, former Creative Director, Young & Rubicam; President, Wunderman Worldwide

I was fortunate enough to be a board member of Chiat/Day and worked closely with Fred Goldberg. His narrative and descriptions of some of the glorious days are wonderful to read. They make me wince at times but always proud to have been around Chiat/Day, Goldberg Moser ONeill, and Fred himself.

DAVID WIENER, former member, Chiat/Day Board of Directors; financial and management consultant; dealmaker extraordinaire

A behind the scenes look at the big clients and even bigger egos that populate advertising and marketing. These experiences are relayed in a typical Fred Goldberg way: honest, forthright, and laced with an acerbic wit. A thoroughly interesting and entertaining read.

MIKE MOSER, former Creative Director, Goldberg Moser ONeill

Fred Goldberg is a man who knows how to keep a secret. Now, for the first time, he tells all. I suspect a lot of advertising people will have this book on preorder--and an equal number will be trembling in fear.

KEN MANDELBAUM, former Chief Creative Officer, BBDO West

In addition to his many successes building iconic brands for great companies, Fred Goldberg can now add outstanding author to his list of accomplishments. His telling of up-close-and-personal experiences covering his many years in the business gives the reader a front row seat to how it really was during advertisings Golden Age (or Wonder Years).

JIM LAVELLE, Chairman/CEO, Lightbeam Energy, Inc.; founder, Chairman/CEO Cotelligent, Inc.

Fred Goldberg was a force of nature. He was more drivenand more focusedthan anyone I ever met. He worked harder, he worked longer, he worked smarter than anyone else. He soughtand passionately supportedbreakthrough concepts on every project in which he was involved, every bit as much as does the most gifted creative director.

JOHN FERRELL, Former Chief Creative Officer, Hill Holliday New York; Creative Director, Young & Rubicam

Its insane to think that Fred could have worked on Apple, Cisco, Dell, Kia, Intel, Rice-A-Roni, General Foods, Puerto Rico and Gallo and lived to tell about it. And who wouldnt want to read a book from the man who told a twenty-four-year-old Michael Dell he needed a girlfriend.

MIKE MASSARO, former COO, Goldberg Moser ONeill

Fred Goldberg has written the book on what really happens in advertising. And it isnt pretty.

BRIAN ONEILL, former Creative Director, Goldberg Moser ONeill

When Fred arrived at Young & Rubicam, it was not long before it became obvious that he had a passion for the advertising business, recognizing the challenge of making disparate elements work together, and knowing that whatever anguish was involved, it was all worthwhile to produce a great end product.

JOHN MCMENNAMIN, former Vice President, International Marketing, Max Factor; VP, Marketing Services, Carnation/Nestle USA

The truth about the advertising business from an insider who knows its insanityhe was a significant part of it. He did it all and tells his story in typical Fred fashion: no punches are pulled in his description of the business and people in it.

RICHARD GREENE, Greene Radovsky Maloney Share & Hennigh

3M saw in Fred a person who would challenge them and stand up for the best creative rather than a middle-of-the-road approach that might achieve consensus.

RICK KURZ, former President, Consulting, Marketing Corporation of America; President, Somerset Wines; Director of Marketing and Advertising, E & J Gallo Winery

Fred had the passion, intelligence, and creativity to change things. And the balls to put honesty before convenience. He is one of the best ad men I have had the honor of working with.

FLOYD MILLER, founder and CEO, Miller/Kadanoff

Fred always could see farther down the road than anyone else in the room. Riding his coat-tails was the best and the most fun ride, ever. I was honored to be his clienttwice.

ROBERT CUDD, former VP, Marketing and Editorial, Fatbrain.com

Fred Goldberg is a brilliant ad man! The very best strategic thinker and leader that I have ever been around. His book is a must read for all advertising people!

DOUG SHERFEY, former Executive Director, Advertising and Public Relations, John Ascuagas Resort Hotel Casino, Reno

The creators of the TV series Mad Men needed Fred Goldberg as a creative consultant to capture just how mad the advertising world has been over the years.

JOHN RACZKA, VP, Entertainment Development, Melco Crown Entertainment

Of all the Mad Men I worked with, Fred Goldberg was the maddest of them all. Responsible for driving many legendary campaigns, he gives an entertaining account of his thirty years in the biz. Always opinionated and never boring, Fred played the game well, never forgot a friend or an adversary, and ended up with all the marbles.

RICK HERRICK, founding partner, SALT Branding

Copyright 2013 by Fred S. Goldberg

All Rights Reserved

Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission in writing from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations in critical articles and reviews. The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized editions, and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials.

Every effort has been made to trace the ownership of copyrighted material and obtain required permissions; any omissions will be corrected. Please contact the author about any inaccuracy or oversight.

Grateful acknowledgement to Getty Images for permission to use the following photographs: , photo by Dave M. Benett

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data on file with the Publisher

Council Oak Books

An imprint of Chicago Review Press Incorporated

814 North Franklin Street

Chicago, Illinois 60610

www.counciloakbooks.com

www.theinsanityofadvertising.com

ISBN 978-1-5717-8338-7

Printed in the United States of America

T HIS BOOK IS DEDICATED TO my three girls who somehow put up with my commitment to the business of advertising, which took us from Madison Avenue to the wild West and spanned more than three decades.

My wife Jeri lived with the business every day and night. Both of my daughters, Robin and Susanne, tasted what working in the ad business was like, vicariously and actually. They made me very proud of the fine jobs they each did during the time they spent in it.