And Now a Few Words From Me: Advertising's Leading Critic Lays Down the Law, Once and For All

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Advertising Bible

And Now A Few Words From Me

My Hero!

wildly entertaining and very insightful

Wit, wisdom and uncommon common sense.

And Now a Few Words From Me: Advertising's Leading Critic Lays Down the Law, Once and For All
Bob Garfield
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Book Description

"A brazenly funny . . . and hard-hitting book."
--Publishers Weekly

"He [Bob Garfield] is irreverent, funny and tough."
--USA Today

"If you crave insight into the wacky, zany, madcap--albeit very serious--business of advertising, this is a great place to begin."
--Miami Herald

And Now a Few Words from Me is Bob Garfield's call to arms. Sparing no sacred cows, the respected Advertising Age columnist rails against the mind-set that has reduced much of today's advertising to sophomoric silliness that doesn't bother to sell the product or even further the client's strategy. Wielding his pen like a flaming broadsword, Garfield writes:

"Consistency of ethical principles has never been the advertising industry's strongest suit."
"Agencies themselves struggle with an inherent conflict of interest, because the kind of advertising that best serves the client doesn't necessarily win awards."
"My goal here isn't to leave you a bit infuriated. My goal is to enumerate transgressions so extravagant and insane that you actually bleed through the ears."

And Now a Few Words from Me shines a blinding searchlight on what is wrong with today's advertising. Fast, funny, and vintage Garfield, it names names, deflates balloons, and provides a few simple-to-follow rules to get advertising back on track.

Customer Reviews:

Advertising Bible.......2004-02-11

...i'm not often a blesfemous man but this book IS Advertising Bible. you know nothing about advertising till you read THIS. it's a humane but yet frenzy and straight-talking study on how you SHOULDN'T make advertising; what often made mistakes to avoid. once you read it you go, "...so that's what advertising is all about. can't wait to get started..." now i often measure advertising(mine, others') by what would Bob say about it. hey, if you won't read this book you ain't never gonna know what advertising really is.

And Now A Few Words From Me.......2003-07-02

And Now A Few Words From MeýBob Garfield

I would rate this as a truly terrific book with one major caveat: Skip the Introduction. Seriously. The author takes a little while to warm to his subject, as they say, and is, in the process, so annoying you might be tempted to put the book down (with a resounding thud) forever.
Donýt. Because from Chapter one on it just gets better and better. While he primarily focuses on television commercials, most of his trenchant observations apply to all forms of advertising: that rules arenýt always ýmeant to be brokený; that itýs okay to ýborrowý ideas, but never to borrow attention; that having a modicum of good taste is always advisable, especially when it comes to the use of sex in advertising and so forth.
He also has a great chapter that every client should read carefully wherein he spells out the perils that go along with cooking up claims and promises that are only quasi-true (as in legal let them get by) at best.
And his last two chapters are worth the price of admission all by themselves. In the first he succeeds in getting three titans of the advertising universeýDan Wieden, Jeff Goodby and Phil Dusenberryýto describe in painful detail the worst mistakes in creative judgment theyýve made over the course of their otherwise brilliant careers. And in the second, he succeeds in doing something many might consider utterly impossible: he actually makes a very well reasoned (and almost moving) case for why advertising isnýt the horrible endeavor many of its creators secretly fear.
A jaunty and informative read for anyone in the business. (Except for that ýtoo clever by halfý introduction.)

My Hero!.......2003-05-06

I've long enjoyed Bob's reviews. He's not afraid to call a dog a dog and a peacock a peacock. This book is great even for those just starting out. I've used it extensively in an effort to educate others in the fine art of branding and advertising.

If you're afraid to laugh out loud at other's mistakes, don't read this book.

wildly entertaining and very insightful.......2003-03-25

Ok, so Garfield might have a bit of an Advertising God complex, but he's not denying it! He toots his own horn like there's no tomorrow, but ya know what? He's earned the right with this book! Some of the pages make you laugh out loud, and other ones really make you think. Advertising in an un-invited guest and should treat the hosts with respect and dignity. Shock-advertising is nothing but offensive, and those who think that rules were meant to be broken will quickly find out that they were put there for a reason. I'm a big fan of his ideas.

Wit, wisdom and uncommon common sense........2003-03-13

"Do not be so blindly determined to `think outside the box' that you are constructing your own coffins." This quote, which comes on page 127 of Bob Garfield's new book, "And Now a Few Words from Me," could be the epigraph for the entire book, or indeed for just about every ad review Garfield has written for "Advertising Age" over the last 18 years. An amused and often appalled observer of the wretched excesses of TV advertising, Garfield in his new book eviscerates a number of failed campaigns with the skill of a master surgeon reviewing a botched heart transplant. The operation's not a success, Garfield points out, if the patient dies. (And sometimes the patient DOES die: an abstruse commercial for a Virginia bank, he notes, led to the failure of both the bank and the ad agency.) As Garfield sees it, the problem with much of TV advertising is simple: too many ad copywriters get caught up in the "creativity" of what they do and forget their purpose is to sell products, period. Sometimes the problem is merely a bad choice of celebrity spokesperson--say, hulking millionaire Charles Barkley pitching econobox Hyundais, or red-meat-eschewing Cybill Shepherd as national spokesperson for beef. Just as often, however, ad writers simply whiz past their target audience (the "Dick" campaign for Miller Lite) or offend viewers to the very core of their being (Ford and GM using the 9/11 tragedy as a pretext for great deals on Explorers and Grand Ams). Garfield, as always, is witty, elegant yet blunt about these failures: "Don't roll your eyes and dismiss the negatives," he tells his readers, "because if you do, in due course, that's exactly what your target audience will do with you." He also insists that ad writers--despite their frequent statements to the contrary--are subject to the same rules of morality, decency and civility the rest of us are. He is particularly scathing about Calvin Klein: "(H)e is not an advertiser. He is an arsonist...(T)o portray children as sex toys parading before adults is the line that cannot be crossed." But Garfield notes that many advertisers lose sight of a basic fact: if you offend your audience, you are lost forever. The creative director of one agency once wrote Garfield to the effect that if he found TV advertising so offensive, he shouldn't watch. Garfield's reply: "Don't watch? Don't watch what? If advertising were programming, a viewer could make decisions about what to watch. But--I'll say this one last time--advertising isn't, so a viewer can't, so what's left to watch, if you choose not to be assaulted by advertising, is nothing. Which destroys the whole medium, you imbecile." "And Now a Few Words from Me" is a fast (200 pages), trenchant, often laugh-out-loud funny look at TV advertising that deserves a readership far beyond ad agencies. Anybody who watches TV will find it a great read.

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Customer Reviews:

Manufacturing Dominance doesn't equal Financial Dominance.......2003-10-21

This book increases my understanding of the Japanese culture, psyche and love for bureaucracy, and how Japan's strengths in manufacturing does not necessarily translate well or able to be copied to Financial Dominance.

After reading this book, it is shocking to imagine all those trillions earned by Japanese manufacturing got squandered by arrogant, ill-equipped bureaucrats.

He does ramble on a bit, and repeat himself, but since he wrote from loads of interviews, I guess they all say the same things.

Many lessons for us to learn here in Malaysia. If they get to wake up and increase their competencies in the financial field, that'll be great to see.

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Arena Magazine, published by Arena Printing and Publications Pty. Ltd. on October 1, 2001. The length of the article is 1484 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Civilian Oversight of Policing: Governance, Democracy and Human Rights.(police justice in the spotlight).(Review)
Author: Jude McCulloch
Publication: Arena Magazine (Refereed)
Date: October 1, 2001
Publisher: Arena Printing and Publications Pty. Ltd.
Page: 59(2)

Article Type: Book Review

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Estimación economica de los beneficios esperados en salud y ambiente del consumo de productos organicos: un experimento de valoracion contingente.: An article from: Ciencias Económicas
Marcos Adamson Badilla , Ricardo Madrigal Bonilla , and Minor Bonilla Gómez
Manufacturer: Thomson Gale
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
ASIN: B000FTC1Q2
Release Date: 2006-05-22

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Ciencias Económicas, published by Thomson Gale on January 1, 2004. The length of the article is 8663 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Estimación economica de los beneficios esperados en salud y ambiente del consumo de productos organicos: un experimento de valoracion contingente.
Author: Marcos Adamson Badilla
Publication: Ciencias Económicas (Magazine/Journal)
Date: January 1, 2004
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 24 Issue: 1 Page: 5(23)

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Euglossine bees as potential bio-indicators of coffee farms: does forest access, on a seasonal basis, affect abundance?: An article from: Revista de Biología Tropical

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Euglossine bees as potential bio-indicators of coffee farms: does forest access, on a seasonal basis, affect abundance?: An article from: Revista de Biología Tropical
Ingemar Hedström , Jessica Harris , and Kimberly Fergus
Manufacturer: Thomson Gale
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Binding: Digital

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This digital document is an article from Revista de Biología Tropical, published by Thomson Gale on December 1, 2006. The length of the article is 3959 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Euglossine bees as potential bio-indicators of coffee farms: does forest access, on a seasonal basis, affect abundance?
Author: Ingemar Hedström
Publication: Revista de Biología Tropical (Magazine/Journal)
Date: December 1, 2006
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 54 Issue: 4 Page: 1189(7)

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Marcel Morales produce biofertilizantes.(Entrevista): An article from: Contenido

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Marcel Morales produce biofertilizantes.(Entrevista): An article from: Contenido
Pedro C. Baca
Manufacturer: Thomson Gale
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
ASIN: B000V5KE3C
Release Date: 2007-08-15

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This digital document is an article from Contenido, published by Thomson Gale on August 1, 2007. The length of the article is 1027 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Marcel Morales produce biofertilizantes.(Entrevista)
Author: Pedro C. Baca
Publication: Contenido (Magazine/Journal)
Date: August 1, 2007
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Issue: 530 Page: 75(3)

Article Type: Entrevista

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New Encyclopedia of Agriculture Organic Material of Soil: Nueva Enciclopedia de Agricultura: Materia Organica del Suelo

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New Encyclopedia of Agriculture Organic Material of Soil: Nueva Enciclopedia de Agricultura: Materia Organica del Suelo
M. M. Kanonova
Manufacturer: French & European Pubns
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Organic livestock, an alternative of cattle development for some regions of Mexico: a review/La ganaderia organica, una alternativa de desarrollo pecuario ... uma revisao.: An article from: Interciencia

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Organic livestock, an alternative of cattle development for some regions of Mexico: a review/La ganaderia organica, una alternativa de desarrollo pecuario ... uma revisao.: An article from: Interciencia
Jose Luis Espinoza-Villavicencio , Alejandro Palacios-Espinosa , Narciso Avila-Serrano , Ariel Guillen-Trujillo , Rafael De Luna-De La Pena , Ricardo Ortega-Perez , and Bernardo Murillo-Amador
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Release Date: 2007-08-03

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This digital document is an article from Interciencia, published by Thomson Gale on June 1, 2007. The length of the article is 5528 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Organic livestock, an alternative of cattle development for some regions of Mexico: a review/La ganaderia organica, una alternativa de desarrollo pecuario para algunas regiones de Mexico: una revision/A criacao de gado organico, uma alternativa de desenvolvimento pecuario para algumas regioes do Mexico: uma revisao.
Author: Jose Luis Espinoza-Villavicencio
Publication: Interciencia (Magazine/Journal)
Date: June 1, 2007
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 32 Issue: 6 Page: 385(6)

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Agricultura Organica (Planeta Tierra)
Eco-Agro
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Dicionario Rural Do Brasil: 5,000 Verbetes Sobre Agricultura, Pecuaria, Biotecnologia, Tecnicas Organicas de Cultivo E Meio Ambiente
Jooao Da Costa
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Binding: Hardcover

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Manufacturer: EUNED
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This book presents the results from the Uranium Mining and Hydrogeology Congress held in September 2005, in Freiberg, Germany. It addresses scientists and engineers involved in the areas of uranium mining and milling sites, clean-up measures, emissions of nuclear power plants and radioactive waste disposal, as well as political decision-makers. The topics covered are: impact on groundwater from radionuclide emission, analytical specification techniques, chemical toxicity, radioisotope plant uptake, microbiology, geochemical and reactive transport, case studies on active and abandoned uranium mines and milling sites, long-term storage of radioactive waste, passive in situ treatment techniques and risk assessment studies. The accompanying CD-ROM includes all papers in colour.

Book Description

In recent years there have been many advances in the understanding of the nuclear structure and dynamics in the extreme conditions of spin (high angular momentum states), isospin (drip line nuclei) and mass (super heavy elements). There are new challenges in the synthesis and study of nuclei far away from the beta-stability region. This book focuses on the present status and future possibilities in this field and provides the state of the art information on the experimental and theoretical developments.

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Horrible horrible book!

Couldn't pick it up

"Azur" don't like it

Disappointing...

Did Wendy Holden really write this?

Azur Like It
Wendy Holden
Manufacturer: Plume
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Gossip Hound

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THE WIVES OF BATH

ASIN: 0452285178
Release Date: 2004-01-27

Book Description

A witty, winning escapade through the south of France from the internationally bestselling author of Gossip Hound.

The only intrepid reporter in her hometown hamlet, Kate Clegg has dreams of parlaying her dead-end job at the Mercury, or Mockery, as it is affectionately known, into an award-winning career with the most celebrated papers in London. But things seem to be going in the toilet, literally, since her biggest break thus far has been investigating a drainage disaster at the local high school. At least things can't get worse...

That is until shady billionaire Peter Hardstone pulls up outside the Mercury's tiny storefront office in his gold Ferrari and begins firing the staff. Soon enough, Kate herself decides that leaving the Mockery behind may just be the best career move she'll ever make-until Hardstone's wildly attractive son, Nat, takes up residence at the Mercury's office with an offer Kate cannot refuse-a chance to cover the Cannes Film Festival on the luxurious Côte d'Azur.

With internationally acclaimed author Wendy Holden's signature verve, intelligence, and originality, Azur Like It is a rollicking ride through the parties, haute couture, and glamour of the French Riviera where, behind the glitz, lies a mystery that would make even the most jaded journalist salivate.

Customer Reviews:

Horrible horrible book!.......2006-01-21

I was drawn towards this book by the title, as I'm a big fan of Shakespeare. After I saw the cover and read the back I almost decided not to take it with me (Gosh, I wish I had listened to my instinct!) But since the library in my neighbour-village doesn't have a whole lot of books in the English language I decided to give it a try nonetheless.

What an unfortunate mistake! First of all I'm not big on empty-headed romances and/or chicklits. But this book surpassed the stupidity of both those genres. The beginning wasn't very interesting. Then, as I expected, the arrogant and lazy Nat came along and, also according to plan, our dumb main character fell for him. Despite the fact that he is obviously exactly like his father in manners and drugs her on a lunch date.

I can bear all that. It's nothing new. But then the trip to Cannes came along. And I must say he gave Kate various very good reasons not to trust him on his word. Shall I make a list? Yes, I shall.

1. He said his father had agreed to the trip -> which to all of us with something similar to a brain in our head knew could simply not be true, since Peter Hardstone was an absolute nightmare of a man.
2. Not far into the Cannes-talk Nat let it slip that him coming with her to Cannes was the whole point of the journey. After a short pause he continued with 'apart from you covering the filmfestival of course -> yes, of course, how obvious could it be that him going to Cannes was exactly the only reason he was trying to convince her she was to go to Cannes?
3. Extremely gullible and naive our little reporter doesn't even flinch when Nat tells her she shouldn't mention her trip to Cannes to her editor -> stupidity increases in rapid speed.
4. He lends money from our dear Kate, because daddy won't give him any -> dûh!
5. The bastard lets her pay for their meal even though earlier he clearly said he would be paying and manages to come up with the nerve to be annoyed because Kate "misunderstood" him.

Must I go any further? I hope not, because that's where I abandoned that garbage unworthy of the title 'book' and began spending my time on more useful things.

The characters; Champagne D'Vyne, Nat Hardstone, Peter Hardstone, Marc de Provence and Brogan whats-her-name are all extremely stupid, shallow, fake and irritating as hell.
Kate, her family, Darren and the others are a bit more bearable, but still nothing more than cardboard-figures.

Do not read this book! You've been warned...

Couldn't pick it up.......2004-07-13

Normally I'm the first one to buy a Wendy Holden book, and usually I can't put the book down. In this case, I just couldn't pick it up. After having read 4 fantastic books in a row, I was saving the best for last. Imagine my disappointment when I couldn't even get past the first chapter without yawning, and several months later, after re-reading that first chapter on subsequent attempts, am yet to get through to chapter two.

I'm sorry to say that if a book can't grip you in the first few pages, or at least chapter one, it's pretty difficult to motivate onself to continue. I just hope your next book is a saving grace, as I'm still an ardent fan and will always cherish the past glee your books have provided. I look forward to the next one...

"Azur" don't like it.......2004-05-18

A quirky English reporter at the Cannes Film Festival -- the makings of a fun novel, right? Wrong. Wendy Holden misfires badly in "Azur Like It," a tepid Brit-chick-lit nove. Saddled with an offensively dumb heroine and a boring plot, it has only a few moments of over-the-top color.

Kate Clegg toils at her thankless job at the Slackmucklewaite Mercury (known as the "Mockery") in a small North-English town. She yearns to escape to a real journalism job, but has to be content with small-town stuff for the time being. Things go downhill when megamogul Peter Hardstone buys the Mockery and wrecks what little worth it had. Gone are Kate's dreams of covering the Cannes Film Festival -- all she gets to do is interview witchy reality-TV starlet Champagne D'Vyne.

That all changes when Kate encounters Nat Hardstone, the hunky son of her boss. Kate is swept off her feet by the sexy Nat's advances, and most of all by his willingness to get her sent to the Cannes Film Festival. She doesn't notice his shady, manipulative behavior, and ends up in France by herself, abandoned and friendless. But with some friends to help out, she might just salvage her trip...

"Azur Like It" is strictly by the numbers chick lit, with a slightly different setting. But a boring plot set in southern France is still boring. Holden tries to spice it all up to make it fun and delicious, but without a solid plotline or much of an idea where it's all going.

Holden manages some uproarious kitsch moments, like the description of the Hardstone mansion's "Baroque'n'Roll" interior decoration. But those are offset by the boring, like much of Kate's horrible first days in France. Not to mention the embarrassing: It's hard not to wince when we're treated to a cringeworthy sex scene in a restaurant, involving Nat's big toe.

What's more, "Azur Like It" is hideously predictable. It's obvious early on just what a creep Nat is, and that Kate will end up in more trouble if she goes along with him. And her constant parade of misery -- getting her jacket burned off right before the festival -- gets tired after a while.

Kate is so blindingly naive and trusting that you may want to club her. Her Goth-y pal Darren is far more likable, and the caricatures -- the flamboyant decorator, the snotty trophy wife -- are the most fun, even if they rarely are more than cardboard cutouts. The most entertaining is certainly Champagne, a horrendously rude, untalented starlet who aspires to be the next Bond girl.

Take your average chick-lit book, cut out the plot, add kitsch and an exotic setting, and you have "Azur Like It." It's pretty at the start, but degenerates into a mass of cliches and purple ceilings.

Disappointing..........2004-05-14

I am a big Wendy Holden fan. All of her novels, especially Simply Divine and Gossip Hound, entertained me from beginning to end. However, Azur Like It, her new novel, is a big disappointment. This novel contains the same tale of a simple but ambitious young woman dreaming of having a glamorous job in which she mingles with the most fashionable socialites. It also contains satirical language with some fun puns. The main problem with Azur Like It is that it isn't quite as funny or as clever as her previous novels. This one bored me to tears and I couldn't wait to finish it! If Ms. Holden isn't able to bring something new to her formula, then her novels will continue to go downhill. I am still a big of this author -- I just hope that her next project is in the same vein as Gossip Hound.

Did Wendy Holden really write this?.......2004-03-30

I'm a huge Wendy Holden fan. If you are a new reader, don't give up hope, her other books send you on a rollercoaster of emotions, with unique characters you will not forget.

But as for Azure Like It, all I can say is NO!!!!

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Azur Like It: Cannes Life be This Nice?
Wendy Holden
Manufacturer: Hodder Headline
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OH9QRW

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