Madvertising

“If advertising has anything to do with real life, then sex will always have something to do with advertising”

Madvertising is a short but brilliant book on the British Advertising industry during the Thatcher Era i.e. the late 1970s and the 1980s, written by Martyn Forrester, himself an adman who quit the industry in 1985. I stumbled upon it while reading a newsletter. Even though I do not work in the advertising space, in any capacity or form, I do keep a tab of its developments in India and world over. Not only is the industry wildly different from any other, some of the advertisements are so atrociously bad that it makes easy fodder for gossip; “Did you see that shitty ad?”, “Really? Creatives get paid so much write such crap?”, “Clients actually bought that BS?”, and so on.

And I thought Indian creatives and advertisers were lousy. This book proved me wrong. Everybody in advertising are the same. If you look at some of the advertisements today, you'd wonder where the creativity comes from. Of course, creativity comes from the so called ‘creatives' which includes copywriters, film-makers, creative head and so on, which is ironic. I learnt that they practically do nothing all day except one thing which makes the world (and advertising agencies) go round and round and round. Read on.

Well, OK, they do, maybe, a little more than nothing. But what they do is unconventional from other careers: Sex, and lots of it. Sex is what drives advertising (and the world too). Admen sleep with co-workers or clients and still get away with it, without any shame. It's normal. Sex is the rite of passage in advertising, especially as a way to get to the top (no pun intended). The book offers a rare insight to how the machination involving sex works in advertising.

Again, advertising works unlike other industries in terms of expenses. The expenses are paid for by the clients, not the advertising agency. Yes, admen buy a bottle of ridiculously expensive Moet Chandon and happily guzzle down a glass, and then sleep with a secretary or co-worker – all on the clients' dime. Want to have a naughty weekend in the Bahamas? No problem. The clients will probably foot the bill or the agency will simply pass on the cost. Just make sure you choose a fancy hotel and pack plenty of condoms. I'm not sure if this practice is continued today. I won't be surprised if it is. Someone probably needs to head to Goa to do some sleuthing.

Lastly, there's a dichotomy to the way the industry functions, which is funny. In most industries, you're expected to deliver, whether it is making world class products, or making money for clients, or taking care of patients, or writing well thought out pieces for a publication. In advertising, it works the other way – clients reward for the most inane and crappy ideas. Yes, admen get paid to come up with nonsensical ideas, ideas that are so bad that they're so good (just read any slogan or watch an ad and chances are you'll enouncter a bad one). Admen are expected to travel to Mauritius, again on the clients' purse, in order to obtain an epiphany for an advertising idea, in case they are unable to come up with one.

And remember, this book talks about the 1980s Britain, the heady days of hedonism. It's far more rampant today! And the tentacles have spread to the narrowest confines of Bandra as well. And I would be surprised if it wasn't the case. I've heard salacious stories during my journalist stint in Bombay which are not too hard to believe after reading this book.

The book is an eye-opener for me because I learnt how advertising actually works. It seems, to me, that not much has changed since the 1980s. Till then, the stories I've heard about advertising were transmitted through incredulous gossip and hearsay, which were harder to believe if it came directly from the source. Not much has been written about the intricacies of the industry as a whole until I came across this one.

Mr Forrester does a brilliant job of describing the industry whilst retaining the humour. The book is ridiculously funny and insightful (I like the last part of the book, where he lists out anecdotes and first hand accounts of advertising, as well as advertising cock-ups). I like that the book is succinct and explains the whole industry with less. I wish more such books were as short (or long) as this one.

I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to know a little more about advertising. For those who are on the fence whether to take a career (this book isn't a career guide, far from it) in advertising, I can't really say whether advertising is an ideal place to work in, but if you're the hedonistic and promiscious kind, and appreciates drama and tension, then maybe advertising is for you.

(Below is a quote excerpted from the book)
OVEHEARD AT MOSCOW'S
‘Doing business with that agency is like wearing a condom. One gets a feeling of pleasure and security, whilst being screwed'