Product Description

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #428625 in Books
• Published on: 1994-12-15
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 142 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780312119119
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
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From Publishers Weekly
Mining the years of his career before his famous move to Southern France, Mayle ( A Year in Provence ) offers an amusing, perceptive and sometimes cynical chronicle of American and British advertising in the '60s and '70s. A former copywriter and creative director, Mayle maintains that the industry "hovers on the fringes of big business and show business, of sports and politics, of sleaze and respectability all at once." He describes the ideal "advertising man" (but not advertising woman) and clients, discussing campaigns, awards and fringe benefits worthy of royalty. Of special note is opinionated analysis of contemporary advertising, e.g., his criticism that "American advertising, for the most part, is in the hands of the committees instead of individuals. . . . The commercials are once again dull and predictable." While demonstrating some need for a stronger editorial hand, Mayle generally offers a worthwhile introduction to the world of advertising.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
The immensely popular author of A Year in Provence ( LJ 4/1/90) and Toujours Provence ( LJ 5/1/91) recounts what he learned during his 13-year career in advertising. Mayle is a gifted raconteur with a sharp wit; he relates the tribal customs and rituals of the advertising business for the interested reader. He does not discuss specific advertising campaigns and strategies; rather, he humorously illustrates the manners and motivations of the people involved in the ad game. For instance, he uses examples to explain why the "perfect advertising man" needs to be resilient, persistent, a shameless extrovert, an immediate enthusiast, and a superb salesperson. While this book is not a necessary purchase for business collections, it will probably be requested by readers captivated by Mayle's popularity and amusing style. Almost any library should consider this book for its general readership.
- William W. Sann wald, San Diego P.L.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews
Generalities about advertising by the tireless Mayle, whose first novel, Hotel Pastis, is reviewed above. Rather than offer a riotous nailing-down of idiocies in advertising, Mayle depends more upon dry wit rather detail here and sends up the mast only nameless ad companies and misadventures with flopped accounts so that all may salute their stupidity. We get a series of amusing think-pieces about companies and accounts, accompanied by a laying-out of the guts of building and running an agency. Mayle's largest thoughts hover on a scenario in which today's some 640 ad companies will be gobbled up into 20 or so giants that will devise a new translingual ad-lingo for selling Global Biscuits to any country on Earth and for making biscuit- eaters brand-loyal. A single worldwide campaign will build on one consistent message to establish the ``international biscuit''- -``with all the glamour and excitement associated with international products.'' Historically, Mayle says, advertising ``has attracted individualists, entrepreneurs, and talented misfits.'' They join up because the ad biz promises big money fast, under the rubric ``Get Rich or Die''; because it's fun; because you can leave it after ten years and enter an allied profession at top level. He foresees, though, the decline of the individualist as mammoths merge and each new entity is run by carbon copies who are ``Good at meetings, adroit at politics, prudent, measured, solid, reliable....'' Among his gems, Mayle presents the senior VP who calls his underlings into a meeting, then peels a $20 bill ``from a fist-sized roll of bills and use[s] it to polish his already gleaming toe caps before crumpling it up and throwing it into the waste basket.'' Should hit big among Madison Avenue masochists, less big elsewhere. -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Customer Reviews

Big Ad Agencies Exposed!
I was flattered while working in my first ad agency position when the accountant - a veteran of New York ad agencies - told me I would do very well on Madison Avenue. That lifestyle never appealed to me but I was intrigued enough to buy Up The Agency at the local Barnes & Noble. In a hilarious account from the author's own experiences and observations as a star advertising executive, Peter Mayle reveals the sordid inner workings, dysfunctionalities and shameless greed of the world's most mammoth ad agencies. Detailing the base instincts, typical thought processes and hidden agendas of account executives, art directors, copywriters, assistants and other agency personnel, as well as those of the clients, Mr. Mayle exposes with dire sarcasm how the quest for money, status and ego corrupt the agency-client relationship. The result is bland, ineffective, conservative advertising. But that's what the client wanted and the tradeoff is a second house in the Hamptons and a Porsche in the garage. Add Mr. Mayle's English heritage and it would be easy for those on the outside of the industry to miss much of the dry yet irresistibly funny humor.

In fact, I must confess that it was only last night that I dusted it off the shelf to send it to a friend considering a career in advertising that I realized how funny this book is. After flipping through a few pages describing how industry awards are judged (think Salt Lake City Olympics Pairs Figure Skating), and laughing heartily, I reread the entire book. Apparently, I missed most of the humor when I first read it ten years ago.

Up The Agency is a quick, fun and worthwhile read for anyone involved in advertising. From elaborate new business pitches and bloated entertainment expenses to excessive awards banquets and inflated egos, agency personnel, clients and vendors alike will enjoy dozens of all too true stories that will in all likelihood mirror many of their own experiences.

A must read for anyone thinking of going into advertising.
Peter Mayle has a hilarious style all his own. He leads you through the advertising business with his witty anecdotes and quirky analogies. When you reach the last page, you'll wish there were more!

Very insightful; Fun; A Great Read
It took me a little while to get warmed up to this book, but then I just couldn't put it down. As I read it I felt like a very insightful fly on the wall, as years of experience and experiences were downloaded in a very entertaining and boiled down manner. For people who like an insider view into various industries, or anyone trying to navigate the advertising world specifically, this is a must read.

I have Angela to thank for referring this to me at a Cocktail party at Ad:Tech San Francisco 2009 after I had mentioned my other favorite, Confessions of an Advertising Man.

Confessions of an Advertising Man