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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A must-read for anyone interested in advertising, marketing, March 1, 2000
I remember it well: a dramatic image of a sleek black car, against a black background; a gruff world-weary voice dissing conventional auto advertising; an arresting multi-layered scroll of selected text over the fixed image, corresponding directly with the voiceover as the words were read... and remember thinking: "this is an amazing ad. This ad will be incredibly influential."It was, too, insofar as it almost immediately spawned similar art direction for a host of other products. Only problem was: it didn't sell cars. "Where the Suckers Moon" explains why. It explains every aspect of the businesses involved -- how car sales are based on image, not mechanics, and and how automobile advertising became the holy grail for agencies. You learn all about Subaru, and how their corporate structure all but guaranteed failure. You learn about the hubris and arrogance of Weiden and Kennedy, the "hot shop" selected to create the doomed campaign. You learn about how cars have been sold in the past, and gain understanding into how they're sold today. The lessons pointed out in "Where the Suckers Moon" are relevant for other businesses as well, because the book almost painfully explores the human dynamics of the company that created the product, the company chosen for promoting those sales, and the dramatic and catastrophic effects of a lack of alignment between the two parties. It can -- and does -- happen elsewhere. So don't imagine that you won't get anything out of it simply because you aren't directly dependent on cars or advertising for your bread and butter. Failings? It's longer than it needs to be, and sometimes veers into philosophical discussions of advertising which clearly reveal the author's own biases. As such, it does somewhat undermine its own attempts at reportorial quality. This is a bit disappointing, because the research is spectacular -- the access that the author had to the entire process is stunning, and the candor of the participants would be enough to make most senior managers cringe. Minor squabbles. All in all, this book is not only the most important book about advertising written in a long time -- it's also a genuninely entertaining read. Footnote: Once you understand the mindset of Subaru management during the failed campaign, the shift to Subaru's current Paul Hogan/Crocodile Dundee campaign becomes even more remarkable. Sells cars too....
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