December 31, 2011

Reviews of 101 Contrarian Ideas About Advertising

The following are excerpts from reviews at Amazon. You can read the full reviews here.



Brilliant stuff, funny as hell.,
Stephen McGill
Stumbled across the Ad Contrarian blog a while ago and… it is by far my favourite blog. I grabbed this wonderful book as soon as I could as I wanted to have the best of Bob close at hand…. As a long time ad guy who cut his teeth on the work of Ogilvy, Bernbach et al, I just love the way Bob thinks and writes about our crazy business and even more crazy world. This is take no prisoners kind of stuff that is just superbly written always. Buy it, read it. If you are like me it will make you laugh, make you cry and shake your head in wonder.
~5.0 out of 5 stars

Smart.
George Tannenbaum
Bob is one of the smartest guys in the business. His thoughts are not obscured by fads, what's au courant or quotidian bs. He is a straight-shooter. Honest, to the point and fact-based. Qualities sorely missing in the world today.
~5.0 out of 5 stars 

You like "Mad Men"? You'll love this book.
Joe
This book is an insightful, hilarious look at what's wrong with advertising agencies, with marketing in general, and maybe even the world overall. But it isn't just for people who work in ad agencies. It's for anybody who ever saw an ad that sucked and wondered how it got that way. It's for anybody who works in any kind of job involving generation of new ideas. And yes, it's for anybody who enjoys "Mad Men." Bob Hoffman is smarter than Don Draper. He's funnier than Don Draper. And he's better looking than... Okay, like I said, Bob Hoffman is definitely smarter and funnier than Don Draper.
~5.0 out of 5 stars 

I highly recommend this book
Michael Gass
Bob Hoffman's take on the advertising industry is refreshing, insightful, amusing and discerning. He keeps us grounded when our industry is in a state of flux and upheaval. He is blantantly honest and he wont be appealing to everyone. But to those who are drawn to him, find him to be a 'straight-shooter', a person who will cut through all the agency B.S. and tell you what he really thinks.
~5.0 out of 5 stars

We need more contrarians.
Jason Fox
Bob Hoffman may call himself the Ad Contrarian, but in reality he's a font of common sense.
~5.0 out of 5 stars

Funny book and even better you'll also learn something.
Len Tillem
I loved this book. I am not, thank God, in advertising but this book taught me a lot about how to avoid the BS that comes from working with other people. If you work with more than two people you should read this book.
…it's an easy, clever read and it will help you feel OK about tuning out and spacing out at office meetings. We all need that kind of help.
~5.0 out of 5 stars

This is a great book. It is better than Cats.
David A. Brown
I am going to read it again and again.

…I like Bob's perspective from the trenches of advertising. His writing is witty and has a no-nonsense attitude… This is a great book about advertising for people who don't like advertising.
~5.0 out of 5 stars

1,000,001 pieces of refreshing logic
Mark Trueblood
Bob Hoffman is an ad agency owner and a popular advertising blogger at "The Ad Contrarian." He is known for his hilarious skewering of the BS that inundates the advertising industry. Over the years, he has become my favorite advertising blogger because of his ability to think critically. Critical thinking and logic are two faculties in short supply in our industry, and Bob is always a refreshing read.

…Bob Hoffman's perspective is terrific because he continually digs into various heaping piles of advertising hype to discover nuggets of truth. And if he doesn't find any, he's not afraid to say how bad it stinks.
~4.0 out of 5 stars

What the boss needs to know
By Rodgersrocks
Every boss I have ever had would be better off for reading this.
~5.0 out of 5 stars


Hoffman: The Iconoclastic Craftsman,
Michael Concannon
…Bob is like a master craftsman you find in a small town that builds and sells elegant and structural sound three legged stools that will last 100 years... A handbook for smart marketers. Did I mention he is funny as hell?
~5.0 out of 5 stars

The world's second best book on advertising.

George Parker
It gives me great pleasure to review Bob Hoffman's new book… The book is a classic, a compendium of some of Bob's better posts on his blog. They are all gems…
~5.0 out of 5 stars

A must read for advertising professionals
Edward Flynn
I've been a fan of Bob's blog for a long time. His wit and insight into the business of advertising is spot on. If you, like me, have worked in the industry long enough to see the shenanigans done by agencies and clients, you will laugh at plenty of the contents of his book. Advertising is a business that is always ripe for satire and criticism which is what Bob does in spades.
~5.0 out of 5 stars

Quite possibly the best $2.99 book out there!
Sharon Krinsky
A funny, enlightening, clear-eyed look at advertising and marketing. Pleasantly didactic and cheerfully challenging of the fables and fantasies that pass for advertising principles.
~5.0 out of 5 stars

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