The book that I chose for my book report is, From Those Wonderful Folks Who Gave You Pearl Harbor by Jerry Della Femina. This book gives the insight to the world of advertising in the 1960's. It speaks of all of the things that is assumed of the advertising world in that time, thanks to Mad Men, and confirms that the advertising world during that time was almost exactly as it is portrayed in the TV series. Beyond the sex, drugs, and outlandish behavior, From Those Wonderful Folks Who Gave You Pearl Harbor is about the most fantastic advertising campaigns that will ever exist, and gives some subtle pointers on how to make it in the business.
At first, I did not feel like I was going to take away much from this book, I felt like it was just Mad Men on paper. Don't get me wrong, I thought that it was very exciting to read, but I wanted more out of the book itself. However, this book ended up making me feel a lot of passion towards the advertising industry, passion I had never had before. The way that Jerry Della Femina talks about the business and how much work it is was actually incredibly inspiring to me, on page 166, Femina says, "The average copywriter and art director never stops learning. You have to know your product so well you could go out and be a salesman for the company pushing the product." This quote in particular changed my view on the advertising industry because it made me realize just how much thought and work goes into the business. For me, I love to work and to always be learning, so I love the idea that the industry is like this and that it is sort of a never-ending opportunity. .
As a result of From Those Wonderful Folks Who Gave You Pearl Harbor I learned a lot about the industry as a whole. I loved having an inside scoop into the business in the 1960's and knowing the history behind advertising.
