TOP DRAWER BOOK REVIEW
by
HL Carpenter

 

Then We Set His Hair on Fire
by Phil Dusenberry
ISBN 1-59184-082-1
290 pages; hardcover; $24.95
Penguin Group, New York, 2005

Bet you think advertising is just a slick way to finesse cash out of your pocket. As it turns out, you’re right.

But that’s only part of the story.

According to author Phil Dusenberry, former chairman of the BBDO advertising agency, what’s behind the best advertising is insight, or the ability to grasp the true nature of something. And he believes insight is something every business needs in order to be successful.

How can you foster insight? You’ve got to understand your business, know your competition, have an objective and dare to take risks.

Unsurprisingly, since Mr. Dusenberry spent his working life in advertising, this standard management and leadership advice is presented in the form of behind-the-scenes vignettes of well-known ad campaigns. Even the title of the book refers to a commercial – the one created by his agency that resulted in Michael Jackson’s hair catching on fire.

Then We Set His Hair on Fire is an entertaining account of Mr. Dusenberry’s career. There’s plenty of name dropping, score settling, and back patting. Regrettably, there’s very little in the way of new information. To paraphrase an old commercial, where’s the insight?

 

Review originally published March 2006.