Under the Radar : [Talking to Today's Cynical Consumer] (Adweek Magazine Series)

Rating:
Summary: Valuable insights into overcoming consumer cynicism.
Review: Any book that provides a useful idea or two is worth the price. While Bond and Kirshenbaum use the vehicle as a bit of a PR piece for their own shop, they also share some practical ideas.

Howard Gossage told us that "Nobody reads ads. People read what interests them. Sometimes it's an ad." For years, advertisers have understood the value of making ads NOT look like ads. B&K give us some helpful tips on how to do just that, and thereby get "under the radar" of today's consumers.

They also suggest that the era of heavy-handed "fast, fast, FAST relief" is over. If, as B&K say, "Your strategy is showing," today's consumers will realize it, and throw up their battle shields.

Practical examples are given, especially of the kind that show you don't need to spend a fortune on advertising, if your concept gets you past the defenses.

Rating:
Summary: Who are these...?
Review: If the level of writing and thinking is any indicator of the brains behind this agency, they should close within six months.
Shallow, insubstantial fluff from case studies of quite inconsequential and mostly invisible clients.
Most case studies in this book were entirely under everyone's radar.
Who the hell are Kirschenbaum and Bond anyway?
A book by nobodies about advertising? If they'd done something of note, maybe a book would be in order. Noteably, AdWeek published this vanity piece- no one outside of a very small circle of advertising people could possibly care what's in this book.

Rating:
Summary: It is a manifesto for the today's marketing communications
Review: It is a great book. I really enjoyed it and I recommended it to some of my fellow co-workers.
Although one of the obvious reasons to be written is to self-promote their agency, B & K have done tremendous job providing so much insight into how to talk and more importantly how to entice today's consumers. There are (or were) many agency theories and practices on integrated marketing communications such as "360 degree coomunications" of O&M or the "The Whole Egg" of Y&R but the really convincing and what is more important, working one is the approach of these two guys. I really like it and the fact that I feel like reading the book again is enough to rate it with five stars.

Rating:
Summary: An important advertising book
Review: Thanks to the authors for new insights in the crafting of today's advertising. Bond and Kirshenbaum tell how to reach today's consumer who is already over-dosed on ads.

I started my agency in 1993 with my head full of David Ogilvy principles (and they have worked well). But changes in the world of communication have dated some of Ogilvy's methods.

UNDER THE RADAR is the updated 'Ogilvy' manual for 1998. I hope that clients and marketing managers will read this book, so they can help their agencies be brave. I hope my competitors do not read this book, so I can get ahead! Great book!

Rating:
Summary: Success Can be Learned
Review: Though Ogilvy on Advertising is a useful book, even today, it fails to deal with critical issues in the mid and late 1990s. Jon Bond and Richard Kirshenbaum have a good story to tell here, and lots to impart on how to not revert to institutional advertising. The agency has done excellent work outside the box for many clients, and reading how they accomplished that are good lessons to read indeed. I found it much more useful that many other ad books, like some mentioned above by Trout & Reis.