Advertising Books

"As Seen On TV" is a fond look back at those Kitschy products and their even tackier commercials for products as diverse as the Chia Pet to K-Tel records. These products would make household names out of people like Ron Poeil, Billy Mays, and Susan Powter as they pushed products to enhance yourself, your cooking, or your home. These 50 products, most of which are still on the market today and still being seen on TV were the forerunners of the dreaded infomercial which made their way into our homes back in the 1984 when the FCC loosened regulations on TV advertising. You'll chuckle as you read about these products, many of which you probably haven't thought about in years.

The book is arranged by product type including Kitchen Marvels, Fashion and Beauty Wonders, Fabulous Fitness, Entertainment Breakthroughs, Home Improvement Miracles, and Get Rich Quick. A history of each products is provided along with details about its use, inventor, and other interesting facts as well as photos. Ron Popeil is certainly the godfather of these products who got the ball rolling with the Veg-O-Matic, actually invented by his father. Popeil's list of products is long and often notorious and includes things such as GLH Formula #9 spray for balding men, as well as the Pocket Fisherman. The book includes a lengthy interview with Popeil as well.

Other items in the Kitchen gadget category include the legendary Ginsu knives...and who doesn't fondly remember those commercials where they sawed through knives and aluminum cans? Then there is a modern classic as former boxer turned pitchman, George foreman introduced the grill bearing his name.

There's the Blue Blocker glasses, Hairagami, Thigh Master, Matthew lesko's books on free Government money, Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts, The Clapper, and Life Call Alert in which Edith Fore uttered those words that would become grafted into American lexicon, "I've Fallen...AND I CAN'T GET UP!!!" But perhaps my all-time favorite for pure cheesiness would be Mr. Microphone. Who can forget the goof in the convertible telling the girl walking on the street, "Hey Good Lookin', We'll be back to pick you up later!" It was the epitome of tackiness back then and would probably get him arrested today.

Oh...and the book is informative as well. I never knew that the K-Tel in K-Tel records stood for Kevis Television named after its founder Phillip Kevis. A true pop culture treasure trove!

Reviewed by Tim Janson

If you recognize this catch phrase from the Mr. Microphone ad, you'll love this book. Indeed any child of the '70s or '80s can appreciate the nostalgia and humor of the infomercial era, which is vividly and humorously captured in "As Seen on TV". It's all here, from Abtronic to Zamfir, Master of the Pan Flute. If you have any doubt about whether your money would be well spent on this gem, then to paraphrase Ron Popeil: "Just forget it and GET IT!"

What a fun book! I definitely recommend this book to anyone who has ever gotten caught up watching infomercials or home shopping channels. It's fascinating to read about products that became hugely popular, even though in some cases, you look at them now and say "what were they thinking?".

It was especially fun for me because... as I turned each page, I had to wonder if the next product was one I've bought. LOL
Yes, I have succumbed to the "power of the pitch" and bought into the hype. And yes, I have purchased a few of the items in this book (George Foreman Grill, Steamer, etc... and I LIKE the Dr. Ho's Muscle Massage System!) but I'll never admit to how many.

Anyone who has heard "and that's not all" will enjoy the fact that a section with that title is included AFTER the index.

I only gave this book 4 stars because I wanted more products to be in it! It was so fun to read, I wanted more of it.

This book read itself!

I bought this trip to entertain myself for a long drive home from Wisconsin to Florda. (Don't worry- I was the passanger, not the driver. Gusee I should've used the word 'ride' but I'm too lazy to backspace!)

I think the ultimate compliment to a book is when your constantly interupting other people around you to read the next wonderful thing you've read. I lost my voice from this book.

There's not too much to tell in this review. You've simply got to read it for yourself. It is so much more than just a list of goofy things sold via infomercials and TV ads. We get interviews, product history, trivia and much, much more.

We also get the lowdown on what was legit and what wasn't.

So the next time your using the flow-bee and screw up so badly your running to the store for some GLH (if you don't know what that sentence just meant, buy the book)... think of this book. It'll help ya.

And if you're just looking for some easy entertaing reading... this is it folks!

Did folks buy this stuff? They sure did, by the millions according to Harry and Stall. Some of these products would really be hard to parody, the Chai Ceramic Pet that grows vegetation, the Turbi Twist, a hair towel with an elastic loop (with the predictable AS SEEN ON TV on the box) the Copper Tongue Scraper, PROVEN EFFECTIVE was the bold statement on its packaging but it really does look just like a piece of bent metal! Each product has a spread with photos, copy and several colored panels (more on these later) containing background material and other trivia. I liked the Product panels best with their Description, Availability, Claimed Innovation, Upside and the Downside, just read the Downside to each product and really get the truth.

The six basic chapters are Kitchen Marvels, Fashion and Beauty, Fabulous Fitness, Entertainment Breakthroughs, Home Improvement Miracles, and finally Get Rich Quick, between these chapters are some interesting features, pages 122 and 123 cover the rise of the home shopping channels where you will be amazed to find that QVC have studio tours (yours for only [x ammount of dollars]). Ron Popiel, the founder of Ronco, has four pages explaining the background to the infomercial techniques he uses to shift the goods. Incidentally the Ronco story is covered in 'But, Wait! There's More!' by Timothy Samuelson, lots of product photos, vintage ads and packaging and a fairly accurate history of the Popiel family. Ever wonder what happened to yesterday's celebrities, check out pages 74 to 79 to see the Top 100 infomercial-land stars from Allen (Debbie) to Zappa (Dweezel) you'll be surprised who's listed, well, perhaps not. 'As Seen On TV' is a fascinating and fun book covering a subject that most of us would hardly think twice about.

But, wait! There is more! DON'T TOUCH THAT DIAL! Buy this book and get absolutely FREE hundreds of words that only come out in daylight! The book's designer (unfortunately) decided to use pink panels, on many of the product pages, with text in light blue. Big mistake, because it is very hard to read in a normal domestic lighting environment and the type used for the headlines on these panels is hard to read even in daylight!

Most Oscar-related books offer only limited pictures and focus on winners, not also rans. This excellent reference volume corrects those two oversights. It is filled with pictures representing the best of Hollywood--all contenders for Oscar's Best Picture are featured with a movie poster representation. Includes some rarely seen poster art, foreign posters, and multiple sized images. Excellent reference and enjoyable volume to pick up over and over.

A must-have volume for any cine-buff and film historian! This book, along with its companion first volume, "Academy Award Winners' Movie Posters" is part of movie poster maven Bruce Hershenson's exhaustive multi-volume series of books highlighting the history and beauty of what much of mainstream America has only in the last ten years begun to recognize. And that is movie posters are a "popular art" form that can stand proudly next to all other styles of art from gothic to modern, from expressionist to impressionist. Great film art borrows from all of these styles and this volume, which focuses only on posters associated with Academy Award-nominated films, illustrates innumerable examples. A fine book for any collector (get the hardcover edition if you can, it's harder to find; if Amazon doesn't have it, it's available from Mr. Hershenson directly at mail@brucehershenson.com)!

All of Bruce's books are full of wonderful images, but this one offers something extra - a history of ALL the films nominated for the Best Picture Academy Award. If you are a film buff, or you just like beautiful images you will love this book. Every year since the inception of the awards is listed and each nominee is displayed in brilliant color. A wonderful refrence source.

This beautiful collection of colorful poster art provides a history of Hollywood and American popular culture in a volume that's a delight to leaf through. As with all of Bruce Hershenson's poster books, this one is a tremendous value!

Like all of Mr Hershenson's books of film posters, this one is full of great reproductions of classic film posters. Movie poster collecting is both popular hobby and big business. For dealers and collectors alike, Mr Hershenon's books give all those interested in the hobby and business of movie poster collecting a ready-reference to images of great film posters for great and sometimes not-so-great films.

I run a very small business that designs and manufactures products for a crowded micro market. We were looking for a book or resource that would help gather our thoughts into a concise executable plan.

Wow does it feel like this book came through for us. It is quite literally a well structured set-by-step guide at how to look at your brand, dig down into its nitty gritty and focus on building a better brand. The end of each chapter has numerous questions that it wants you to answer. Though not every business can answer all of these, they do force you to take a deeper look into what the heck you are really doing.

Of all the business, marketing, branding, positioning books I have read, this has to top them all.

This book should have far more positive reviews and should be at the top of your list!

Don't believe me? then get it from your local library first as I did. I now have my permanent copy on its way. I will forever reference this book.

I'm half way through the book at this point and find it to be very useful as a marketing tool. I teach at the college level and have my own marketing services company (SkyLimit Marketing, Lebanon, Pa). I am a firm believer in the integrated marketing approach to the whole marketing process for my clients. Everything begins with customer needs and works out from there.
The input found in Brand Aid is consistent with this approach and sheds light on the value and power of "the brand". The book is structured in a practical and useful way for any marketer or teacher of the subject. Good work! Jack Cantwell

Our company does web design, graphic design, corporate communication. I like this book that is not only an easy reference guide, but also a comprehensive approach to branding. The book can stand alone as a Brand teach-in, and require no prior knowledge about branding. The book is also relatively complete and can be used as taxt book or self-learning Branding book. This book is good.

Most helpful marketing book I ever read. It had information I never knew I needed in a brief,descriptive format that I put to use while finishing the book. The reference materials were also very helpful.

"Brand Aid" is the most comprehensive of all the materials that I've read on brand management. It is packed with resources to gain understanding in what branding is and how it can be implemented to benefit an organization. The case studies are engaging and relatable, and the checklists are thought provoking. The succinct content in each chapter makes this book an invaluable reference tool.

Even the most basic branding concepts in the early chapters were insightful and deepened my belief in the importance of building strong relationships with customers and employees.

My organization began a branding initiative earlier this year. I now wish I had read "Brand Aid" before we started. This book should become required reading for all business leaders responsible for driving the growth of their organizations.

Thomas J. Miller
Product Marketing, Director
Newport Corporation, Inc.

Mark Batey demystifies the magic of branding. This is extremely well-informed and engagingly written book. I dare to call this book the first truly scientific book on branding. The author provides a unique and perfect blend of scientific analysis and savvy description of the brand-building process. Unlike many other branding books I've encountered, this book gives complete explanation and answer to the ultimate question, "How to create enduring and successful brands?" This book provides an invaluable recourse for academic scholars, brand managers, CEO's, and everyone involved in improving and guarding a brand. As a brand consultant and a PhD scholar I find this book essential and fundamental for my work. I would also like to emphasize the significance of chapter 5 of this book. Batey deciphers elaborate structures of psychological meaning of brands.

A thorough, insightful and well-written book by an advertising veteran who brings fresh thinking on brands. Brands take on meaning in people's minds, and in our socio-cultural environment. As the author demonstrates, in the post-modern world it is people who confer values on brands rather than the other way round.
The book is very well structured. It begins with the individual - the individual's needs, emotions, values, yearnings. Next it considers how people perceive the world around them. It then considers how we find meaning in things - objects, be they consumer objects or the ordinary, personal objects that we accumulate. All this is an essential backdrop for understanding how brands assume and provide meaning, which forms the basis of the remaining chapters.
An excellent book.

Whether you work with brands, study them, or are just interested in what constitutes a brand, this book is a must read. It is very well structured, and the earlier chapters, on Human Motivation, Perception and the Meaning of Things, are fascinating as a backdrop to Batey's solid ideas on how meaning gets into and is drawn from products and brands.

Batey understands that branding is too important to kiss-off with a flimsy book. This may be the first book to get to the soul of a brand. It is an amazing achievement.

Bob Neuman, Creative Director DRAFTFCB and steward of Oreo International Branding.

Great book. If you work in a field that involves the high-level management of brands, I believe this is a must read.

I particularly like how well thought-out and researched this book is. Instead of the subjective opinions and light substantiation of many books in the realm of business and marketing, this book is clearly the result of a very thoughtful survey of a huge amount of recent and relevant research in fields including psychology, sociology, anthropology and others. The author has combined this research with his broad experience actually practicing brand management into some very solid thinking that I found truly useful.

The first sections on why humans need meaning, perception and symbolism are great. They bring in a ton of research and literature to support and clarify the author's ideas which are solid, with some real new thinking in the mix. The rest of the book is a "theory in practice" section with many fresh case studies I haven't read in other marketing books, and some good practical advice.

The only fault I found with the book is that it's written using quite formal language, which can make it a little thick to get through at times.

As you can probably sense, this is not the book for you if you want a little light, weekend reading on the subject of brands. But if you work in or around the field or plan to, I believe this is a truly important book to read.

This is a great book for understanding all aspects of creating a Direct Marketing company or a direct marketing program within your company. The basics and then some are in this book. Well written in that it kept my attention from new ideas and way it was written.

If you want to read only one book on the catalog business, make sure you pick this one.

I've read more than 5 books in English and German on the catalog subject and Schmid's book is in a class of its own.

It promises to cover the entire catalog process, including strategic planning, merchandising, creative, marketing (circulation), fulfillment, testing, and measuring response and ROI. And it delivers on the promise to an extend that I've never seen before. I spend this summer in Cannes, France, and enjoyed Schmid's book in the hot sun. Just couldn't put it aside...

His 11 pages long spreadsheet model in appendix includes everything for a new catalog start-up feasibility study ... and provides insight for the budgeting process to more experienced catalogers. [Why doesn't he provide a downloadable version in Excel on his homepage?]

The only competitor to this book is probably Katie Muldoon's 1995-publication, which is out of print (her home page says that a new book on the strategic aspects of catalogs is forthcoming).

One weakness that all books on cataloging have so far is their unserious treatment of the Internet. Schmid's book is from 2000 and it shows. It doesn't contain solid work on dynamic publishing, which is exploding via the Internet these years. It's not that Schmid doesn't accept that the Internet will be a phenomenal factor, but in this area so much of the catalog processes have been digitized since 2000. Thus, on this promise it doesn't deliver.

I still recommend this book as the best source so far to understanding all the catalog processes and hints to improving the bottom-line.

Peter Leerskov,
MSc in International Business (Marketing & Management) and Graduate Diploma in E-business

This is such a great book for a company that is starting a Catalog business or thinking about it. It covers all aspects of the Catalog business and gives you a checklist of all the necessary tasks to launching a successful catalog. Great book...

Virtually every company that makes things has to ahve a catalog. It's the thing that tells your customers what you do and gives them the detailed information that they need to make a decision.

Catalogs began with the mail order industry where the technology grew to measure sales return per square inch of paper. Over time, the professionals learned what worked and what didn't. Then when everything was working pretty well, the Internet came along and changed all the rules. All of a sudden space was endless, no more big checks to the printers. Communications was essentially free, no more big checks to the post office. The rules changed because the option to thumb through the catalog was no longer there. Instead sophisticated search and discover techniques needed to be worked out.

Jack Schmid has been in the catalog business, both print and electronic for many years. In this book he passes along dozens, if not hundreds of points. The book covers quite a lot of ground. Much of the book is on the functions that have to be performed whether the catalog is printed, electronic or both. This includs things like product selection, fullfillment, customer service and finance. There is a goodly amount of material on the printed version of the catalog, as these are still required by most companies. There are several points interspersed throughout the book and finally chapters on things like database marketing, the Internet, and more.

This is one of the most all inclusive books available on catalog marketing and includes just about everything there is to know.

A wonderful overview of the catalog world with plenty of real-world examples including: ROI calculations, promotions, customer segmentation.....
Worth its wieght in gold!

I needed this book to help me render my sketches. ITS THE BEST BOOK YOU CAN BUY!! it comes with two DVD's and the book is hefty and about 300 pages, each one with valuable information!

I have purchased almost every book on fashion illustration out there, and this is still the best. It covers all media, has beautiful full color illustrations and hundreds of black and white. It also shows how to illustrate males and children of all ages.

I found this book the best for examples on learning to draw draped garments on the body. Although not explicitly meant for this purpose, this book divides each type of garment by chapter and gives examples for drawing them, appropriately. I find her approach realistic, and her style excellent. She definitely helped me!

i teach from this book and it is instrumental in creating enormous breakthroughs in students' sketching abilities. you will never tire of this book. loads of information. a must.

I have a lot of worthless books on fashion illustration, however, this one is not one of those. It is worth the money and then some. She is clearly a good teacher, the illustrations are great and the videos are a bonus. Buy this book, you won't be disappointed.

"Using the invaluable information inside George
McKenzie's suite of excellent products, I took a
bit different path. I incorporated George's great
advice with what I learned from Trout & Ries in
their excellent books, and here's what I did...

I took what's inside George's excellent resource
and adapted it to a specific need I had ...

Rather than send out a bazillion PR releases to
lots of folks who might not want my news, I
concentrated just on folks in my target market.

Using George's stellar advice, I attracted 42
international business people and marketers to a
project I was doing, instead of trying to attract just
strictly reporters. Why did I do that? To also gain
access to their knowledge, reputation, (and their
customer lists.)

So I "killed two birds with one stone' by following
this path. My recommendation to you is that you
actually LEARN why George's strategies are so
powerful. Spend some time on your strategy,
and then use George's excellent and proven
techniques to differentiate yourself from all of the
crazy noise in the marketplace, and then you'll
best serve your own desires as you grow.

All the best to you -
Chip Tarver
Author, "First Contact Secrets" ... How to Meet
Anyone for Any Reason at Any Time"

This, like a couple other products of George McKenzie's that I have purchased, was very useful and provided me with more information that I hoped for. It saved me a lot of time and a lot of money, had I just learned from trial and error, which I would have done if I didn't come across this. I've been recommending it to friends as well as other students in the MBA program I'm currently enrolled in. (Yes, I'm in an MBA program, but this was more practical and useful than my marketing classes!)

That's George McKenzie's promise, and with this series of cassettes, he shows anyone how to use the mass media to do it.

This is the only "free publicity" program I know of that takes you inside the nation's newsrooms -- and inside the heads of the people who actually decide what gets on the air and in print.

You get a perspective of how people in the media think, and you learn the most effective ways to present your story in a way that will appeal to them -- ways that will result in thousands of dollars worth of free advertising.

His interviews are conversational and easy to listen to, but packed with dozens of tips that anyone can use. This series is definitely worth five stars if you ask me. Anything George does is going to help you, and this one is no exception!

George has covered all the bases in this awesome four hour audio seminar. His guests are all experts from different media such as radio, television, newspaper, public speaking and the Internet.

Each interview was just fascinating. Each person revealed the inside workings of their respective media. Normally, when you read a publicity book its all about how to get in the newspapers. But this seminar series went into depth about all the major media.

I got the most out of the section about news releases. For example, the tip on about how to find a local angle has helped me in writing my first news release.

I specifically used the "piggybacking" technique, which allowed me to write a dynamic and interesting release WITHOUT having to come up with any "news" of my own. That was genius! (By the way, now I watch the local news and read the local paper with a totally different mindset)

I had been spending a lot of money (thousands of dollars) using all kinds of different paid media and in 30 minutes I got the same results for FREE using the press release strategy that was revealed in the audio seminar series.

I give this product an enthusiastic five stars. You will too!

David Frey, Author,
Make Straight A's in School

I've got a majority of George's information and cassette products including Inside Stuff and once I started listening I didn't want to stop because you picked up many tips and "angles" without a lot of fluff and filler. The Public Relations campaigns shouldn't be as intimidating or expensive as some firms want you to believe. If you are a self-starter, then you should be able to take this information and capture the publicity that you need for your product or service on a more economical basis. And you can do it without looking like a beginner or making silly mistakes. Get it and use it.

This book is perfect for the person who does not even know where to start. It takes you through each stage of distribution, and how to evaluate what is best for your situation. An excellent buy when you need REAL answers.

A very sound, practical guide to channel management. It's one of maybe a half dozen books on the subject that should be part of the "core curriculum". -Larry Friedman author, "The Channel Advantage"

Brilliant! I've been involved with industrial distribution for well over twenty years. Rolnicki has proven there is still much to be learned, considered and applied. Must reading for anyone that has anything to do with any channel of distribution.

It's an easy, quick read and sticks to all the pertinent information without adding unnecessary complexities. The author speaks from experience of the ins and outs of designing and managing the channel. He is able to cover strategy, tactics and theory as well as get down to the nitty gritty personal relationships and politics of being a "channel master".

If you are designing a channel program, this books is an excellent place to start.

This book is a rare example on how it is easy to teach the concepts, show practical examples, and summarize everything in 250 pages without relying on unnecessary phrases and words that just repeat the same idea again and again and increase the size of the book to 1000 pages. The author provides detailed explanations on the structure and functioning of distribution channels and depicts a way to effectively build a succesful channel from scratch. He goes beyond the basic concepts to show additional and important information on antitrust laws and international distribution and competition.

I would recommend reading this book and keeping it as one of your reference books to consult whenever you're up to consider changes in the distribution system that arise because of competitive pressures, changes in customer behavior, or new product launches.

This book is exactly what I needed. I bought through Amazon because the shipping was free and it ended up being cheaper than my University bookstore. Recommend for any hospitality students that have to have this book.

Great book. The classic for anyone entering the industry. Complete and comprehensive. Great textbook for students and novices. Good for non marketing people. Good examples and highlights. I also recommend a new release: Heads In Beds. More practical than this one. With both you'd really know your stuff and make your boss happy.

The layout and format of this book was very easy to follow!

Kotler's Marketing for Hospitality and Tourism helps marketing beginners and people that are getting into the hospitality business. It demonstrates basic knowledge that can be applied to the business, great tool for working!

This is the texbook I had in college. It was and still is great, but for one...being a textbook ...it is more theoretical and two, it lacks certain areas. Nevertheless, it is very usefull. I would complement it with a book that I have recently read: Heads In Beds - hospitality and tourism Marketig by Ivo Raza. This is very practical and covers the areas that are missing from Kotler's textbook like Loyalty marketing, COOP with Touroperators, targeting travel agents, creating promotional materials, development, etc. Combined, both books truly give a complete overview of the complex travel indutry and should be the foundation for people studying or working in travel and tourism.

The true master piece in advertising written by a scientifically minded thinker. It's an invaluable reading to anyone who wants to have a sound and solid basis to discuss and consider any problems in advertising.

Great book and highely recommended!

When it says 'master class' it means that it won't tell you what to think but it will teach you how to think, which is much more enduring and useful. Every planner I know should read this and inwardly digest its perennial wisdom.

Stephen King was one of the two fathers of account planning. Despite many of these papers being over 30 years old, they have never been a more pertinent reminder about how to think about creating powerful brands and communication, and the role that ad agencies can play. It's proof that sometimes when trying to find a path forwards it's useful to look at the past. A must read for anyone in the communications industry.

A Master Class in Brand Planning is an invaluable, long over-due introduction to the writings of Stephen King for all marketers in the United States. King, a pioneer in account planning in the UK, spent his career teaching his colleagues, his clients and countless fans how brands work, how to approach brands and importantly how to sustain brands. The brilliance of this compilation of his work is the addition of contemporary commentaries by today's leading thinkers about advertising, marketing and brands. They make this book as relevant and timely as the latest blog on brands. A must-read for people starting out in the business, people building and selling brands, and people teaching marketing in business schools.

Stephen King's writings, as most reviewers acknowledge, are as relevant and stimulating today as they were when he first published them. Between the lines, however, one can still detect the humor and irreverence which were King hallmarks. Stephen was relentlessly rigorous in his approach to brand planning, but at the same time was disarmingly charming and witty. You'll find these qualities here as well.

In an age when desires for instant insights attract attention to short cuts, Stephen King will give 'real planners' tools that require thoroughness and hard work, but which lead to far richer and more rewarding results over time. Brands he touched in his lifetime, and people he inspired, still reign all over the world!

It's a treasure trove, indeed!

Long live the King!