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Blah! Blah! Blah!: Memoirs and advice from one of British advertising’s mavericks: Memories and advice from one of British advertising’s mavericks
£16.40£19.00 (-14%)
Dave Buonaguidi has been a maverick in the advertising world for over 30 years. This book is a rambling journey through his diverse career, from small London ad agencies to top multinationals. Along the way he co-founded four creative agencies, found success as a print artist and now works as a business adviser to start-ups and a public speaker. Over the years Dave has learnt a thing or two about how to build a strong team that turns out outstanding work. His story shows that working your bollocks off pays dividends, that if you’re nice and good, interesting projects will come your way, that everything gets better when you’re having fun and that doing great work is f**king hard. He also reveals what makes a good pitch, what makes somewhere a great place to work and who and how to hire. Littered with stupid points of view, ridiculous rants, a few bits of art and other stories, this is part memoir, part business book, for anyone who hates the status quo but wants to work hard, make brilliant work and be happy doing it.
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Additional information
| Publisher | Buona Books (13 Jun. 2019) |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Paperback | 272 pages |
| ISBN-10 | 1912892170 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-1912892174 |
| Dimensions | 24.5 x 2.3 x 18.9 cm |
by Simon Manchipp
The perfect balance of priceless advice and guidance for any young entrepreneurs contemplating starting a business and deeply cynical, ‘laugh out loud’ commentary on the current state of the ad industry. It’s the perfect book for the lavatory and the author has even conveniently broken it into poo length chapters.
by Neill McBrown
Bought Dave’s book on preorder, as I was just plainly intrigued and interested to get a take on his business advice and experiences in the AD business (in part inspired for me by Mad Men).
So straight off the bat, the book excells in combining funny anecdotes & an in depth review of what happened in the 80s&90s leading up to today. All while analyzing the business ethics and organizational issues that came along at every step.
It uses clever combinations of fonts, type sizes & color to keep things sparkling and interesting as you move through the book. Dave manages to keep your attention by dropping and referring to previous and future business advice or rather ethics. So of these make total sense, but as he notes, are now sometimes completely absent in larger companies. Once I picked it up, I didn’t put it down till I finished reading it!!
One of the anecdotes I best enjoyed was the AC/DC pitch; basically signalling, know when you don’t stand and chance & own it rather than doing rediculous amounts of work and not get the job anyway. But at the same time, he offers plenty of examples where working your arse off does pay off. Leaving you to figure out what you find important and what you want to do to get there.
by Neill McBrown
Great book to dip in and out of. Honest, shocking, inspiring, annoying at times. Never pretentious. Interesting. Bizzare. It’s a frank look at advertising through the author’s eyes. With some wise after the event moments. When you look back you do ask yourself, “why did we do that?”
Even if you weren’t in the ad business in the 90’s or after, it’s a fascinating read.
Sadly it’s now a history book as advertising folk are being replaced by software programmes, data crunchers and in-housing. “It’s not what it use to be – fun, crazy, creative and rewarding.”
by Thomas Cornwall
This is a rare book. It made me smile a lot and even laugh out loud. But it’s much more than just a collection of amusing, sometimes outrageous, stories about life in London advertising. Dave shares his insights from a career working in and founding some of the UK’s most exciting agencies. He writes passionately about the industry and how it could be better. He makes you think about creativity, and what makes companies great places to work in. Having worked in one of the agencies he founded, I know he writes truthfully and from the heart.
by Matt
There are loads of books about marketing, advertising, creativity, blah blah blah (oh wait…). What I loved about this book is it’s actually written by someone who’s done it – and done it his own way.
It’s filled with hilarious, inspiring and mischievous stories – from the kinds of pranks you’d never get away with these days to starting multiple businesses to making seemingly endless creative projects happen to becoming an artist and beyond. What’s great too is it reads like Dave is sat opposite you in a pub.
If you’re in the ad industry then it’s a no-brainer. Regardless, if you have aspirations to live life on on your terms then I’d highly recommend picking up a copy.
by Liz T
I read the 1st 64 pages in one go. That alone has compelled me to write this.
It’s a genuinely rollicking read that made me laugh out loud and reminded me of how fun advertising used to be.
Many of the new breed of commercial creatives — regardless of the channels they work in — could do well to read this. Have a giggle. And take the key behaviours to work. Their outputs would improve overnight.
The swearing is also excellent.
by Simon Manchipp
It’s very lucky that I’m not easily offended by expletives because this book as loads of them. It’s part of what makes it such a good read. Dave swears at (and about) lots of people who need it. He also tells you stuff about creativity that makes you want to swear at yourself for being so interesting. He also talks a bit about loafers – I didn’t like that bit.
Highly recommend.
by CHRIS J. ARNOLD
I had the pleasure of working with Dave a few years ago, so already knew him to be one of the most inspiring, mischievous, relentlessly creative and stupidly funny people in the whole of advertising – if not business as a whole. So, it was with high hopes that I picked up this book. And I’m pleased to say it doesn’t disappoint. Packed with anecdotes, advice, opinion, entrepreneurialism and two inch poops, it’s a riotously written and beautifully presented manifesto for missionary business, that can’t help but infect you with Dave’s energy, drive and determination to break the rules. So first read it, then live it. The world would be a brighter, happier and more exciting place if we all got a bit more Buonaguidi.