Fin Dolan is a bright advertising copywriter
in New York who is sufficiently uncertain about himself that he canceled his
wedding on short notice. “I was more in
love with the idea of being in love than actually in love,” he says. Two days before Christmas his client— a maker
of disposable diapers—informs his agency that it has developed the first “fully
biodegradable disposable diaper that can be flushed down a toilet instead of
piling up in landfills.” The client
wants to announce this amazing breakthrough in a high-profile Super Bowl ad in
a mere six weeks. Along with the
insanity and pressure of that assignment, which ultimately requires some qualification of “fully
biodegradable” and “flushed”, Dolan also confronts his uncertain feelings about
life and others, especially his estranged father whose violent behavior led him
to abandon his family and contributed to his mother’s suicide. His two brothers and a sister are distant and,
like Fin, hostile to the family memory and maybe more so.
Despite the ominous backstory, author John
Kenney offers a gentle, believable, sometimes absurd story about life in the
New York City advertising world which he knows well from his own copywriting
career. The book includes much detail of
the business--from brainstorming, to production, to post-production--all of
which adds authority and provides generous opportunity for to create supporting
characters and scenes. Kenney fills the
required positions with lively personalities and engaging subplots that move
the story along at a good pace. He tells
the story with humor—at times laugh-out-loud funny—and understanding. Fin Dolan is a real human being with
all the flaws of the human condition and then some. Truth
in Advertising is one man’s story but Dolan's story has lots of interesting company and compelling circumstances along the way.
Truth in Advertising by John Kenney
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