The Insanity of Advertising Memoirs of a Mad Man

In The Insanity of Advertising: Memoirs of a Mad Man, Fred Goldberg gives us an unforgettable glimpse into the chaos, drama, and outright wackiness that fuels one of the most of loved and hated industries in the world. While Goldberg shares plenty of behind-the-scenes dirt on what it was like to craft ad campaigns for some corporate titans, he also doesn’t spare the mad men who worked alongside him. Many had outsize personalities and some were prone to jaw-dropping displays of ego and antics that would make Mad Men's Don Draper and company blush. The Insanity of Advertising: Memoirs of a Mad Man is the real story of mad men in a very mad world.

Fred Goldberg founded Goldberg Moser O’Neill, a highly successful agency that grew to $500 million in billings, with clients that included Dell Computer, Cisco Systems, Dreyer’s Ice Cream, Kia Motors, and Electronic Arts.

Born in Chicago, he was raised in Great Neck, New York, and graduated from the University of Vermont and earned a MBA from the Stern School of Business at NYU. He worked as Marketing Research Director at P. Ballantine & Sons before entering advertising in 1967, starting as a Marketing Executive at Young & Rubicam in New York. He quickly rose to become the youngest Senior VP in the firm’s history. In 1977, he relocated to Los Angeles to handle the Gallo wine account, soon becoming General Manager. He left to join Chiat/Day Los Angeles in 1982 to manage the Apple Computer account, and was part of the ground-breaking “1984” Macintosh computer ad that aired during the Super Bowl. After serving as President of the San Francisco office, COO of Chiat/Day overall, and a board director, he opened his own agency in 1990.

Goldberg Moser O’Neill was sold to IPG in 1996, and Fred retired in 2000. He continues to serve on several company boards and works with a number of non-profit organizations. He lives with his wife Jeri and dog Camy in Marin County, California. This is his first book.