Conflicting Accounts: The Creation and Crash of the Saatchi and Saatchi Advertising Empire

(Paperback)

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Description

The story of the decline and crash of Saatchi & Saatchi is a universal tale of corporate greed and ineffective management. It is the story of an ugly, publicly-fought civil war in an industry that is supposed to know the steep price paid for an image run amok. This book takes a detailed look at the downfall of the company and the reasons behind it. The author conducted more than 100 interviews with, among others, the Saatchi brothers, their childhood friends, ex-business associates, and past clients. The book also details changes in advertising in the 1980s, such as the merger mania and ad-agency consolidations that swept Madison Avenue, including the British take-over of major agencies.

Reviews

DAN RATHER "Kevin Goldman is a first-rate reporter and, it turns out, a first-rate author as well. "Conflicting Accounts" is an engrossing case study of the advertising business as practiced on the grandest possible scale. A supremely astute observer, Kevin Goldman provides sharply etched portraits of some of the most fascinating figures in the modern financial world. Anyone interested in the realities of business today will want to read "Conflicting Accounts", as it details the rise and fall of a colossal empire, the clash of mighty ambitions, and the fiercely competitive jungle that is the world marketplace."
JONATHAN ALTER "Don Hewitt, the legendary creator of "60 Minutes", once said that Kevin Goldman knew more about what was going on at CBS than he did. The same is now true of the advertising business. Kevin Goldman is an ace reporter, deep inside the biggest, most colorful crackup in the history of advertising. The rise, fall, and rise of the Saatchis illuminates not just their business but global business in general in the 1990s. Goldman tells us how it really works."
KEN AULETTA "Fans of great storytelling will love "Conflicting Accounts". The characters in this soap opera often behave in mad and seamy ways. But there are these differences: this wonderful yarn is true and their behavior has important, and depressing, consequences for the public."

Author Bio

Kevin Goldman has written for The New York Times and been a reporter for the Philadelphia Inquirer, Variety, and The Wall Street Journal, where for more than three years he was the daily advertising columnist. He lives in New York City with his wife and two children.