Having ordered this book online several years ago, and having never seen it on the shelves of Asian book stores, I suspect this one slipped between the cracks, which is a real shame. This book is worth a read for heaps of reasons, not least because there are so few books written about account or strategic planning, which is amazing given its importance to almost every agency these days.
Jay Chiat (Chiat/Day) is quoted as saying that planning "is the best new business tool ever invented".
That's a big endorsement.
Truth, Lies and Advertising provides an excellent insight into the global advertising industry, particularly during the exciting early '90s.
In particular, it shows how the planning and research process in the UK differs significantly from the US.
Given that many Asian advertising and research agencies follow the American way of doing things (despite the fact that the British 'boutique' model seems far more exciting in this day and age), this book provides a unique and important insight into differences in the industry.
The author has spent 20 years in the industry on both sides of the 'pond', so the book is peppered with both profiles of UK and US agencies big and small, and countless case studies of great campaigns from the past few decades.
At its core Truth, Lies and Advertising is about the role of planning in the development of good communication.
Despite adopting a heavy research approach to the process, the book is by no means a boring market research textbook. Rather, it teaches how to generate cutting-edge consumer insights in ways other than sitting behind a one-way mirror and eating cold pizza while listening to a group of bored consumers being battered by an out-of-touch moderator.
Steel describes these outdated research methods perfectly in the chapter 'The blind leading the bland' - spot on.
Instead, Steel advocates a more ethnographic approach to understanding consumers, their lifestyles, dreams and aspirations.
He preaches simplicity instead of data overload, intuition over science, and the need to engage people in ongoing dialogue rather than via one-hour surveys and two-hour focus groups.
All very refreshing stuff.
Perhaps the most ambitious section of Truth, Lies and Advertising is where the author openly contends that too much research directly or indirectly kills the creative process and in doing so, has driven a wedge between creatives, their account people, and the client.
We can all relate to that.
To overcome this entrenched paradigm Steel very simply proposes that planners stand fast in their singular role of uncovering the true needs and wishes of the consumer ('Peeling the onion', he calls it).
He calls for planners to be the champions of "very simple, single-minded ideas" and calls for an end to ad concept testing.
Hooray. The truth and the lies about advertising.