Richard Kirshenbaum

A thrilling and irreverent memoir about the transformation of the advertising business from the 1980s to today Richard Kirshenbaum was born to sell. Raised in a family of Long Island strivers, this future advertising titan was just a few years old when his grandfather first taught him that a Cadillac is more than a car, and that if you can't have a Trinitron you might as well not watch TV. He had no connections when he came to Madison Avenue, but he possessed an outrageous sense of humor that would make him a millionaire. In 1987, at the age of twenty-six, Richard put his savings on the line to launch his own agency with partner Jonathan Bond, and within a year, had transformed it from a no-name firm into the go-to house for cutting-edge work. Kirshenbaum and Bond pioneered guerilla marketing by purchasing ad space on fruit, spray-painting slogans on the sidewalk, and hiring actors to order the Hennessy martini in nightclubs. They were the bad boys of Madison Avenue--a firm where a skateboarding employee once bowled over an important client--but backed up their madness with results. Packed with business insight, marketing wisdom, and a cast of characters ranging from Princess Diana to Ed McMahon, this memoir is as bold, as breathtaking, and as delightful as Richard himself.

My Journey from Adboy to Adman

Madboy

Rivalry between two beauty industry icons Madame Josephine and Constance Gardiner (think Helena Rubenstein and Elizabeth Arden) by the master marketer and chronicler of the over-moneyedRouge is a sexy, glamorous journey into the rivalry of the pioneers of powder, mascara and rouge.This fast-paced novel examines the lives, loves, and sacrifices of the visionaries the birth of the modern cosmetics industry: Josiah Herzenstein, born in a Polish Jewish Shtlel, the entrepreneur who transforms herself into a global style icon and the richest woman in the world Josephine Herz; Constance Gardiner, her rival, the ultimate society woman who invents the door-to-door business and its female workforce but whose deepest secret threatens everything; CeeCee Lopez, the bi-racial beauty and founder of the first African American woman's hair relaxer business, who overcomes prejudice and heartbreak to become her community's first female millionaire. The cast of characters is rounded out by Mickey Heron, the dashing, sexy ladies' man whose cosmetics business is founded in a Hollywood brothel. All are bound in a struggle to be number one, doing anything to get here... including murder. Like Swans of Fifth Avenue and Capote's Answered Prayers, Rouge gives readers a rare front row seat into the world of high society and business where the perfect mask is everything.

A Novel

Rouge

After receiving a crumbling Mediterranean mansion, Liz Galin uncovers clues that will solve a century-old murder…and reveal a forbidden love story that mirrors a modern one. Everyone fantasizes about receiving a gift from a stranger. Liz Galin, an out-of-work fashion stylist, lives in a walk up studio apartment in Alphabet City in Manhattan. She has put her life on hold during COVID-19 to care for her mother going through chemo, and cannot see her boyfriend Cary as he is an emergency room doctor during the height of the pandemic. One Monday morning, she receives a cryptic letter from a Miami lawyer indicating that she should call his office. When she does, she and her mother Linda find out she has been bequeathed an asset in a will. She is shocked to find she’s been left a storied, crumbling Mediterranean mansion on Miami’s famed North Bay Road by a reclusive socialite who has recently passed. She has no idea who Elsa Sloan-Barrett was or why she left her multimillion-dollar home to her. Liz’s journey uncovers clues that will solve a century-old murder mystery and a forbidden love story that will ultimately change her life. It will also uncover a new love triangle with a famous, reclusive celebrity neighbor that will test her own relationship and values and in many ways, mirroring the love story she uncovers. In the end, the mansion won’t be the only gift she receives….

North Bay Road

Daniel Rosenberg

In this hip and utterly indispensable guide, two happily married husbands and regular guys reveal the secrets to getting a man down on bended knee -- his most uncomfortable position. Over the years, Richard Kirshenbaum and Daniel Rosenberg have dispensed loads of successful relationship advice to friends, colleagues, and relatives, who then pushed the ex-bachelors to share their lessons with the masses of future brides who need help taking their existing relationships to the next level. These guys have been there and know what it takes to get even the biggest commitment phobes to take the plunge. Closing the Deal will help you make a realistic assessment of your relationship and offers a fresh perspective on how your man's mind works. You'll find a new way to drive your relationship toward marriage without resorting to game playing. The authors promote the importance of truth telling, self-positioning, and the artful use of marketing tactics to reel in your man. You don't have to be the prettiest, thinnest, or richest woman to close the deal -- there is an art to it! Closing the Deal is not about outsmarting your man to the altar -- it's about learning to understand him. Richard and Daniel explain that no matter how much a guy may love his significant other, Change is the Enemy, so wannabe brides everywhere must convince their boyfriends that marriage is man's best friend. Closing the Deal will show you how to do just that. To help future brides build their matrimonial muscles and monitor their progress, Richard and Daniel include quizzes and real-life scenarios and throw in a glossary for extra clarification. Honest and supportive, funny and straightforward, these ideal big brothers offer a sure cure for the wedding-bell blues.

Two Married Guys Reveal the Dirty Truth to Getting Your Man to Commit

Closing the Deal

Bond

Jonathan Bond

They advertised soft drinks on fruit and underwear on sidewalks. They employed Ed Koch to bring Snapple to the American heartland. They even used Imelda Marcos to sell Kenneth Cole shoes. Advertising innovators Jon Bond and Richard Kirshenbaum have come up with more outrageously clever ways to get past consumers' detectors than anyone else in advertising today. And now, they're finally ready to reveal their methods. In Under the Radar, Kirshenbaum and Bond chronicle their meteoric rise from a one-room, two-man Lower East Side stringer operation to Kirshenbaum Bond & Partners, one of today's hottest agencies. They share the lessons they learned along the way and describe the evolution of their unique "under-the-radar" approach to grabbing and holding the attention of today's "been there, done that" consumers. Under the Radar offers advertising and marketing professionals a deeply probing and instructive look at the nature of advertising and marketing in an age of information overload. Kirshenbaum and Bond provide a cogent analysis of how the world has changed since David Ogilvy laid down his ironclad rules for successful advertising. And, using in-depth critiques of many of today's best (and worst) ad campaigns, they describe what it takes to break through the defensive screens of a population bombarded by 1,500 ad messages each day. You'll learn all about cutting-edge research techniques KB&P and other front-running agencies have developed for getting inside the heads and hearts of real people, and, just as important, how to use that knowledge to get ad-weary consumers to tune in rather than zone out. You'll also learn about the latest trends in integrated marketing, media planning, and guerrilla marketing, as well as new ways of structuring an agency in order to stimulate "under-the-radar" thinking. Offering valuable lessons from the founders of one of today's most innovative and successful advertising firms, Under the Radar is essential reading for absolutely anyone involved in selling to consumers, from self-employed copywriters to marketing VPs at Fortune 500 companies. "Under the Radar: Talking to Today's Cynical Consumer is a valuable and important new tool for the advertising industry from two pros at one of the hottest shops in town. Jonathan Bond and Richard Kirshenbaum offer valuable insights and creative solutions on how to break through the clutter to make sure the consumer gets the message." —O. Burtch Drake, President and CEO American Association of Advertising Agencies "Kirshenbaum and Bond's genius is their capacity to cut through informational clutter and reach the grass roots. In the war to save New York's drinking water, Kirshenbaum and Bond showed us how to speak truth to power--and be heard!" —Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. "This book is the next best thing to actually working with Bond and Kirshenbaum. They are good! They know when to listen and when to argue with a client. They're not just smart and creative, they are serious strategic thinkers." —Roger Ailes, Chairman and CEO, Fox News "If you want to understand how ad executives create smart, innovative advertising, Richard and Jon's book is a must read." —Valerie Salembier, Publisher, Esquire magazine "Any book that helps a company deal with our over-communicated world is worth reading. Under the Radar is definitely one of those books." —Jack Trout, Trout & Partners Ltd. author of The New Positioning: The Latest on the World's #1 Business Strategy

Richard Kirshenbaum

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