We're living in the Age of Persuasion. Leaders and organizations of all kinds--public and private, large and small--fulfill their missions only by competing in the marketplace of images and messages. To win in that marketplace, they need advertising. This has been true since the advent of mass media, from mass-circulation magazines and radio through the age of television and the Internet. Yet even as they use advertising to capture consumers' imaginations and build their brands, few people know of the ingenious and tormented man who built the modern advertising industry and shaped a new consumer sensibility as the twentieth century unfolded: Albert D. Lasker. Drawing on a recently uncovered trove of Lasker's papers, Jeffrey Cruikshank and Arthur Schultz have written a fascinating biography of one of the past century's most influential, intriguing, troubled, and instructive figures. Lasker's creative and powerful use of "reason-why" advertising to inject ideas and arguments into ad campaigns had a profound impact on modern advertising, foreshadowing the consumer-centered "unique selling proposition" approach that dominates the industry today. His tactics helped launch or revitalize companies and brands that remain household names--including Palmolive, Goodyear, and Quaker Oats. As Lasker rose in prominence, he went beyond consumer products to apply his brilliance to presidential politics, government service, and professional sports, changing the game wherever he went, and building a vast fortune along the way. But his intensity had a price--he was felled by mental breakdowns throughout his life. This book also tells the story of how he fought back with determination and with support from family and friends in an age when lack of effective treatment doomed most mentally ill people. The Man Who Sold America is a riveting account of a man larger than life, who shaped not only an industry but also a century.

About the Author
Jeffrey L. Cruikshank is an author or coauthor of many books, including Shaping the Waves: A History of Entrepreneurship at Harvard Business School. Arthur W. Schultz is a veteran ad agency executive who once headed Foote Cone & Belding, the successor agency to Albert Lasker's Lord & Thomas.

Reviews
"a must-read for anyone in advertising" - Advertising Age "excellent biography" - Advertising Age "rich and compelling" Seattle Post-Intelligencer "The Man Who Sold America pulls back the curtain and shows us a remarkable life spent shaping much of the world we know today." - The Wall Street Journal, July 30, 2010 "Writer Cruikshank...and former advertising agency head Schultz help ensure, through copious research and easy-to-read prose, that Lasker will remain a critical linchpin in the U.S. that advertising helped build." - Booklist, August 16, 2010 "The Man Who Sold America is an intimate and unforgettable portrait of one of the most colorful, influential, and enigmatic Americans of the last hundred years: a human dynamo who left signature marks on the worlds of advertising, political campaigning, professional sports, and philanthropy. This book is indispensable to understanding how the world we live in came to be." - Thomas K. McCraw, Pulitzer Prize--winning historian and author, Prophet of Innovation: Joseph Schumpeter and Creative Destruction "Cruikshank and Schultz provide vivid details of Albert Lasker's revolutionary advertising and public relations career, launching and revitalizing beloved American brands. The Man Who Sold America tells a fascinating story, and reveals valuable lessons and insights for anyone interested in communications and the media." - Carol Cone, Founder, Cone Inc., and Managing Director, Edelman "How did one man boost the success of orange juice, toothpaste, Bob Hope, the American Cancer Society, Warren G. Harding, Kotex, Kleenex, and Planned Parenthood? How did he do it in the face of anti-Semitism and a lifelong struggle with mental illness? Read this remarkable book about the astounding Albert Lasker and find out." - William H. Draper III, venture capitalist and philanthropist "A man 'driven by a thousand devils,' the hyperactive Albert Lasker achieved both exceptional success and enduring significance--success in redefining the field of advertising and significance in his innovative and leveraged philanthropy. This engaging book brilliantly captures his dramatic story in a manner that simultaneously entertains and educates." - Thomas J. Tierney, Chairman, The Bridgespan Group "Imagine a man who combines the advertising gifts of a David Ogilvy, the political instincts of a Rahm Emanuel, and the lifestyle of a Jay Gatsby. Albert Lasker was just such a figure, though you've probably never heard of him. Cruikshank and Schultz bring to life this unduly neglected character and show how he helped shape the media-besotted world we live in today." - Walter Kiechel, author, The Lords of Strategy: The Secret Intellectual History of the New Corporate World "A brilliant businessman and brand builder, political gadfly, art enthusiast, Chicago Cubs co-owner, generous philanthropist, and friend and confidante to some of the early twentieth century's sharpest and most creative minds, Albert Lasker was a charismatic, complex, sometimes tortured soul. Cruikshank and Schultz have skillfully chronicled his life with color and energy. A fascinating read." - Howard Draft, executive chairman, Draftfcb "...goes a long way to reintroducing Lasker as an industry trailblazer." - HBS Bulletin "...they have pulled back the drapes to reveal a rich life that profoundly shaped the American way of life in the 20th century." - HBS Bulletin



Book Information
ISBN 9781591393085
Author Jeffrey L. Cruikshank
Format Hardback
Page Count 480
Imprint Harvard Business Review Press
Publisher Harvard Business Review Press
Weight(grams) 759g