Lights, Camera, Madison Avenue

This inside look at the production of 20th century television commercials begins with a review of advertising's beginnings going through the 1960s and early 1970s. The author, a career "Mad man," recounts lightheartedly his experiences on commercial productions--both live and film--in theaters and studios in New York City, at LBJ's ranch, on the White House lawn, along Rome's Appian Way, in Lady Astor's dining room and on the Tryall Golf Course in Jamaica, among other places. The technical (and people) challenges involved in producing high-end commercials for major corporations are given in often funny detail.