Secret Formulas of the Wizard of Ads: Turning Paupers into Princes and Lead into Gold
The Wizard is back. This sequel to Roy Williams' last book The Wizard of Ads gives more advice on business and life. The 101 brief essays in this collection are designed to give insight into human behavior and to make the reader think. Each essay, no more than two or three pages in length, reads almost like an individual fable. The story of Pavlov and his dog is meant to inspire patience and perseverance. Ben and Jerry's success is heralded as a good example of great marketing; Williams says, "Today Ben and Jerry are household heroes" but "was it the ice cream or was it the advertising?"Secret Formulas provides advice on ad writing and managing a business. It gives insight into what makes people act the way they do and inspires the reader with new ideas for ways to influence people. Moreover, it is a call to action for the reader to apply what was learned in the readings to his or her own life, as most of the essays conclude with an open-ended question directed to the reader to stimulate future action.This delightfully creative book is cleverly designed to resemble an Old English tome, updated with select photographs, illustrations and quotations sprinkled throughout. It's the kind of book one can open to any chapter that looks interesting and start reading without relying on the previous information for understanding. --Cindy Patuszynaki, September issue ofForeWordmagazine