Saatchi & Saatchi: The Inside Story

Follows the rise and fall of Iraqi-born Jewish brothers from London, Charles and Maurice Saatchi, who created some of the most memorable ad campaigns of the 1970s and 1980s, and then in 1994 were ousted from their firm by an American shareholder revolt.

One of the most famous ads in British advertising history shows a glum-looking man clutching his swollen belly above the words, "Would you be more careful if it was you that got pregnant?" Charles and Maurice Saatchi's agency created that ad for the Health Education Council, as well as the campaign that resulted in a Tory victory for Margaret Thatcher by remaking her image and bashing Labour. The Iraqi-born Jewish Saatchi brothers built their advertising agency into the fifth-largest in the world during the Eighties and Nineties; they were forced out by an American-led shareholder revolt in 1994. They subsequently created a new agency that may be even more successful than the old one. Fendley, a media correspondent for London's Evening Standard, presents a detailed examination of the growth and eventual downfall of the agency. She scrutinizes the interpersonal conflicts among the brothers, their employees, their clients, and their shareholders. Although her emphasis is on British campaigns, her book will appeal mainly to libraries that have strong business and advertising collections.?William W. Sannwald, San Diego P.L.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

A revealing book on the advertising industry, this fast-paced, behind-the-scenes account of the rapid ascent and sudden downfall of the Saatchi & Saatchi agency benefits from numerous interviews with former employees and with the Saatchi brothers. Iraqi Jewish sons of a prosperous Baghdad textile merchant who moved his family to England in 1946, Charles and Maurice Saatchi founded the agency in London in 1970, shaking up the traditional British ad world with their witty, formula-smashing campaigns. Clients included British Airways and the Conservative Party (they helped propel Margaret Thatcher to power). Through relentless acquisitions, including mergers with long-established New York City shops, Maurice succeeded in his ambition to create the world's largest advertising agency, but by 1990 the overextended firm was nearly bankrupt. Fendley, media correspondent for London's Evening Standard, blames their downfall on Maurice's indifference to costs and a rampant expansion that alienated clients. In 1994 the brothers were ousted from their own agency in a shareholder battle led by 33-year-old Chicago investment banker David Herro. Fendley gives an evenhanded account of the ensuing legal and competitive fracas, which led the brothers to form a new agency, M&C Saatchi, while their former agency renamed itself Cordiant. Photos.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

One of the biggest scandals in "ad-dom," the ouster of Maurice Saatchi from his eponymous agency, is chronicled from the British point of view by London journalist Fendley. Although she spends a few chapters documenting the spectacular rise of the two Iraqi-born Jewish brothers and on some of their key accounts, such as British Airways, most of the pages are devoted to the acrimonious battle immediately before, during, and after the departure of the siblings. The personalities of all involved are well depicted, but descriptions seem borrowed from another source or relayed by hearsay or other journalists. True, both Maurice and Charles are famously reluctant to discuss anything not on their agendas (and Charles, particularly, now refuses interviews). But there is not a compelling stand-alone portrait drawn of any participant, including shareholder-activist David Herro, who forced Maurice's abdication. And for those not aware of advertising names and alliances, at least part of the text might remain a puzzle. Still, a beginning document on an elusive subject. Barbara Jacobs