Book review: Wallman and Edwards strike again
The creative duo Ryan Wallman and Giles Edwards have produced a hilarious and thought-provoking sequel to their book Delusions of Brandeur. It is every bit as good as the original.
Writing a sequel is a tricky business. Inevitably, people make comparisons with what came before. Think about The Godfather, Empire Strikes Back, Paddington, Shrek, Terminator, Toy Story, and more.
Creative duo Ryan Wallman and Giles Edwards are back in time for Christmas with a new book called How Brands Blow. It follows their bestseller Delusions of Grandeur, published in 2020.
I’m here to tell you that How Brands Blow is as good as the original. That’s mainly because Wallman and Edwards haven’t mucked about with the format.
The second book follows the theme of the first, poking fun at the business of marketing. It also follows the same format. It mixes short essays, stories, lists, poems, images, and graphics.
It is packed with thoughtful provocations and laugh-out-loud one-liners.
“Nobody will buy your products if they don’t believe in your purpose. This is why Amazon struggles to sell anything. (See also Wetherspoons).”
“What was the generation before millennials? Trick question. We don’t care. It’s prehistoric in marketing terms.”
“People engage with our brand on an emotional level. […] Please. Most don’t engage with their mothers on an emotional level.”
The book is the perfect length to capture the attention of time-poor marketing practitioners. The combination of tight copy (no GPT bollocks in sight) and beautiful illustrations also helps. You’ll read it in a single sitting.
It’s not all fun. There are some serious industry-related themes in the book, notably professionalism, the importance of small agencies and freelancers, the lack of training and qualifications in marketing, and ageism in the marketing industry.
It also deals with important areas of practice, including the almost forgotten role of marketing in contributing to sales, the power of vulnerability in communication, and the use of dodgy data, research and demographics in planning.
Marketing influencers Gary V and Simon Sinek are rightly a continued source of irritation. In fact, so-called influencers in all their forms get a kicking.
How Brands Blow is contrarian and anti-establishment. It joins a growing body of work in the marketing industry by practitioners such as Cindy Gallop, Bob Hoffman, Rob Mayhew and Dave Trott.
The words are by Wallman and the pictures and design is by Edwards. Thank you both for producing another brilliant book at a time when we could all do with a laugh.
How Brands Blow
Ryan Wallman and Giles Edwards
Gasp Books
£15.99
