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sorry for the lobsters

4.62 of 5 stars 4.62 · rating details · 29 ratings · 6 reviews

The tongue-in-cheek autobiography of the man reputed to be the world's last advertising copywriter. Although it's not only about advertising; more about 'Life. And how to enjoy it'. Including chapters on his experiences as a debt-collector, night club bouncer, pornographer, singer, matador (failed), rock-band (Judas Priest) manager, film actor, director, and in the end, by...more

Hardcover, 404 pages

Published January 5th 2012 by www.neilfrench.com

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Aug 04, 2012 Eric Sonnenschein rated it 2 of 5 stars

OF COPY WRITING AND THE MEMOIR: SORRY FOR THE LOBSTERS BY NEIL FRENCH

I read Neil French’s memoir,"Sorry for the Lobsters" thinking it it would be swift and punchy. It wasn't. I kept stopping. I became aggravated by my inability to finish this book or to read, for that matter, more than ten pages at a time. The typescript was large so it was not the fault of my dimming eyesight. The narrative was full of anecdotes and pungent descriptions, even ridiculous scenes and images intended to entertain m...more OF COPY WRITING AND THE MEMOIR: SORRY FOR THE LOBSTERS BY NEIL FRENCH

I read Neil French’s memoir,"Sorry for the Lobsters" thinking it it would be swift and punchy. It wasn't. I kept stopping. I became aggravated by my inability to finish this book or to read, for that matter, more than ten pages at a time. The typescript was large so it was not the fault of my dimming eyesight. The narrative was full of anecdotes and pungent descriptions, even ridiculous scenes and images intended to entertain me. Yet, there was an irritant in the writing and it rose to the level of an impediment. How could this writer, who had become rich by engaging readers sufficiently to make them buy all sorts of expensive products, be putting me off?

The arch, arrogant style, often called "attitude," which is so prized in many advertising circles, (Every sentence contains the subtext, "You'd better like and understand this or you're an idiot!") was out of place in a longer, more personal narrative. I wondered if this was a defining difference between promotional and literary writing: the promotional is always pushing; the literary must pull.

Before the the harpies of disputation lash me with poisoned tongues, flail at me with their talons and regurgitate the names of countless copywriter-literary hybrids who disprove my observation (Heller and Rushdie were both copywriters). let me indemnify myself beforehand with this exception: I liked the memoirs of Jerry de la Femina, George Lois, and David Ogilvy. They remained advertising men to the end, yet were able to step back from the promotional when writing personally to be ironic, reflective, and instructive. Neil French remained the copywriter throughout and it was hard to digest that much copy and absorb that much attitude.

It may be invidious to compare copy writing and the narrative art--they accomplish different objectives. I would like to believe there is a unifying aesthetic out there for all writing but it does not exist. Thus, to impugn French’s commercial writing because it does not adapt well to narrative is unfair and misleading. Seemingly to make this point, the author has included some of his favorite coy in his book. I particularly appreciated the Air Canada ads, in which the writer crawls under the skin of your typical business class customer.

French seems to have been a real life comedian, with an ear for common language and a gift for mimicry. And for all of his outrageous, off-the-cuff opinions, he also has in most instances an instinct for what and how much his audience will accept. In other words, like any advertising man schooled in public opinion and standards of decency, he knows where to draw the line. He must have amused colleagues and clients with a live "act"similar to his copy. I guess “stand up” doesn’t work as well when it sits down.
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Mar 12, 2012 Steven Howard rated it 5 of 5 stars

I highly recommend this book to everyone who wants to truly understand how powerful great advertising can be, and unfortunately how most of what the advertising industry produces is mere crap disguised in loudness, padded ideas and a pandering to the lower common denominator of a targeted (though not necessarily understood) audience.

This is a great book for those of us who have personally known Neil and admired the brilliance of his thinking and the profundity of his copywriting skills. As such...more I highly recommend this book to everyone who wants to truly understand how powerful great advertising can be, and unfortunately how most of what the advertising industry produces is mere crap disguised in loudness, padded ideas and a pandering to the lower common denominator of a targeted (though not necessarily understood) audience.

This is a great book for those of us who have personally known Neil and admired the brilliance of his thinking and the profundity of his copywriting skills. As such it is a wonderful voyage down the numerous paths he has taken ─̶ from novice bullfighter in Spain to part-time gangster along the streets and back alleys of London, to a rock band promoter and eventually as a paradigm shift changing, Godlier than God Creative Director first in Asia and eventually globally.

A revealing and worthy narrative on his personal journey through what has certainly been a life truly lived, Sorry for the Lobsters is a fabulous read with just enough sidetracks in the tale to make the reader wonder what Neil will get up to next.

Far more important however, especially to those in the advertising industry who are unfortunate not to have been directly impacted by Neil's devotion to creative thinking and execution excellence, is the book's Appendix.

For in the Appendix are shared Neil's frank and forthright gems on the pluses and minuses of advertising. These essays and short pieces, written in the latter stages of his career for various industry and in-house publications, include a plethora of golden nuggets.

With katana sword precision, Neil gave a cutting and penetrating soliloquy on integrity, and the relative lack of it in the advertising business, in his acceptance speech when given a Clio Lifetime Achievement Award in 2003. If anything, his words are more relevant today, almost a decade later, and equally consignable to the worlds of business, politics and government. But that's another story for another day.

In the meantime, if you want to see great advertising from a master of copywriting and strategic thinking, go to the Neil French website. The examples there will simply amaze.

He was a master craftsman and a crafty wordsmith (and undoubtedly still is).

In Neil's words, he "just wrote the ads."

And many a brand manager and CEO (not to mention agency heads) whose bonuses he enlarged were glad he did.
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Nov 05, 2012 Sergio GRANDE films rated it 5 of 5 stars

This book should have done for advertising what Anthony Bourdain's "Kitchen Confidential" did for celebrity chefs. Maybe we get lucky and there'll be a TV show follow-up.
It's the life story of an Englishman who dallies with the mafia, sells himself as a bullfighter, enters the porn business, opens his own ad agency, chucks it all away and goes to live in Asia where he becomes one of the greatest ad men of all time. The details of the life would make Don Draper blush, the examples of the work wo...more

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Mar 21, 2012 James Aitchison rated it 5 of 5 stars

Neil is a towering figure on the world advertising stage. His book is candid, hilarious, wise, inspiring. It's like having a very, very, very, very long lunch with Neil in one of his favorite restaurants, as he puffs on a cigar and tosses gems of wisdom hither and yon. More than a five-star read, it's a gold.

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Jun 10, 2012 Leopold Ajami rated it 5 of 5 stars

You don't put "Sorry for the lobsters" on your bookshelves, you hide it, preferably under your pillow, you sleep with a hook in hand, next day: Eureka!

I got two. Sorry :)

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Mar 13, 2012 Eva rated it 5 of 5 stars

Mr. French has the skill to call a spade a spade!,funny,fresh,and ultimately instructive.

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