Getting beyond the fleeting trends, false goals, and dreadful jargon of contemporary advertising

That is the subtitle of Bob Hoffman’s book, The Ad Contrarian. (First, I’m one of those people who doesn’t see the value in using harsh language in professional situations. Bob Hoffman is not. But he has some important things to say so, if you can stomach it, it’s worth exploring.)

If you’ve ever worked with honest-to-goodness professional advertising copywriters you know that they can be among the most cynical, glib people you’ve ever met. Suffice it to say, Bob Hoffman is a former copywriter.

If you’re wondering what an ad contrarian is, here’s a recent quote regarding online ad tracking: “So far this has been a spectacular failure. Each of us is currently inundated with dozens, if not hundreds, of online messages a day—banner ads, emails, social messages, etc—that are assumed by marketers to be particularly relevant to us and reflective of our individual purchasing needs and behaviors. We pay almost no attention to any of them.”

“Spectacular failure?” I’ve had some experience to the contrary, but I do agree that many marketers sell distorted assumptions.

Hoffman speaks on: Marketers Are From Mars, Consumers Are From New Jersey…