When my aunt-outlaw* was cleaning out her basement last summer she offered me the pick of old books she didn't want anymore. She's an artist and had a number of design books, and I picked out a big, slightly water-stained copy of When Advertising Tried Harder. It was the early 60's, when the rough-around-the-edges new breed of copywriters and designers crashed the gates of Madison Avenue advertising firms. The gray flannel suits were aghast to find non-Ivy League 'ethnics' like Italians, Jews, and Irish in their design meetings. But the advertising that these men and women produced were just obviously better than the old grandiose 50s style ads. It was brash, direct, and tried to say something meaningful. Compare this Oldsmobile "futuramic" ad from 1948 to the Volkswagon "Think Small" campaign of 1959:

If you can find a used copy of When Advertising Tried Harder anywhere, buy it. It's simply excellent.

(*"Outlaws" are the equivalent of inlaws for people who the state doesn't let marry.)