The Books India’s Top Admakers Read

Behind the jingle that you can't stop humming or the billboard that inspires nostalgia, there's an idea. Admakers draw inspiration for such ideas from what they see, feel and read.

Here are the favourite books of three of India's top admakers.

Prahlad Kakar

Advertising Film Director, Genesis Film Production

1. Mad Magazine

This magazine was so funny and irreverent, that a lot of my initial ideating about ads and approaches to advertising were influenced by Mad Magazine, Kakar said, adding: “They never took anything seriously and were hilarious. It was such a tragedy when they shut down.”

2. The Fox By Frederick Forsyth

Kakar loves all of Frederick Forsyth's books because of the research in them. He is simply amazing, he said, adding: “This is about war strategy.”

3. Brother Enemy: The War After The War By Nayan Chanda

This book, Kakar said, is a fascinating story of what happened in Vietnam after the Americans left.

4. Earth's Children By Jean M Auel

According to the adman, Jean M Auel in a way inspired the idea of a heroine because she was a feminist, and broke a lot of rules.

Earth's Children comprises four books.

1. The Clan of the Cavebear.
2. The Valley Of Horses.
3. Mammoth Hunters.
4. The Plains of Passage.

Sam Balsara

Founder, Chairman and Managing Director of Madison World and Madison Communications

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1. The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing By Al Ries And Jack Trout

You can't beat this book for its simplicity, brevity and clarity of thoughts, said Balsara. “However, I must add the book is dated.”

Marketing operates in a society that is continuously changing, so marketing rules need to continuously change, he said. “I have no hesitation in recommending this book as a primer with the only caveat that it was extremely relevant in the 80s and 90s.”

2. Life After The 30-Second Spot By Joseph Jaffe

This is a lesser known book and takes you beyond the realm of traditional advertising, according to Balsara.

3. Get Better At Getting Better By Chandramouli Venkatesan

This book talks of the need to continuously get better at what you do, and tells you how to go about doing it, he said. “This is applicable to advertising, because the need to innovate and update yourself is important to succeed.”

Amer Jaleel

Group Chief Creative Officer & Chairman, MullenLowe Lintas Group

1. Hey Whipple, Squeeze This By Luke Sullivan & Edward Boches

Jaleel intially had a photocopy of this book, which was a guide on how to force oneself to think creatively. It had many methods of looking at what you want to do in different ways, he said, adding: “The good thing was it really went into how you can employ process to think creatively. Till then as a potential creative person I used to think that creativity is a random and largely serendipitous event.” Jaleel said that the book has influenced him to start a thought with ‘Why not...'

2. Ishmael By Daniel Quinn

It's a deeply philosophical book about humans, our history and questions what we call evolution, in the form of a conversation between a man and a gorilla, said Jaleel. “This creative device is what got me hooked to reading this book.”

3. Lord Of The Flies By William Golding

“I can't imagine that Ralph and Piggy, characters from this book are still etched in my head some 40 years later,” are Jaleel's first thoughts about the book. What I assumed to be innocent storytelling was a comment on the world around me and its savagery-of politics and ethics and governance, he said. “This book helps me explain the world to myself even today.”

4. The Sense Of An Ending By Julian Barnes

This book, according to Jaleel, is a story about the beginning and end of life. It's about a group of friends who come together in school, I think, and then much later as old people, he said. “The sense of anticipation and nostalgia at the same time felt by versions of the same characters made it an absorbing and memorable read.”