Madmen and Badmen: What Happened When British Politics Met Advertising

2015 | Business & Finance

How did a bunch of unelected, unaccountable admen end up running British politics? Sam Delaney wanted to find out more about the strange relationship between British politics and advertising. What happened when a rag-tag band of scruffs and smart-arses invaded Westminster, sprinkling creative fairy dust over earnest politicians? How much did snappy slogans and simplistic soundbites influence election results and even government policies? Sam decided to talk to the people at the heart of it: Alistair Campbell, Peter Mandelson, Tim Bell, Maurice Saatchi, Norman Tebbit, Neil Kinnock - and many more. Everything is here - the moment Margaret Thatcher met the Saatchi brothers, the famous 'Labour Isn't Working' poster and the infamous 'Demon Eyes' campaign. Here, too, are the stories they didn't want you to hear: the man who snorted coke in Number 10, the fist-fights in Downing Street, the all-day champagne binges in Westminster. Dark, revealing and frequently hilarious, Mad Men and Bad Men is a hugely entertaining behind-the-scenes tour of the election campaigns of the last four decades.

Here are the posters, political broadcasts, slogans and stunts that got us into the mess of spin and hype we are in today.

Sam Delaney (Author)