That S*it Will Never Sell!: A Book About Ideas by the Person Who Had Them

Summary

David Gluckman's book about ideas for brands and how they happened has become cult reading amongst the start-up community in the UK and Europe. Its 'hero piece' is the extraordinary story of Baileys Irish Cream: how the original idea took about 45 minutes ; the 'Heath Robinson' product protoype; the consumers who described it as a 'girl's drink' or 'like Kaolin & Morphine' and the American pundit's comment that provided the title of the book. The appeal of That S*it will never sell! lies in the humour and simplicity of the author's story-telling. As Gluckman says I wanted to write a business book with a smile on its face. I wanted something that young people would find both inspiring and enjoyable. What was most interesting about the book, was the fact that the author's approach to ideas remained consistent throughout his career. The same kind of inspirational no-nonsense thinking applied to Tanqueray Ten (1997) and Ciroc (2001) as to Baileys & Le Piat d'Or in the 1970s. David Gluckman describes himself as a 'back-to-front advertising copywriter'. He would look for a unique story to support a brand and then work with technical people to make the story come true. Smirnoff Black, 'the world's smoothest vodka', Tanqueray Ten, 'the freshest, cleanest-tasting gin' and Ciroc, 'the world's first grape vodka' all exemplified an approach based on functionally superior products. And the book doesn't shy away from failure either. Some of the most instructive and amusing stories are about ideas that didn't happen or brands that didn't make it. Gluckman sums up by saying I wanted TSWNS to be a 'been there, done that, got the T-shirt' book. I was there and wanted people to know what it was like.