Walk Through Town With an Elephant ― Living As Advertised

Walk Through Town with an Elephant is both a memoir and a guide. After graduating with a BA in Journalism, Chuck Porter started law school at the University of Minnesota but dropped out because he was bored, broke, and cold. He tossed everything he owned in his Camaro and drove to Miami where he began a 16-year career as a successful freelance copywriter...and where he windsurfed at least three afternoons a week. Sam Crispin, then-owner of a small advertising agency in Miami, wooed him into taking over and turning the business around; Chuck has led the agency ever since. Starting with a barely-known 30-person shop in Miami, Chuck has built one of the most successful, most recognized advertising agencies in the world. The company now has offices in Miami, Boulder, Los Angeles, London, and Sweden. It has been named "Agency of the Year" by both Advertising Age and AdWeek magazine more times than any other agency over the last 15 years, and it has won more Grand Prix awards at Cannes than any other agency in the world. For the past 25 years, Chuck has used his special brand of creative, headline-grabbing chutzpah to create award-winning campaigns for brands like Burger King, Volkswagen, Coca Cola, Best Buy, IKEA, and Domino's.
In Walk Through Town Chuck Porter shares his compelling experiences to recount the lessons he's learned about advertising, business, leadership, and life. An expert storyteller, Porter's book flows naturally between hilarious personal and professional anecdotes to guide the reader on a journey through his wisdom. Rather than take a standard text-heavy form, this book is filled with images, illustrations, and visual information. And each impactful sentence is crafted like one of his famous advertising slogans. The first section, "Making Great Creative Work," tackles both current and chronic issues facing people working in creative industries, or companies trying to be more creative. The chapters on "Going Viral" and "Using Data and Analytics" are especially salient for all types of businesses navigating the crowded digital landscape, while the first chapter, "Strategy," gives readers an exclusive inside-look at Crispin Porter + Bogusky's competitive advantages—those nuggets of wisdom that have made Porter's firm so successful. The second section, "Making a Great Creative Company," offers tactical advice and inspiration for all current and aspiring entrepreneurs. Porter employs stories of his personal and professional failures and successes to offer a heartfelt, informative guide to being the boss.

Chuck Porter is the chairman and co-founder of Crispin Porter + Bogusky, a global advertising agency christened by Advertising Age magazine as "Agency of the Decade." Inc. magazine listed Chuck as one of their most fascinating entrepreneurs, alongside Martha Stewart and Michael Dell. He is a frequent jurist at top industry awards shows such as the Clios, Andys, the Cannes Advertising Festival, and the D&AD Awards in London. He has been chairman of the board of the American Association of Advertising Agencies, New York Advertising Week, and the non-profit Digital Works Institute, and founded Boulder Digital Works, a high-tech incubator in Boulder, Colorado. Chuck is also the chief strategist at MDC Partners, his agency's parent company. His last book, The 9-Inch "Diet": Exposing the Big Conspiracy in America (powerHouse Books), co-authored with former colleague Alex Bogusky, is ranked 4.3 out of 5 stars on Amazon. It was profiled in People and the New York Post, with Adweek calling it "fresh and fun...provocative, graphic and counterintuitive."