Selling Anne Frank (Short Story)

By Stefano Boscutti

Welcome to a brave new world of advertising.

Welcome to the future where brooding advertising agency head Simon Ross is having one of those days. He’s of two minds about whether he should pitch for the Anne Frank account. His senior account planner is putting the pressure on. His senior team is all over the place. And his creative director is missing.

“Selling Anne Frank” is a revealing advertising story. It’s a look at where we’re all heading.

Can the philosophical Ross win the account from his former partner?

‘The past went that-a-way. We look at the present through a rear view mirror. We march backwards into the future.’ Marshall McLuhan

‘Appallingly amusing serving of speculative fiction. So funny it hurts.’ Linda Cantero

‘Fly through a media-saturated future that looks and feels a lot like now. Only more so.’ Bo Rossall

‘Manic, brilliant satire of Americapitalism in the not too distant future.’ Kerry Phillips

• Language: English
• Publisher: Stefano Boscutti
• Release date: Oct 23, 2010
• ISBN: 9780980712513

Stefano Boscutti

STEFANO BOSCUTTI is an award-winning writer and director.He loves stories about true mavericks and outsiders who want to change the world. Larger than life characters who either wildly succeed or go down in flames. (Often both at the same time.) Boscutti's stories are usually laced with humor and a ton of irony.

Book preview

'The past went that-a-way. We look at the present through a rear view mirror. We march backwards into the future.' Marshall McLuhan

SELLING ANNE FRANK

Stefano Boscutti

Smashwords Edition

Copyright 2010 Stefano Boscutti

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

This is a work of fiction. While many of the characters portrayed here have counterparts in the life and times of the advertising industry, the characterizations and incidents presented are totally the products of the author's imagination.

Discover more titles by Stefano Boscutti at boscutti.com

ISBN 978-0-9807125-1-3

SELLING ANNE FRANK

SIMON GOLD gleams on the cover of 'AdVogue' magazine.

GOLD STANDARD SNAGS 'POST NEW YORK TIMES,' sings the headline.

I don't even look at the pointers to other stories inside. Why bother.

The man of the moment in the agency of the moment wins the account of the moment. You never thought the 'New York Post' and the 'New York Times' would merge? 'Post New York Times.' Stranger things have happened.

Simon and I had been partners for, what? Almost twenty years before it all imploded.

The day Nielsen filed for bankruptcy was the day everything changed. When seven of the world's largest private equity firms can't save you, you're history. Agency networks collapsed like houses of cards. One tumbling down on top of the other. It was fun to watch if you were on the outside.

We should have seen it coming. It's a question of mass, critical mass. What happens when you fulfill a market? When you reach maximum penetration? When you can't