Travels of an Adman

Set in the 1960s, Travels of an Advertising Man follows the adventures of Malcolm Harwood as he graduates from Birmingham University in the UK. His twin journeys intertwine; he makes a slow but determined pilgrimage to enter the world of advertising while at the same time pursues the lovely Gwyneth, meeting many problems of his own making along the way. His efforts to enter the world of advertising grow as his relationship blossoms with the beautiful Gwyneth, a nurse trainee, At first, he finds it difficult to find any kind of job and settles for one in computers. But his heart is set on advertising, as well as on winning Gwynith. Here, too, success eludes him - largely through his own missteps and indiscretions. When he finally succeeds in getting into advertising in London, his talent emerges, earning him ultimately the offer of a dream job at a major Chicago advertising agency. But while he finds solace in several romantic dalliances along the way, success with the woman he truly loves continues to elude him. Will advertising be his only triumph, while Gwynith remains forever lost to him? Travels of an Advertising Man is a love story, although it may not appear so to begin with; and it is set in the highly-charged atmosphere successfully evoked in the popular TV series, Mad Men. Malcolm's advertising travels take him, among other places, to Germany where he tests out an anti-lock braking system on an automotive test track with hair-raising results; and to Paris where he records radio commercials with an Orson Welles suffering from a terrible cold. The story occasionally makes side references to real events happening in that era, resulting in a delightfully readable story. (Spoiler alert: Against all odds, Malcolm wins Gwyneth in the end.)