My First Time: Top Ad Creatives Talk about Their First Commercial (Ad or Site) and What They Learned from It (Library Edition)

All you've heard about the crazy world of advertising doesn't even come close.

From the top ad people all over the world-the ones who create the best television commercials and ads: the ones you love, the ones you remember, the ones you wish you had thought of yourself-come their own stories, in their own words, about the first work they ever did ... and lived to talk about, barely. They talk about the zaniness and craziness; they talk about the good guys and the bad girls, and vice versa; they talk about things you think can only happen on television or in the movies but actually happened to these people. You may not believe what you hear, but in the ad world, you may not believe what you see, either.

Here are some of the top creative leaders whose stories you'll hear:

Mark Fitzloff (Partner, Co-Executive Creative Director, Wieden & Kennedy, Portland) Susan Credle (Chief Creative Officer, N.A., Leo Burnett) Janet Kestin (Co-Founder, SWIM, Canada) Wayne Best (Co-Founder, COG NYC) Carlos Vaca (President, Chief Executive Officer, BBDO Mexico) Roger Baldacci (EVP, Executive Creative Director, Arnold Worldwide) R. Vann Graves (EVP, Executive Creative Director, McCann Worldgroup, New York) Robert Clifton, Jr. (Former Executive Creative Director, Burrell Communications) Rob Strasberg (Co-CEO, Chief Creative Officer, DONER) David Baldwin (Lead Guitar, Baldwin &) William Rosen (Consulting Partner, VSA Partners) Matt Eastwood (Chief Creative Officer, DDB, New York) Marcus Rebeschini (Chief Creative Officer, Asia, Young & Rubicam) Kevin McKeon (Executive Creative Director, StrawberryFrog, New York) Kevin Roddy (Chairman/Chief Creative Officer, Riney, SF, Chairman, The One Club) Gerry Human (Executive Creative Director, Ogilvy & Mather, London) Jamie Barrett (Partner, Executive Creative Director, Goodby, Silverstein & Partners) Dom Maiolo (Executive Creative Director, Leo Burnett, Chicago) Darren Moran (Former Chief Creative Officer, draftfcb, New York)

Phil Growick is the managing director of the Howard-Sloan-Killer Group in New York City, the retained executive search firm specializing in top talent in all forms of media. His friendships with some of the world's most influential advertising creatives led to this book's creation. His first Sherlock Holmes novel, The Secret Journal of Dr. Watson, was published in May 2012.

Mike Chamberlain is an actor and voice-over performer in Los Angeles whose audiobook narration has won five AudioFile Earphones Awards. His voice credits range from radio commercials and television narration to animation and video game characters. Stage trained at Boston College, he has performed works from Shakespeare and the classics to contemporary drama and comedy.

Nicole Vilencia became a full-time radio personality right out of high school and has worked for twenty-two years at radio stations across the country. When not rolling dice in Las Vegas, donning a mask for Mardi Gras on the streets of New Orleans, or entertaining radio listeners, she can be found cooking for her daughter in a rambling Ashland, Oregon, farmhouse.