Moscow meets Madison Avenue

Moscow Meets Madison Avenue is a fascinating and often hilarious account of the adventures of an American adman in Moscow struggling with a fledgling venture to bring advertising to the world's most challenging marketplace. Gary Burandt, CEO of the Moscow office of Young & Rubicam - one of the best-known and most respected advertising agencies in the world - had his work cut out for him when he went to the Soviet Union in 1988 on a mission to open the U.S.S.R.'s first ad. Agency. Moscow Meets Madison Avenue chronicles his experiences in introducing advertising during that extraordinary period of glasnost and perestroika when the Soviet Union was just awakening to the free market thinking of the West but still bound by the old Communist political and economic system. He tells of introducing market research into a country where people routinely changed facts and feelings to protect themselves. Bugged and frustrated by the ultimate in red. Tape, he meets seemingly insurmountable obstacles with humor and elan. Burandt forges ahead with the spirit of a pioneer, overcoming difficulties not usually associated with such simple tasks as having telephones, fax machines, and photocopiers installed. Simultaneously, he must convince prospective clients - themselves bewildered by endless red tape - of the agency's capabilities in the emerging Soviet market. His story provides insights into the effect such a move has. On his family life - and into the relationships he develops with clients and colleagues, both American and Soviet. The friendship that evolves from working with his American partner, Mike Adams, is a warm portrait of two dedicated professionals working on the last frontier of capitalism. Although a story of overcoming seemingly impossible difficulties, Moscow Meets Madison Avenue is a tale that tugs at a range of human emotions.