CLOSE-UP: REVIEW - THE FALL OF ADVERTISING & THE RISE OF PR There's a degree of truth in the book's idea but it goes too far, Dominic Mills says.(book review)(Book Review)

The author Al Ries will be known to many readers as the co-author of two classic marketing texts: Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind, and The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding.

What may be less well known is that he is a salesman, and what he's selling is his own consultancy company, Ries & Ries. Not that that should necessarily undermine his message, but it's usually a help to know where an author is coming from.

Ries' case is very simple and goes something like this. By forgetting it is about selling, advertising has dug its own grave. At the same time, consumers no longer trust advertising messages. They do, however, trust what they hear from their friends and what they hear and see in the media.

When it comes to launching and building brands, therefore, PR is best.

Advertising does have a role, Ries concedes, but it is to sustain and defend brands when they are up and running. Just to make it more interesting, Ries throws in a conspiracy theory. The WPPs of this world know this 'truth' but, because they make more money from their ad agencies than from their PR networks, they suppress it.

Some might say that this is not a simple case for PR but a simplistic one. But Ries may have a point. Some advertising is terrible and does the industry a disservice, especially when agencies are more interested in their own agendas. And PR can build brands, as the likes of Red Bull, Ben and Jerry's and Starbucks show. Equally, ...