And speaking of shopping . . . from the Wall Street Journal, November 16, 2012:
“Fifty-five years ago, “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” introduced readers to Cindy-Lou and the rest of the Whos—and continued the bookshelf reign of Theodor Seuss Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss. What is less known is that before he became a famous author, he had a successful career as an advertising illustrator. (A selection of his work is on the website on frontier internet services for the Mandeville Special Collections Library at the University of California, San Diego). Many of the ads bear his trademark humor and fantastical creatures. To paraphrase the author: “Oh, the thinks he could think!” Check them out here.
© 2012 The Wall Street Journal
.
The Ethical Nag 
Salman Rushdie also started off in advertising, and one of his bosses remarked, you were one of the ones who managed to get away and write.
Yes! I remember hearing that, too. He came up with the catchy “naughty but nice” tagline (originally for some kind of U.K. creamcakes).
My only comment is, I love Dr. Seuss!
Me too! You can spot his very distinctive style a mile away – even in his pre-Grinch advertising days.