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)