The Golden Pitch
How Celebrities and Influencers Shape the Way We Think, Feel, and Act
The Golden Pitch reveals the massive power of celebrities and influencers to sway our political opinions, consumer choices, and personal aspirations.
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About Martha
15 Facts About Martha
- I was born in Hollywood, California, during the last days of Hollywood’s Golden Age.
- I developed a taste for writing when I wrote sketches for my high school pep rallies.
- I was a college dropout. Now I’m a college professor.
- My educational journey meandered. First I received a robust liberal arts education that I did nothing with. Then I attained a solid business education that I did something with.
- My professional career has been mainly divided into two vocations: working in advertising and promotion and teaching in advertising and promotion.
- I tried my hand at script writing. I’m most proud of my two glowing pass letters from a major film studio.
- As a writer, I’m haunted by five little words: “Don’t quit your day job!”
- As an educator, my biggest pet peeve is “grade grubbing.”
- My favorite fiction writer is Edgar Allan Poe.
- My favorite playwright is Oscar Wilde.
- My favorite screenwriter is Wes Anderson.
- My favorite book is Germaine Greer’s The Female Eunuch (1970).
- My favorite film is The Wizard of Oz (1939).
- My favorite song is “White Rabbit” (1967) by Jefferson Airplane.
- My goals as a writer are to entertain, inform, and connect with my readers in a meaningful and refreshing way.
Bio
Martha T.S. Laham is a professor at Diablo Valley College, where she has taught business, marketing, and advertising for more than thirty years. She has authored college textbooks in marketing and selling, developed instructional materials for educational publishers, and contributed to HuffPost. Laham is the author of several books, most recently The Golden Pitch: How Celebrities and Influencers Shape the Way We Think, Feel, and Act. A frequent media guest, she has been interviewed by TODAY, The Guardian, PBS, Scripps News, and many others. She lives in Oakland, California.
featured interviews and articles
- “What Is ‘SkinnyTok’? The Weight-Loss Trend Preaches Tough Love but Comes with Risks,” Today.com, April 8, 2025
- “‘Snatched Jawline’: How the Chin Became Fashion’s New Pressure Point,” The Guardian, July 10, 2023
- The Toxic Mirror: Selfies, Social Media, and Body Image, TEDx Talk, June 16, 2023
- "The Why," Scripps News, March 2, 2023
- "The International Angle," December 27, 2022
- "Entrepreneur in You," February 4, 2022
- "Guardianship or Exploitation? How Conservators Abuse the Elderly," SevenPonds, August 29, 2021
- “The Manipulative Reality Behind the Beauty and Advertising Industry ft. Martha Laham," Tell Me I'm Beautiful, July 2021
- “Mornings” with Rebecca Levingston, ABC Radio Australia, July 12, 2021
- "Made Up: How the Beauty Industry Manipulates Consumers, Preys on Women's Insecurities...,” KATU ABC 2, AM Northwest, July 7, 2021
- “Cost of Living,” CBC Radio ONE, July 6, 2021
- "Midday Fix: Going Behind the Scenes of the Beauty Industry with the Author of the New Book 'Made Up,'" WGN-TV, June 2, 2021
- Queens Public Library, Literary Thursdays: "Made Up" with Martha Laham, May 27, 2021
- "Unpeeling the Beauty Industry," Paid by the Word: Conversations with Writers and Editors, April 11, 2021
- “Friends and Neighbors” with Sherry Tatum and Sandra Onal, WATC TV 57, March 9, 2021
- “Unearthing the Ethics of the Beauty Industry,” Suits&Sneakers.TV, January 4, 2021
- "Take a Shower, Show Up on Time, and Don't Steal Anything” with Dave Ryan on 101.3 KDWB, November 27, 2020
- Book included in Publishers Weekly roundup feature “New and Forthcoming Social Justice Titles,” November 21, 2020
- Positive Aging SourceBook, “Discussion on How the Beauty Industry Targets Women Over 50 with Martha Laham,” November 20, 2020
- "New Day Northwest" on NBC KING 5 Seattle, October 19, 2020
- “Consumer Talk” with Michael Finney on KGO 810, September 19, 2020
- Selling Perfection: DVC Business Professor Unmasks Beauty Industry’s Well-Kept Secrets, DVC News Hub, June 2, 2020
- “The Film Industry’s Problem of Gender Inequality Is Worse Than You Think,” HuffPost, August 18, 2017
- "For Women Over 40" with Cyma Shapiro on WESU, September 13, 2016
- The Palm Beach Post, September 4, 2016
- The Wall Street Journal, October 30, 2015
- Asbury Park Press, July 12, 2015
- “MoneyTalk” with Bob Brinker on ABC Radio Networks, June 28, 2015
- ThirdAge.com, June 19, 2015
- Forbes.com, May 15, 2015
- PBS’s Next Avenue, May 14, 2015
- “Consumer Talk” with Michael Finney on KGO 810, April 25, 2015
- AlterNet, April 5, 2015
Made Up
How the Beauty Industry Manipulates Consumers, Preys on Women’s Insecurities, and Promotes Unattainable Beauty Standards
Made Up exposes the multibillion-dollar beauty industry that promotes unrealistic beauty standards through slick advertising, image-altering techniques, and empty promises.
The Con Game
A riveting investigation into the silent epidemic of elder abuse in the United States. This helpful book looks at the myths and realities of aging in America and offers tips for recognizing warning signs of elder abuse, prevention strategies, information on conservatorships, and advance planning resources.
Praise for the con game: a failure of trust
“This book is an asset for anyone involved with or interested in elder mistreatment, or the practical legal resources and solutions available to assist and protect the elder.”
—Susan A. Katzen, elder law and estate planning attorney
“A compassionate and true-life story that provides perspectives of an aging America and presents the formalities of estate planning and conservatorships. A must-read if you have or will have an elder adult under the care of family members or others.”
—Tim Murphy, CPA, attorney, and professor
“This book shows conservatorship for The Con Game that it so often becomes.”
—Linda Kincaid, MPH, Coalition for Elder & Dependent Adult Rights