It’s actually two books. The main character works for an ad agency that makes TV commercials. Their new client makes a laundry detergent that uses nanotech robots to not only thoroughly clean dirty clothes, but also repairs them as well, restoring rips, holes, burns and whatnot.
The guy comes up with an idea when he gets mugged by a street gang. He decides that all cultures have strong emotions towards mobs, so he comes up with a commercial that has the street gang slapping a guy around, who then goes home and tells his wife a BS story about how he beat up a gang singlehandedly. She puts his clothes in the washer, which are magically restored by the nanobots, and the commercial’s a smash success. The street gang becomes famous, and lines from the commercial make their way into common lexicon.
I THOUGHT I had the books, but I can’t find them. Nor do I remember who wrote them. They came out 4-5 years ago. Help a doper out?