Damon Collins

I think it’s about time I wrote a post on just how darn good Damon Collins is (interest declared: I am Facebook friends with Damon, I used to work in the same dept as him at AMV and we once judged D&AD together. That’s about it).

If you are on Facebook with Damon you will have seen several posts recently where he has mentioned some of the awards RKCR/Y&R have won this year. If my memory serves me correctly (a rare occurrence), they have included seven Clios, eleven D&AD nominations and a BAFTA. Yes, a BAFTA.

That’s quite impressive. OK, that’s very impressive, but even more so when you consider the track record of the agency. RKCR has never been crap – they have too many good creatives and clients for that – but they have never been this good.

A few years ago, the tiny agency I worked at, Lunar BBDO, matched RKCR in D&AD entries, so (in all modesty) I have to say that it can’t have been firing on all cylinders.

Then Damon arrived and the awards just exploded.

Coincidence?

Possibly, but then it’s not the first time he’s managed this trick. Before he joined Mother their advertising for Boots was pretty shit. I seem to remember some bollocks involving Harry Hill and a desk.

Then they hired Damon to CD the account and…

And that wasn’t the only one. We also had the excellent ad where the woman changes into a bikini on a crowded beach and the one where everyone in the country went mad because the sun came out for ten seconds. Big, good, true crowd pleasers for a massive client. Not easy.

He was also an excellent CD at Lowe, with plenty of top work appearing under his leadership.

And going further back, he also managed (with the excellent Mary Wear) to do the odd decent ad as a creative :

So let’s give him his due. He’s undeniably a very, very good CD.

Something I think even Sooty would have to agree with.