Got a good story?
Ever since I started in advertising I’ve found that it lends itself to some great stories. Maybe the valve salesmen, newsagents and accountants are similarly blessed, but I somehow doubt it.
Proximity to celebrities, foreign travel, big budgets, smart and funny people… Combine those elements and you often have tales worthy of repeating on a blog, even fifteen years after they happened.
I’ve heard quite a few, but there are plenty that must have passed me by, so I’m going to give you one of mine, and hopefully that will inspire you to give me one of yours…
In the middle of 2005 my agency, AMV BBDO, was working on the campaign for Make Poverty History. Mary Wear wrote the line, Paul Belford art directed it, and the rest of us came up with some nice little bits and pieces on the side.
Daryl and I created a poster for the Long Walk To Justice that then became the security lanyard for everyone at the Scottish leg of Live 8. It was worn by none other than George Clooney, the Proclaimers and the great Natasha Bedingfield. But that wasn’t the best bit.
A week or two before the concert our boss Peter Souter invited us along to the Portobello offices of the event’s primary driver, Richard Curtis. Ten or fifteen of us, seemingly selected at random, were seated on sofas around a coffee table.
“Right,” said Richard. “What we have to do today is work out the last song that will be sung at Live 8.”
Daryl and I looked at each other, checking that we’d both heard the same thing: we were to be among the people who might choose what Paul McCartney, The Who and Madonna would be singing at Hyde park in front of maybe a billion people.
Cool.
Images of all those 1985 pop stars belting out ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas’ at Wembley flashed before our eyes. In those non-war times, when none of us privileged white dudes were likely to become the next Mandela or Gandhi, this was probably the easiest path we could take to shaping some tangential semblance of ‘history’.
Now, I know what you’re thinking: ‘I’d have chosen X, and that would have been the best and greatest choice, and that would be easy peasy’. Well, far be it from me to disabuse you of your hubris, but there were a few parameters that only appeared when it was time to shoot down a suggestion:
How about Heroes by David Bowie? Great vibe and message, but no one knows the words beyond ‘We could be heroes, just for one day’.
All You Need Is Love? That’s a Lennon song. You can’t ask McCartney to sing a Lennon song.
A re-do of Do They Know It’s Christmas? Come on. It’s happening in July.
I don’t remember anyone actually suggesting the winning number, but the afternoon was definitely one of those moments where I had no regrets about the career I’d chosen.
Thanks, Peter and Richard.
If you want to know the final choice, it was a Macca-friendly tune that anyone could sing along to ad infinitum:
Your move, blog reader…
I had travelled down to London from Edinburgh to do a series of radio commercials. I’d also arranged to meet an old advertising mate in the evening. Having finished around 5 I headed to the Dog & Duck for our catch up. We hadn’t seen each other for ages. We got nattering and asked each other what we’d been up to. I said I’d been in Angel Sound all day. My mate looked at me bewildered. “Which Studio?” Studio A I replied. “Jings Jimmy, I was in Studio B. I must have been about 15 ft. From you.”
The mate was Neil Patterson, my first writer up in Scotland who was then working at BBH.
Love these spooky coincidences.
Used to work at Saatchi’s conflict shop. The boss said one of her good friends is coming into hotdesk for a few months. Turns out it was Gerry Rafferty (rip) and the only seat available was next to me. We went out for many lunch beers. He was truly one of the nicest guys I have met. Turns out he really disliked Baker Street – said his part was all out of tune and a real mess (to quote him).
It was the early 80s. We were on the island of Benbecula in the Outer Hebrides on a shoot for the Scottish tourist Board as it was then known – myself, my art director (the Late great) Jim Brown, Photographer Dave Patterson and his then assistant Dave Williams. (Google them). As we tramped across the heather looking for a good location we came across a large flatbed truck.On the back of the truck was a big cage with HERCULES THE BEAR written on the side. (Hercules was the pet bear of wrestler Andy Robbins. Yes, really.) The door of the cage was open, gently swinging and creaking in the wind. OBVIOUSLY THE FUCKING BEAR HAD ESCAPED! In the distance we saw a figure running across the barren landscape – presumably the unfortunate Mr Robbins in pursuit of his wrestling companion. We rushed back to the car and drove rapidly in the opposite direction – to the hotel and its welcoming bar. As we refreshed ourselves we heard the distant clatter of army helicopters from the nearby base – searching for Hercules.
Post Script: We arrived back at Hall Advertising in Edinburgh the next Monday. On Tuesday Jim Brown’s phone goes. It;’s Vince Taylor, the MD “Come to my office.” Jim goes to Vince’s office. The conversation goes like this.
V: Your expenses, they’re totally out of order. Looks like you spent the whole time in the hotel bar!
J: Well what do you expect – there was a fucking bear on the loose!
Nothing more was said.
Excellent story. Thank you.
My favorite was when Budweiser was sponsoring the World Cup back in the 90s. The agency had secured the rights to Jimi Hendrix’ legendary live rendition of the American national anthem from Woodstock. And shot an appropriately epic 60 spot to air in the tournament. They showed the final cut to the no nonsense Anheuser-Busch CEO August Busch III. He barked out “That music sounds like shit. Can you bring that guy in and re-record it?”. Um…sure thing. We’ll look into it sir!
I like to think that he was too drunk to notice that this never happened.