'IT'S TIME' TO 'ROCK ON' PAUL
One of the best spots created while Paul Jones was ECD at DDB Sydney in the late 80s and early 90s was the McDonald's 'James Dean' commercial, written by Ade Casey (who is still with DDB Sydney) and directed by the master, David Denneen. The spot won ATV Commercial of the Year
Twenty years earlier, in 1972, when at McCann-Erickson Sydney, Jones and Casey (together with art director Rob Dames, music guru Pat Aulton and director Ric Kabriel from Fontana) also created 'It's Time', the most famous Australian political ad of all time, that helped propel the ALP into power.
Ade Casey and Rob Dames, her then husband, appear in the spot as two of the singers.
Enjoy.
A reminder that for all his old colleagues and mates, a 'Celebration of Paul's Life' (including a short film specially made for the occasion which will include some of his most famous ads) will be held tomorrow (Friday 9th Feb) 1pm at The Wine Banq in Sydney.MCs: Kim Terekes and Peter Cherry (who is flying back from New York).
Cost: $100 per head at the door
When: This Friday 9th February
Time: 1pm onwards
Venue: The Wine Banq
Address: Cnr Martin Place + Elizabeth Street, City.
Wear: Black (like the man himself used to do)
RSVP: pauljones@winebanq.com.au
Call Kim Terekes for any other enquiries: 0411 113 355.
posted by CB @ 3:54 PM
2 Comments:
On behalf of myself and Paul’s children and son-in-law, I would like to thank the many friends and colleagues who celebrated Paul’s life and achievements with us at Wine Banq on Friday. It was a draining and emotional experience, but listening to the tributes and anecdotes was somehow liberating. Paulie, if only you had known how loved you were. ‘Legend’ appears only in the epitaph of the exalted…
Jana Jones
Sent via email...
The CB Blog writes that Ade Dames/Casey wrote McDonald’s James Dean, and that she and Paul Jones created ‘It’s Time’.
Paul was always conscientious in acknowledging Ade’s contribution as a writer and colleague, which is clear in his recent writings. He had hired her as a kid in Brisbane and he counted her as one of his best female friends. He took her onto the stage when he accepted the award for Commercial of the Year.
Of course, nothing is the work of a single person, and Paul often grabbed an idea and ran with it. Balance and historical accuracy often suffer when momentous times are revisited. But to imply the above is simply erroneous. In the introduction to an unpublished account of “It’s Time”, he states that he would like to set the record straight, as many have taken credit for the campaign and indeed the line. He was speaking of others. I am certain that this was not suggested by Ade herself.
Paul writes about the circumstances of meeting Whitlam, the endless meetings with Labor party members, raising funds, market research, formulating the campaign strategy and its execution.
‘I had the puzzle in front of me now, including the policies. All I needed was a clear strategy, a campaign, and money. I stayed home one day to write it as a strategic document. This done, I was starting to sum it all up into a campaign expression. I had been going all day, and decided to take a break and watch the six o’clock news.
Top of it was McMahon putting a foot or two into his mouth as he so often managed to do. I wrote down on my layout pad: it’s time for you to go, pal. I soon crossed out everything else and left: It’s Time. I was quite excited about this line and started structuring the campaign. It could offer solutions to the ten key problems the swinging voters had. But importantly in some inexplicable way it also seemed to manifest itself into a line that caught the spirit of the mood of the times. The moratoriums about Vietnam. The issue of being bought out by America’.
On the genesis of the song “It’s Time”, he says:
‘I thought about all the music that I had ever heard which stirred the soul when people sang en masse. I picked one from the few, and wrote the first verse, and was happy with the fit, and would write the rest in the morning. I didn’t, I gave the rest of the job to Adrienne Dames whom I considered to be very good and was a friend, because she was working for me for the third time, and came from my hometown. She did a great job on the brief while I went to a meeting.’
On James Dean and McDonalds, see Paul’s article in the current B&T (Friday, February 9, 2007, p. 12). He tells how Wrigleys had wanted something ‘legendary’ for Spearmint, but with a few board changes, it turned into Mac Time.
‘I said to my colleague Adrienne Casey, if they want legendary, let’s give them James Dean. Why don’t we show where he was walking from when he walked into the Times Square poster? As he walks he can reach for some Spearmint (cut to close up) and we see him chewing instead of smoking. At the end he dissolves away. I asked Ade to do a board and come up with appropriate music track about Dean. Something ‘legendary’.
She came back with a board (she’s a writer who can draw) and a great old track ‘Where do we go from here … Jimmy Dean.’
Of course Wrigleys were frightened to death, and the rest is history…
Rest in peace, Paulie. They can’t take it away from you now.
Jana Jones
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