Monday, October 16, 2006

MACKAY TAKES TOP JOB AT GEORGE PATTS Y&R


Mark Mackay has been named Chief Executive Officer of George Patterson Y&R. The former CEO of The Campaign Palace will also assume the role of managing director of the agency's Sydney office.
The move completes a major restructuring of George Patterson Y&R management by Y&R brands CEO Matt McGrath, which included the recent appointments of AFA Chairman Russell Howcroft to run the Melbourne office and Phil McDonald to lead the Brisbane team.
McGrath said the agency now had an outstanding senior management team to
manage and grow its business: "We have three executives with proven track records in Australia, London and Asia. Collectively they have worked for some of the best, and most creatively awarded agencies in the world. This team will provide GPY&R with the creative and business focus to maintain its leadership of the Australian industry.
Mark Mackay has been a key player in The Campaign Palace for the past 15 years after completing stints with Saatchi and Saatchi in Sydney and London. Mackay has worked with leading creatives Gough and Waterhouse, Hunt, Bunton, Mather across acclaimed campaigns for the Commonwealth Bank, Target, Fuji and Meat & Livestock.
"Mark will bring to GPY&R a passion for and understanding of great creative work. We expect he will have a major influence on our approach to our business," says McGrath.
Mackay said that "after 15 fantastic years at The Palace it was time to step up to the challenge of running the country's leading agency.
"I've long admired Patts and their ability to work deeply with some of the country's leading corporates. And I'm particularly looking forward to adding a strong culture of creativity throughout the organization."
Russel Howcroft will lead a revamped line-up at GPY&R Melbourne from next month. To make up for the departure of ECD James McGrath, together with the imminent departures of top creatives Ant Keogh, Grant Rutherford and Josh Stephens, the agency has engaged Sydney based award winning creative teams Mick Hunter and Ian Morton and Tim Hall on a consultancy basis to bolster the agency's five existing teams.
In Brisbane Phil McDonald has rebuilt the agency team since joining in August with the recruitment of new senior management. They include David Evans as strategic director, Stuart Edwards to head Interactive and Tim Green as creative director.

34 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Good appointments. All the people predicting doom and gloom for GPY&R will still be waiting for it to happen this time next year. The Palace lost Jack, Ron, Gordon and Lionel, Scott, Ian, Mick, Warren, Paul. Saatchi's lost Phil, Vic, Bob, Ron. Mojo lost Mo, Jo. The list goes on and on. Shit happens - get over it. James, Ant, Grant and the other guy are a loss - but GPY&R will still be around long after those guys have done their last ad.

12:20 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Personally, if I was Fosters I'd rather have the guys who wrote '5 Cougars' working on my business than the guys who wrote 'Flashbeer'.

12:22 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Unfortunately a 'strong culture of creativity' and 'we'll do anything to make money' rarely work together.

12:37 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

does this mean chairman Ron will have another stop on his route round Melbourne??

2:17 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

As long as it doesn't return to the 'glory days' of massive staff reductions and client losses, I think the new boys should do ok.

2:53 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

who cares

3:38 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Russel Howcorft fianlly has the job he was after all these years - working for Mark Mackay, Matt McGrath and Halish McLennon.

5:05 PM  
Blogger Steve Dodds said...

Mark's a very very good suit and my hat, were I wearing one, would be doffed in his direction.

6:10 PM  
Blogger Steve Dodds said...

Oh. I almost forgot.

This is for the 3.38 poster who eruditely contributed 'who cares'.

Normally such a dumbass comment would go unanswered. Fotunately I'm in a different time zone at prime drinking time and thus a tad shitfaced.

Anyone who makes such a comment is ignorant as well as being a cowardly anonymouse.

Without a guy who likes ads as MD or above your chances of getting anything good made that is not an 'initiative' are approximately fuck all.

If you had any sense of history about agencies here, in the UK or in the US you would know that a prerequisite of doing good ads is having someone to sell them.

Weidens, Fallon, CPB, Abbott Mead, CDP, Mother, HHCL.

Here in Oz we have Host as a shining example.

All had or have a really good suit as a partner and seller of ads.

Whether Mark is or isn't such a person (and he has his work cut out) is beside the point. If we paid as much attention to getting good suits as we do good CDs, a lot more good creative would get made.

That's why we should care.

6:31 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Lynchie, what's the deal with the award finalist list? Isn't it due out today?

9:49 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Mick and Ian will be there for 2 minutes. If they hated JWT there is no way for them to prosper at GPY&R.

10:55 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Also heard that Ben Coulson & Richard Muntz have been announced as CD's today. Can anyone confirm?

11:14 PM  
Blogger CB said...

AWARD finalists out Wednesday and will be posted on the blog. Heard it's really tough this year so the blog is expecting some feedback!

1:28 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Spot on Doddsy. Mark is a great suit and a great bloke. People loved working with him at The Palace and the same will happen at the evil empire.

7:26 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

10:55. Ian and Mick hated JWT because Craig Davis couldn't deliver what he promised them.
That will not be the case with Matt, Mark and Russ at PattsYR.
Maybe James,Ant,Grant want to leave, but even they'd admit, no-one at Patts ever stoped from doing great work.

7:34 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

It's CDs! Fuck. I really hope you're not a copywriter.

7:53 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

11:14 You have to be bloody joking. Nobody should be giving Muntz another chance at being CD after the disaster that was D'arcy. Ben Coulson is much more interested on chicks and party that anything else in this world. If Patts indeed have done that they have honestly put the noose around their own necks. Those two are not fit to be CD's of their local Milk Bar, yet alone a major agency. Nuff' said.

9:17 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Steve Dodds, different time zone, drinking time!

And you're on the blog.

You sad twat.

9:54 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

7:34, hello, it was actually up to mick and ian to deliver. that's kinda why they pay cd's a lot of money.

good players don't always make good coaches.

10:45 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

9.54
You are the sad twat. On the blog yourself and feeding off and indeed creating mean shit to say. Dodds lives this job and I think it's cool he's got one hand on a Bud and the other on the blog. He's probably showing the yanks what a bunch of fucking bitches we are over here.
Cheers Dodds!! God is walking the streets and highways of America.
Wink.

11:20 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

11.20 I didn't mean it nastily, just a bit of a joke. But I see how it could be taken.

1:05 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

The real Big Ad follow up:

http://www.bravia-advert.com/paint/thead/

1:49 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

1.49
Nice!!
Big!!
Fuck me!!
If they didn't post the paint explosions it could be the biggest ad of all time!!
Imagine if they really did 'destroy' that whole block with real paint.
Super effort but the dodgy post shits me.
Is it just me?

2:14 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

twat. teeheeheehee.

2:21 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

'on them' is probably right. That's what he does best. Puts the game 'on them'.

2:23 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Mark = good bloke.

3:10 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

mark = wont pull it off!

3:38 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

mark = starting to even look like hamish

10:18 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Sorry, i know this thread isn't about the new bravia ad, but...

Why do Sony Australia insist on changing the end lines on these ads!!? They did it to balls, and now this ad. I saw it on TV the other night and the super at the end read: Full on colour.

What's wrong with COLOUR LIKE NO OTHER?

It dovetails the tagline, it's perfect.

It's such a little thing, but it makes a huge difference for me. Stop trying to fuck with great work you foolish client, we know you wanna put your grubby paws all over it, but some things should be left alone.

9:11 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Ben and Muntz as CDs HAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAAAAA!!!! (nearly busted a valve there. was the best laugh i've had for ages.) sigh. Can't be true though, could it? COULD IT?

9:25 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

9.11 good point. See the way in which Rexona has put a line on the stunt city ad- something like for men on the go. It just doesn't frigging need it, put your pen's down and run the ad, you're not going to make it better by adding to it and it's never going to be your ad.

10:33 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

pen's with an apostrophe.

And you feel fit to comment.

11:58 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Damn bugger fuck. I meant Pen is.

3:04 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

So the rumour on Ben becoming CD is just a rumour is it?

10:57 AM  

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