The success of the global display campaign, created a bit of a renaissance in The Economist's advertising in other areas too. In the same vein, the work had to talk up the content, rather than the reader – and embrace a hard(er) sell.

A Christmas gifting push

April Fools' 2016

Howard Luck Gossage said “people read what interests them, sometimes it’s an ad”. M&G Investments believed that people were more interested in their money than their competitors would have you believe. So, rather than just doing simple press ads with a whopping big rate on them, we dared to offer a point of view on investing and re-introduced the UK public to the long lost long copy press ad. By explaining the truth about investing, as we saw it, to consumers and IFAs, these ads won a load of business for M&G. And a swag of awards too.

In the late 2000s, IBM was repositioning itself from a famous tech company to a bona fide business consultancy. They'd merged with PwC, but to the industry press it looked like a marriage of convenience. IBM needed to prove tat the broader needs of business had always been at the very heart of what they were about. We needed some incontrovertible proof. The beautifully simple answer was staring us right in the face and lead to the killer campaign strapline: Business is our middle name.

In the mid-2000s, Dubai was buy positioning itself as the new playground for the rich & famous. Well, Monte Carlians have to go somewhere for their holidays. 

The Prince's Trust

Adventure Quotient [AQ] was a far too short-lived side project for Land Rover Global. It offered exclusive 'GAP year' style experiences for well-heeled mid-career/ mid-lifers.

My first ever ad. And my first ever award. I was 10 years old, and it was for The Evening Post 1987 School Advertising competition. I pocketed $100 prize money too!