Hegarty turns intelligence into magic
When Nick Kamen stripped off his jeans in the launderette, it wasn’t only Levis who saw their sales sky-rocket. The UK censorship authorities thought that his Y-fronts too indecent, so he wore boxer shorts. Sales of boxer shorts went through the roof.
Coming up with memorable campaigns has made John Hegarty one of the world’s most famous advertising creatives, and BBH arguably the most successful advertising agency in the world.
Hegarty feels that the time is right to publish a book on advertising, based on his forty-five years in the business. But isn’t advertising in the doldrums? His answer is characteristically bullish. Creative industries are always under threat and technological advances are a challenge. But brilliant ideas are conjured from nothing; they can be irreverent and audacious and transform brands into something fresh and accessible.
His advice, including pitching to clients, marketing a brand, starting a new agency, and keeping your creative edge is generous and pithy, and will inspire a new generation of people in the creative business. Hegarty on Advertising is also laced with anecdotes about his campaigns. He describes selling theVolkswagon Beetle – a small car designed in Nazi Germany – to the Americans; how running a marathon won him the Boddingtons account; and why linking Vorsprung durch Technik to Audi changed our perception of a staid car.
His life changed dramatically when he joined Charles Saatchi’s new agency. This was an exhilirating period when the young upstarts aimed to change the face of advertising and succeeded. This prepared him for launching his own agency with John Bartle and Nigel Bogle without a single client or office, but boundless energy, their reputations and strong beliefs.
The restlessness, enthusiasm and penchant for irreverence still remains, but today John Hegarty has found a new passion at his vineyard in France. Branded with the familiar black sheep logo, his winemaking has turned him into a farmer, a chemist and a marketer competing with 50,000 other French vineyards. There lies another challenge, but one he relishes.
For more information on the book visit Hegarty’s website.
See a behind-the-scenes look at the themes in his book where Sir John Hegarty uses his own sketches to answer to questions.