30 from 30. The people who have helped shape the industry and Campaign Brief: Richard Clarke
For Campaign Brief WA’s 30th anniversary, over the thirty days of June we’re looking back on 30 people who helped shape the industry and us.
Our first mention of Richard Clarke was in our December 17, 1984 edition, in a small story about several new hires at Marketforce: “Richard Clarke, ex Langoulant Needham, joins as a senior writer.”
Little did we know what a major figure Clarke would become within the industry and especially, within the pages of Campaign Brief.
Seems he didn’t stay long at Marketforce because the next mention was less than two years later, when “Two of Perth’s most respected freelancers” (!), Russell Bowtell and Richard Clarke joined up to form Bowtell Clarke Advertising.
The agency was instantly on the radar with a prolific output of smart work, particularly press. Bowtell’s art direction with its distinctive open leading made Clarke’s words leap off the page and together they made their small clients seem much larger.
In April 1988 JMAO&M account director Paul Yole joined the duo to create Bowtell Clarke & Yole – BCY. It was the small agency that punched well above its weight and kept Perth’s bigger agencies on their toes. Clarke loved nothing more than beating the big boys for an account.
In the 90s it was Clarke’s determination that kept the agency together and in fact thriving following the departures of Bowtell and Yole.
In 1996, the ‘IQ Test’ press ad he wrote for the West Coast Eagles won Best of Year at the Campaign Brief Awards and The West Australian Fellowship at the PADCs. It is a classic example of his style.
While he didn’t ever write a column as such for us, Clarke was a regular contributor through the My View creative review section and other articles. His withering wit became the scourge of everyone in town. Agencies held their collective breath each time CB was published lest they be the subject of a Clarke piece. He was brave, brutally honest and – as long as you weren’t the subject – bloody funny!
The most famous case was around a big-budget TVC for Burswood Resort Casino by Shorter & Partners in 1996.
Shorters’ CD Ric Cairns wrote an extended and actually pretty good story about the mega-production, which had its fair share of challenges.
Nevertheless, Clarke was unimpressed and sent us a long letter of review, which finished: “The odd, two-full page mix of mock triumphs and excuses for a lot of pretty ordinary looking but extraordinarily expensive shots was insufferable. A simple two or three line apology would have been more appropriate.” Ouch!
Clarke’s last piece for us was an equally withering review of the WA ‘Confidence’ campaign in 2009.
And that’s typical of Clarke – speaking out bravely on issues that others may grumble and gossip about but not dare go on the record. As a consequence, he has certainly upset a few people over the years but to his eternal credit, has always put his name to his opinions. Never for him the risk-free safety of ‘Anonymous’.
Because of his written views, people who don’t know Clarke are apt to form a misguided opinion of him, but as those who have worked with him will attest, he is one of the most decent people in the business. Scrupulously honest, he has always been dismayed by the less than ethical business practices that are often part of the industry, and is devoted to his clients and to his staff.
The merger with Gatecrasher last year saw the BC+Y name disappear from the list of Perth agencies but Clarke’s legacy lives on. He was the industry’s #1 agent provocateur in Campaign Brief’s formative years and we owe him much.
And what an appropriate day to acknowledge his immense contribution to our history – his 57th birthday. Many Happy Returns, Richard!
5 Comments
So that’s how old you are… thanks CB. Congratulations on the well deserved recognition Richard and Happy Birthday!
For me ‘personally’… A highlight of Richard’s ‘creativity’ will always be the ‘Squash Ball Campaign’ which well and truly engaged with the target audience!!! He really left his mark for all to see and I will personally always remember it! I have also never seen Richard so shocked at the outcome of such a targeted campaign! 🙂
I would also like to say a huge thanks to Richard for 6 fabulous years in his employ at BCY and the opportunity to learn so much from him, the other Directors and staff!
Miss those days! And being the tabs BCY table soccer champion!!! LOL 🙂
Thank you, CB.
You’re very welcome.
CB has been brave enough to publish the majority of my occasional naive efforts to make the industry more professional (better at paying its suppliers’ bills on time, for example) and less likely to feature just below paedophiles and prisoners on the list of ‘Most trusted and respected persons in the community’.
Your brief overview had one major factual error ; I was never a freelancer – At the time I joined Russell Bowtell, in September 1986, I was CD and head of practical joking at DBMB&B.
Much has changed dramatically since then but, fortunately, CB has not (although there are generally fewer typos than there used to be when Kim was learning to write and before spellchecking’s made his still creaky dictionary obsolete).
Kim- how could any dedication to Richard not mention the Campaign Brief party invitations that were, in the early days, created for you by Richard and Russell? The “Fuck off, Harvey” CB party was the first industry event I ever attended and the invitation was, as I recall, a pure gold piece of writing!
Are you sure you weren’t a freelancer, Richard? I mean, we wouldn’t have just made it up!
Oops – hang on. Just found the (mis-filed) August 26, 1985 issue:
“Two of Perth’s big name copywriters, Richard Clarke and Lindsay Medalia, are on the move. Clarke moves out of Marketforce to DMM [later DMB&B] and Medalia moves from JMA to Marketforce. Clarke had been at Marketforce for less than a year and was previously at Langoulant Needham. When contacted, both Clarke and Medalia preferred not to comment on the moves at present.”