30 from 30. The people who have helped shape the industry and Campaign Brief: Ric Cairns

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.

Ric Cairns was an established announcer at the all-conquering 96fm when he decided to give advertising a crack around 1988. He spent some time at AdLinkDDB, freelanced for a while and then in 1991 joined FCB Shorter – the agency he was to become synonymous with.

Cairns was a key member of the agency’s creative department during its heyday and he won the PADC The West Australian Fellowship two years running, in 1992 and ‘93 – both times with ads for shoe retailer Perrini.

He took a short break from the industry around 1994 but returned to Shorters as Creative Director in 1995, and set about helping rebuild the agency after a disastrous merger with JMAO&M had taken a toll.

It was a gutsy move and speaks volumes for Cairns’ loyalty to Bruce & Debra Shorter. Under his leadership, the agency produced some excellent work like ‘The Cows Are Loose’ for Masters, and stylish executions for Burswood Resort Casino.

He made the move to Marketforce in 2002 when The Shorter Group integrated with that agency and spent nearly ten years there. His ‘Real Thing’ campaign for Tourism WA was a highlight. He finished there in May 2011 and has very successfully established his own consultancy, Brandino.

Cairns has always been a great contributor to Campaign Brief. His regular ‘Letter from Cairns’ columns in the early 90s were wide-ranging, well-researched ruminations on the art and business of advertising.

Twenty years on, we still call on Cairns. As one of the industry’s most erudite practitioners and commentators, we know we can throw big, complex issues at him and he’ll give us a well reasoned, thorough response.

And when we needed someone to do the voice-over for our awards presentation reel this year, well, there was really only one choice. Of course, he did a brilliant job on that, too.

But perhaps more than anything else, Cairns’ enduring legacy will be his time as President of the PADC, when it put on the show that people still talk about – the 2001 extravaganza at Subiaco Oval (with host Dave Hughes arriving by helicopter!). It was an over-the-top, hugely expensive and indulgent affair but God it was exciting. The following year’s ‘PADC: The Musical’ at the Perth Concert Hall was almost as lavish.

Those shows made everyone who went feel like they were part of something very special, and for that we say thanks for the memories, Ric.

FCB Shorter creatives in 1991 (LtoR) John Ilian, Wayne Vinten, Simon McQuoid, Ric Cairns.