Vale Brian Jones
Brian Jones, well-known in the Perth advertising industry through the 80s, has passed away this week.
Jones’ friend and former colleague Vaughan Sutherland paid this tribute:
Brian Jones – known as BeeJay to his many clients and mates – passed away earlier in the week. He was a dear mate and mentor of mine, with one of the sharpest marketing strategy brains I’ve encountered in my life in advertising.
He was a marketing manager at Bunnings in its early development years, then at Burswood Hotel and Casino before moving into advertising with a key Account Director role at Marketforce through the halcyon 80s. He became the brains and boundless enthusiasm behind their America’s Cup campaign for Bondie and Royal Perth Yacht Club, following Australia II’s historic Rhode Island win.
Following that he was a senior Account Director at McCann Erickson, where he ruled the roost on the Chicken Treat account (amongst others) before big Kevin Leavy, Peter Woods and I enticed him to fly the coop and join us at the fledgling Shout, where he quickly settled into the Strategy Director’s role. Nobody researched and 
wrote a strategy document like Brian.
With BeeJay’s talent and charm we were soon able to lure Chicken Treat in Perth along with Big Rooster in Queensland – a huge chunk of business back then. Brian shifted to Brissy to set up our Queensland office and manage the chicken business while building the new agency there.
Later, when Shout was sold to Clemenger, BeeJay returned to Perth and joined the ‘family business’, Happs Wines in Margaret River. There he shared and applied his marketing and business knowledge and talent to great effect until retiring just a couple of years back (though still tinkering).
He’ll be sadly missed but fondly remembered by the legion of friends and business colleagues he touched, helped, challenged and inspired over his lifetime.
1 Comment
One of the best account directors to ever work in Perth. Vaughan has recalled some pivotal episodes in marketing here and BJ was in the thick of them. Chicken Treat was a local brand that took on the national might of Red Rooster and gave them a bloody good run for their money, thanks in no small part to BJ’s guidance. RIP.