It was difficult to suppress a snigger - let alone a belly-laugh - on hearing that the former Channel 4 chief executive, Andy Duncan, had been hired by car dealership group HR Owen.
Small-minded snobbery aside, the amusement is not solely derived from the seeming lack of glamour and influence as elements in his new job running the car firm - even though, with its focus on prestige marques and supercars, HR Owen is not exactly Arthur Daley Motors. Nor is it just the discrepancy between his old, superannuated media remuneration package and new chalk-face, commercially realistic salary.
It is also down to the fact that Duncan, the classically trained FMCG marketer who shocked the TV world when he moved from being an effective marketer at the BBC to become what proved to be a less than brilliant media visionary at Channel 4, has again provided us with an emotion that is often all too lacking in the media industry - surprise.
The appointment of the famously hands-on Duncan at Channel 4 caused many observers to choke on their morning corn flakes.
Now, as he rolls up his sleeves and, metaphorically speaking, reaches for the chamois leather and can of T-Cut in his new job, it is entirely likely that deep down, and despite his inherently positive and genial nature, Duncan must also be feeling emotions akin to regret.
Whether in fairness or not, it is certain that Channel 4 historians won't be kind to Duncan. While the broadcaster achieved much during his tenure, such as the launch of the UK's first terrestrial time-shifted channel and the first UK internet TV service, they were too often just that - firsts. There wasn't really a coherent strategy, more an overwhelming desire within the organisation to beat everyone else to the line, regardless of whether it was the right thing to do.
Being prime mover is a powerful attribute for any brand to possess, but this principle, which was perhaps drummed into Duncan a little too firmly during his time at Unilever, proved superfluous at a publicly owned, public-service broadcaster.
It is unlikely that Duncan will care too much about history's judgment - after all, one of his finest qualities is his lack of vanity - but any sense of regret must have been exacerbated had he allowed himself a glance at Sky's annual report, published last week.
It revealed that, in a year when even the toughest marketer will have had to accept that the economic climate meant that a cut in budget would be forthcoming, Sky's top marketer, the little-known Andrea Zappia, managed to get approval from his colleagues to hike its marketing spend by nearly 20% to an eye-watering £1.1bn. The result of this speaks for itself: Sky produced double-digit growth in revenue, operating profit, cash flow and earnings.
BSkyB needed to spend this money. A significant slug of the £211m increase in investment was taken up by the hardware subsidy that Sky pays for each new subscriber. In a year when distributing as many HD and 3D-ready boxes as possible was key to its commercial future, this was a necessary 'first' for Sky.
With a business based entirely on subscription, and therefore customer satisfaction, Sky has to be pioneering in a way that Channel 4 has not. Even though it is not run by a marketer, Sky clearly has a much more incisive understanding of the discipline's principles than some observers give it credit for.
Jeremy Lee is associate editor of Marketing. Read his blog at marketingmagazine.co.uk
30 SECONDS ON ... HR OWEN
- HR Owen is a luxury and prestige car dealership group based in London.
- The company was founded by Captain Harold Rolfe Owen, who opened a showroom in Berkeley Street, Mayfair, in 1932. Over the next few years, the dealership became closely associated with Rolls-Royce and Bentley. However, despite its success, the showroom closed its doors in 1939 for the duration of World War II. Owen died in 1940, at the age of 41.
- In 1946, Fritz Swain, a Yorkshire businessman, acquired the business and reopened in Mayfair with 40 cars. Over the succeeding years, the company flourished, opening showrooms in areas such as Kensington.
- HR Owen now has several dealerships specialising in particular manufacturers, such as Lamborghini Manchester, an Alfa Romeo specialist in Chelsea and its Jack Barclay showroom in Mayfair, many acquired since the company was taken over by Malaya Group in 1994. It became the world's biggest Bugatti dealer in 2008.