After a year’s sabbatical (in print) and having missed you more than we thought possible (seemingly eternal dinners with Kitcatt Nohr notwithstanding), Diary is back to provide you with the inside track, the gossip and the lighter (and darker) side of the, er, colourful characters of adland. We’ll be following your every move – and, just think, only 18 weeks until Cannes.
David Jones is getting down with the kids
First to David Jones (pictured above), the former chief executive of Havas, who stepped down to pursue a career in socially responsible social media. Or something. The impeccably dressed and middle-aged English gent has clearly traded in his tweedy wardrobe to fit in with the cool kids and was recently seen sporting a hoodie. Given his affinity with good causes (which he doesn't like to talk about), we are grateful that he didn't also sport a wimple and a pair of Bono sunglasses.
Take that, Hollywood
Tim Bleakley, the chief executive of Ocean Outdoor, is flushed with success after a two-year battle that saw the outdoor minnow taking on the Hollywood legal sharks in a battle over naming rights. The Saul Zaentz Company, which represents the intellectual property rights for JRR Tolkien, came after Ocean after the media owner named two of its sites The Two Towers West and The Two Towers East, which Zaentz claimed infringed its rights. In scenes reminiscent of a naff Hollywood TV movie, the plucky Bleakley donned a wig and represented the company himself. After a hearing in October and a further legal challenge by Zaentz, the Intellectual Property Office ruled the case in Ocean’s favour. Cue courtroom of people whooping and applauding and Bleakley punching the air.
A painting is worth a thousand words
And it wouldn’t be Diary if there wasn’t a mention of agency do-gooding. And, this time, full credit to the DLKW Lowe art director Andrew Leek, who launched a blank canvas on eBay with a promise to paint the auction winner wherever they were in the world. The prize went to a cancer sufferer in Las Vegas and Leek is using donated air miles to visit and paint her, with all the money raised going towards Compton Hospice. Good works, as someone once said.