Getting creative with promotions

The big cheeses at Abbott Mead Vickers.BBDO have tried for months to keep schtum about chief executive Andrew Robertson being lined up for a big BBDO job in the Big Apple. Unfortunately, no one told the apparently psychic creative department.

By coincidence, the creative team managed to foresee a change in senior management at the agency when it developed a new ad campaign for client Business Pages. The team inadvertently promoted the agency’s vice-chairman Graham Brown to the position of chief executive, in a bid to emphasise the indispensability of Business Pages around the office.

Brown says: “I do indeed have a Business Pages in my office, and using my name was a typical piece of creative-department mischief. However, to put the record straight my promotion to chief executive was a complete surprise and, sadly, only temporary.”

His promotion, the Diary has been assured, was only for the purposes of the ad campaign. It’s “business as usual” at the ad agency, where Robertson will stay for a couple of months more.

On Robertson’s departure, chairman Michael Baulk will take over his role until a permanent replacement is found.