When did you last see a cross track poster that, well, stopped you in your tracks? In my case it was a week ago today, at Victoria Underground station. There, amid the display of mediocre 16 sheet posters that adorns the far wall of the Northbound Victoria line platform was one poster that immediately caught my eye. It was for The London Diabetes Centre. Its appearance was couth and sophisticated, its headline informative, yet intriguing, and its copy beautifully written. Unusually, for the Victoria Line, there was a long interval before the next train was due to arrive. So I positioned myself opposite the poster and read it from top to bottom, three times, in fact, before my train turned up.
During my short journey I thought more about the poster. There was something awfully familiar about the way it was structured. Then, somewhere in the back of my mind, I remembered that an old colleague and friend of mine, Adrian Holmes, had told me that he’d been working on a medical project with another old colleague and friend, John O’Driscoll. Could they be the creators of this wonderful piece of advertising? I decided that it was highly likely. So I texted Adrian and asked him. The answer was affirmative.
I have since spoken to Adrian about the campaign – yes there’s more than one ad (below) – and he told me that his and John’s client is David McLaren, who like Adrian and John is an old Collett’s hand. That is to say, they all at one time worked at D&AD’s most awarded agency, Collett, Dickenson Pearce. Sadly, CDP no longer exists. But its spirit lives on, not least in this campaign for The London Diabetes Centre. Keep an eye open for it. It’s certainly worth a read – or three.
Mike Everett is a partner at Anatomised.
