MAA’s Paul Simons 1948-2020

I grew up in a Worcestershire backwater but I had the good fortune to know a few bigger thinkers such as John Bonham of Led Zeppelin fame who was the drummer in my first band when we were both 15. John and I had the dream of life outside our backwater. He did his version and I did mine. The day I arrived at Abbey Road studios aged 18 for a recording session was a significant, hugely influential experience. On day one we were in studio 2 where The Beatles equipment was stacked against the studio wall. They were in after us working on Sgt Pepper.

I decided there and then I wanted part of this world, not necessarily as a musician, mainly because I didn’t think I was ever going to be an outstanding one.

I have always believed there is a natural link between musicians and the advertising world for several reasons. One is the respect for creative talent. Another is the structure of the strong band, just like the strong ad agency, a team playing in harmony, each with their own talents, the whole greater than the sum of the parts.

Clock wipe 18 years and I joined a punk advertising agency called Gold Greenlees Trott. They and BBH, WCRS, AMV, Lowes Howard-Spink et al were the cool indies of the ’80’s. GGT was the edgy one.

Dave Trott (left) was the soul of the place and was both a great teacher and great practitioner. He had a fearsome reputation, didn’t suffer fools gladly, wasn’t bothered about being liked or otherwise. There are many stories about Dave such as banning certain account men from the creative floor, wearing dark glasses in his office (he did suffer from an eye condition but it still made him look scary), and the creative department to a man wouldn’t leave the building until after Dave had left, often quite late in the evening.

My hiring was a big move for the agency, I was the first outsider to join the board with equity, and I was clearly not the obvious casting for a place that was more Sex Pistols than Sinatra. The first four months or so were not easy, I felt I was being tested all the time.

I could see and understand Dave’s personality, trying to lay the golden eggs but often surrounded by verbosity and ambiguity. He would verbally cut account men and planners to shreds if he thought their brief was rubbish. If he refused to sign off a brief no creative work could begin.
Dave was, and is, a man in the street strategist and writer. He would ask basic questions such as “do they want market growth or increased market share?” Such a basic question that most people couldn’t answer it but crucial as it affects the proposition significantly. His prodding always improved the quality and focus of briefs. It was very very rare for creative proposals to be rejected by a client as a consequence of this early attention to detail.

Much of the output of GGT blended the brand name seamlessly to the proposition: “Hello Tosh Gotta Toshiba,” “Designed well, Built well, Honeywell,” “Ariston and on and on,” “More reasons to shop at Morrison’s” etc. I always felt you could tell a TV spot from GGT a mile off.

I believe Dave’s pursuit of clarity, eliminating ambiguity, stripping tasks down to their bare bones taught a wide range of people to raise the bar on delivery – planners, account men, or creative teams – and without doubt influenced Simon Clemmow, Carl Johnson and me when we left the nest and started our own enterprise.

Dave’s personality, rigour and standards haven’t made him the easiest person to work with for a lot of people but my experience was a good one and I will be eternally grateful for his influence, advice and example. GGT was a tough work place in many ways but I can honestly say I thoroughly enjoyed 95 per cent of my time there – and working with Dave gave me the confidence to trust my instincts.