For some strange reason, I have only just found out that Brian Palmer died at the age of 96 on December 7th of last year. I found no record of this in most of the ad trades, yet Brian was surely one of the most iconic influencers of British advertising ever. He certainly changed my life back in the sixties when I was a junior, snot-nosed, art director at Y&R London, and he was head of TV. (He created Britain’s first TV commercial for Gibbs SR toothpaste.)
Arriving in my office one evening he asked who had written the copy on the layouts I had pinned to the wall for an anti-dandruff shampoo account. “I did,” I replied. “Then you should become a copywriter,” he said. “You’ll make more money.” So, taking his advice, I left Y&R and conned my way into a writer’s job in New York, Brian left Y&R and founded Kingsley, Manton & Palmer. One of the great British agencies (famous White Horse campaign below.). I am sure my ending will be as happy as his. Cheers Brian!
