DDB SYDNEY SNARES SIMON JOHNSON
January 17 2006, 1:01 pm | | 32 Comments
Art director Simon Johnson has joined DDB Sydney to partner Charlie Cook. Prior to that Johnson spent a year at Clemenger BBDO, Melbourne in 2004/5. Before coming to Australia, he had stints at Saatchi & Saatchi in Singapore, Hong Kong and London.
32 Comments
damn, what happened to the mojo auckland scam story? No offense Simon but watching a bunch of grown men attack their wounded prey is way more entertaining than your new job. Well done though.
No offense either, but what i am sick and tired of is the whole ‘scam/no scam’ controversies. Is just so early nineties man. It’s hard enough to get decent work out there as it is to keep whingeing and witch hunting about that shit. So what?, they had a go. What is really worrying is that apart from fine art direction, those ads said fuck all about sailing safety. Totally irrelevant, really. What do you think?
Well, see that’s the whole thing about scams. They only have to work for the agency, not the client or the ‘audience’. Of course they said fuck all about sailing safety, cos that’s not the point. The point is to win awards, get CB rankings points, get a better job, etc, etc. People who try to make a career out of shit like that should look at people who work their arses off at getting great work up for real-world clients (like CUB, Nike, Tooheys, etc) and hang their heads in shame.It’s ok for juniors who are honing their craft, to do the odd scammy ad for their mate’s brother’s smash repair shop, but to see senior people at good agencies wasting their time on agency-funded scams gives me the shits.Real work that’s seriously fucking good like the Big Ad does more for our industry (and all of us who care about it) than all the scams put together.And if you don’t agree with me I want you to know that I don’t work at Singo’s or any other shitty hack bottom-feeding agency either, so don’t fucking bother with the standard retort. You’ll have to try some new material.
We are of course taking for granted that the person saying they are the client actually is the client, not some Viagra-selling freak. If so, the posting of those ads won’t have done Mojo any favours at Axis or Award. But I imagine they have still been entered into all of the big shows coming up. Or would Mojo withdraw them now that they’ve been outed?
mojo auck are the scammiest fuckers since the mike o scamfest that was colenso a few years back. it’s fine to do some spec stuff for actual clients but consistently ripping off the ideas of juniors who are getting paid fuck all and putting your name on it is low, Karl.
I actually think that for scam ads they are actually quite average. The whole ‘children story’ scenario it’s been done to death from anti-drug campaigns in Singapore to English learning centres in Brazil…With a lot more wit and relevance, too. I wonder what Worthington thinks of all this…
May I take this moment to try and get this back to the real story at hand? Poor Simon will be feeling awfully left out.
Yet another expat scores a creative job in Australia. Where’s the story in that?
You’re all a bit bitter. Mojo Auckland also does outstanding TV for Bluebird (Grainwaves, Delisio), Burger Rings, Hallensteins and Glassons, to name a few. Hardly any scams in there. By the way, congrats Simon.
Jesus Christ…. I think Karl Fleet should be frog-marched out of this industry for that. It’s just not cricket. I just can’t believe that a senior creative would submit something that hasn’t run or been approved into Campaign Brief. I’m completely unimpressed to be honest and calls into question the integrity from an agency that ads have actually run. At least with most scam ads, we know that they have actually had authorisation from the client.
I smell a dirty one here….perhaps new agency DDB has something to do with it? Their animosity towards each other is well reported…It just doesn’t make any real sense. Very out of character for Mojo. Very weird. Let’s wait for the next Campaign Brief issue if they decide to publish it….
‘very out of character for mojo’??surely you jest. anyone remember the diet coke ad they did last year that was also in seen and noted. the one with the coke swirl forming a woman’s hips the chicks and the word ‘diet’ the start of her pubes. they had to pull it b/c client hadn’t authorised it. and who’s name was on that one? the list of mojo scams is as long as my tallywacker (if the list is typed vertically in 4 point helvetica)
“S.O.S S.OS ..help me, my reputation is sinking because of a campiagn for the royal NZ coastguard….”Is the that a real cry for help Mojo…or just something you made up?”
speaking of awards, is there a definitive list of worldwide awards, together with dates, anywhere on the web?
You’ve gotta hand it to Anonymous – he’s a prolific bugger. Changes his point of view a lot, though. I missed round one of the Karl Fleet drama, but to my half-informed eye it looks as if, despite the 8 million names attached to a piece of work, he-of-the-figure-skater’s-haircut is copping the lion’s share of the drubbing for it. So he’s done a scam ad. Why wouldn’t he? Rightly or wrongly, the industry rewards awards regardless of how you go about winning them. But before Anonymous acquires too much wood about marching him out of the industry on the basis of his scam ads, bear in mind it might be over the protestations of clients in charge of brands like Coke, Lift, CC’s, Burger Rings, Hallensteins and Glassons, for whom he’s done quite a body of outstanding work.
“Let him who is without sin among you cast the first stone”. Enough said.
Christ, Saatchis have a scam based cottage industry going on in the Rocks, don’t hear anyone banging on about them.
I like Simon. He’s filthy.
If he’s not, he will be once he starts working with Charlie “How old’s your mum” Cook.
I came to this site to read about a friend. Hey Simon congrats mate. And I eneded up reading all this trite. I really hope Nick Worthington doesn’t read this. Some of you guys are just embarrasing. That guy commands respect. He’s one of the best ever creatives to come out of the UK. The problem with our country is that we’re just obsessed with knocking people having a go. Dig deep guys. Most of our industry here does 12 weeks of Award school and suddenly they’re professionals. There’s a great book out there for all you “professionals”, It’s called Hey Whipple, Squeeze this. If you’ve read it, read it again. READ it and learn how to do some really good work, not the mediocre crap that I suspect you’ve been doing. Anyone who sits on this blog moaning and bitching isn’t working hard enough, you’re all “industry” wankers. Sorry that’s a little harsh. But for all the young fresh creatives out there, these guys are everything you don’t want to be. Spend your career reading books to learn the business and learn how to be brilliant. If David Droga can begin to turn around a bad mulit-national like Publicis, surely these pussies can do 1 truly great ad a year, just 1. They haven’t learnt that if you get rejected by a client five times that you can come up with the best ad you’ve ever written. The client usually turns around and says, there you go, you listened to what I was telling you and you’ve nailed it. Clients don’t want crap work they just don’t want what you in your sheltered little ad world want. They want something that has a consumer saying really nice things. There’s just so much crap on TV and in our magazines because these losers just give up. Die trying guys. Seriously. I don’t do scams. I never have and never will, I personally don’t think that’s why we’re here. But I will tell you this, those people that do, stay up all night writing and crafting their ads. I respect their drive and determination to succeed. Pick up some books, learn how to do a better job and just go and be dedicated to being brilliant. Then we can go to sites like this and read about the great piece of work you’ve done that wins at overseas award shows and sells a fuck load of product.
Word is CoastGuard 100% legit.Not a scam.DDB Auckland fucked up.Nice one Paul. You are such a nice guy to pull this type of shit.Lets hope no one ever does it to you.XXXXX
Lets hear ‘the word’ from the woman from the coast guard. And nothing else.
God, another self-righteous prophet of “whipple” giving a sermon on the mountain. I was exhausted half way through. Mate, it’s only a blog, get over it, save your writing talent for your ‘award winning’ ads and let the rest of us ‘industry wankers’ have a bit of a yarn. Repeat after me: ‘it’s only a blog, it’s only a blog, it’s only a blog’… Feel better now?
I need to go to the blog.
This is the story: It was taken off the CB Blog because it came to my attention that IT WAS APPROVED by the chief of NZ Coastguard. Someone at Publicis Mojo gently explained the situation to CB (no legal threats) and, confirming that fact, I decided it was best to take it off.
Get over it.Let’s do some fucking ads.We’re all wankers. We’re all cunts. And we’re all self-righteous, so lets do some killer creative.You know you want to!
If any of you are serious about doing great work, get on a plane and head for London. New York, Miami or( if you’re from scam friendly NZ) Amsterdam.The business culture here at the moment simply isn’t going to produce much great work in the next few years.Sure , its going to be tough getting a job at Fallons, BBH or CPB..but isn’t that the challenge. Back yourself and get on a plane..otherwise the height of your career will be at Furby’s level. A big , ok fat, fish in small pond too scared to risk anything to protect a somewhat dubious reputation.
If Australian’s were as good at their jobs as they continually tell everyone they are, there wouldn’t be any need to import ex-pats. Pack of whinging bloody sphincters.
Fuck doing ads, let’s fight – an all-in, three-way creative rumble between Aussies, Kiwis and Poms. That’ll sorts the men from the boys and the ladyboys. Let’s naked jelly sumo, you cunts
Yeah. Now we’re talking. There’s nowt like a spot of naked jelly sumoing to sort things out. Maybe AWARD could take note and include this as a part of their judging protocols.
Fucking Hell guys,Give Furby his dues, he’s always been enthusiastic about the business and consistently gets noticed internationally. He’s knocking out work from a tiny agency that most of us couldn’t be bothered to get out of our big fat cat agencies.All this bitching about people who at the very fucking least actually give a shit is the reason people fuck off in the first place.There’s too many talentless pricks and not enough Furby’s as far as I’m concerned.
Yeah, great point big guy..try and get it in the right spot. Always helps.