End of an era as JWT Sydney assumes operations of The Campaign Palace as of July 1 – Palace Melbourne staff absorbed into Y&R Group
JWT Australia has taken over operations of fellow WPP agency The Campaign Palace – ending, up until recently, a mostly glorious 40 year era for the Palace.
All existing staff and clients will be moving into the JWT Sydney office from July 1 – but the Palace name will cease to exist – at least for near future.
The Campaign Palace Melbourne-based staff have been integrated into the Y&R Group in Collins Street.
Current Palace national ECD Reed Collins (below left) will continue to work for Palace clients and JWT Sydney’s Mark Harricks (left) will continue to lead the creative team at JWT as executive creative director.
Says John Gutteridge, CEO of JWT Australia New Zealand: “This move is designed to give Palace clients and staff the benefit of added resources to continue to deliver the exceptional work and results that the Palace has long been renowned for.
“There was a need for greater resources to be available to Palace operations and with no conflicting clients, moving into JWT makes perfect sense. We have nothing but respect and admiration for the role the Palace has played over the years in shaping the Australian advertising landscape and we are very much looking forward to working with both their clients and staff.”
However, The Campaign Palace name will not continue to be used at this stage says Gutteridge: “A great deal of consideration needs to be given to what is one of the industry’s most iconic agencies, so while The Campaign Palace name will not be used at this stage, this may change in the future.”
Accounts moving to JWT include Bayer, Panasonic, and Smartraveller.
48 Comments
How do you turn a great brand into a non-existent one?
Get WPP to buy it.
Vale TCP.
What a sad day. Very sad day.
Sad day.
Fitzroy?
The Palace stopped being The Palace a decade ago.
They were once a great Australian agency. But others have come in and taken their place.
This is the way the world works. The Palace came in, shook things up, did great work, set the standard, and probably caused more than a few lesser Aussie agencies to shut their doors.
Then a generation later, other agencies come in, shake things up, do great work, set the new standard, and the older agencies like the Palace fall by the wayside, and shut their doors.
Constant change, constant improvement. One day, the Monkeys will cease to exist too.
Very sad indeed.
Not with a bang but a whimper!
Evolution is so right.
Death by a thousand cuts meets gang rape in slow motion.
And Russel said….?
More than most other businesses, an ad agency is built on personalities and talent.
Which means that, when the founders of an agency leave, it’s no longer the same company.
This is less of a problem in a proud old house like DDB NY, where the next generation is trained up by the previous generation. Because then you obviously have some continuity.
But it’s retarded the think that an agency will keep on trucking as though nothing’s happened when a big company buys it out and all of the original talent leaves.
People are the agency. The name on the building means less than nothing.
I’m sad that the Palace is gone. But Evolution makes a very good point. It’s survival of the fittest.
They died when they won 3 telecommunications. The place changed and it never made a recovery.
Monkeys aren’t what The Palace was.
I grew up at The Palace in it’s best years.
Taught me how good things can be.
Once a high bar has been set, nothing else compares.
Even The Monkeys.
It’ll could even happen to the mighty Clems one day. It only takes a few wrong turns, no one is on top forever.
A tragedy is every respect
It is too easy to blame WPP.
The CEO has a lot to answer for as a company is only as strong as its leader.
Unfortunately he most likely left with a big payout he doesn’t deserve.
At least we’ll be spared from seeing any more of TCP’s horrible death agony. I’m hoping these end days will soon be forgotten and the Palace can be remembered for what it was. Because it was really something.
Why no comment from Y&R Brands? They’ve run it for five years and now closed it – surely worth at least one quote from their CEO?
R.I.W.P.P
The interesting thing that nobody will talk about, is that it is actually all about the people. And the combination of people. Thats what made the Palace great. Thats what makes the Monkeys great, Saatchis great 10 years ago, Clems Melb great.
It is the people. When you don’t have them, or don’t invest in them, or inspire them, they leave. And the holding company is left to sweep up the husk, and lament the fact that it used to be great…
Get the right combination, and it would have worked. They just didn’t get the right combination.
Vale a great place.
The best 20 years of my advertising life was spent at The Palace. Pity i can’t remember any of it. Farewell old friend.
Sad day. Good times
Rocky will be turning in his grave
Rocky,
I think you managed 3 wives during your time there if thats of any help.
TCP, Sydney was number 4 on the CB creative list.
Didn’t seem to help them.
Rocky you make me laugh!!!
The decision to shaft Jacques and hire Mark to saveTarget worked out well then
Absolutely right. Once you let showponies, bullies and pretenders into your organisation the genuinely nice ones leave.
And the nice ones are usually the talented ones.
Of course natural attrition is inevitable, but that doesn’t make it any less tragic. Farewell Palace.
And on a side note, perhaps controversially, BMF take note. (I’m betting the Palace never thought this day would come either.)
But what of The Campaign Palace Jakarta!?
The Palace was a true icon – like Hendrix, Joplin, Cobain, Morrison etc.
However, unlike these artists, it failed to die in its prime.
That would be JWT’s first bit of new business in two tears wouldn’t it?
Seems they went to sleep following the departures of Dilalo, Benjamin and Magnus.
It’s not sad.
It’s not the end of an era.
The Campaign Palace stopped being The Campaign Palace a long time ago.
For the past decade and a half, it was nothing more than a name on a letter head. I worked there and it was shit. They treated people like shit, and they were political up the yin yang.
So no, it’s not sad. Fuck the Palace, may it rest in peace.
From what i was told the palace Jakarta was opened to service a client that was in conflict with a y&r client in the region. Only reason it started up and as per the pr above saying ihe name may be used here in the future, this will be the only reason, for a conflict client within the WPP group.
@ No it isn’t
I worked there too. I agree, fuck them for being political animals. It started when the last of the good bunch left. I’m sad for the Palace pre 2004. It’s been a hell whole ever since.
WPP – when are you going to learn? WHEN. SORRELLLLLLLL
treat people nicely – that’s the best and only business plan.
They couldn’t have ended up in a worse place. Very sad.
Sad day, I think you might be right about BMF.
I hope the boat hasn’t already floated – a lot of the people that made it great are no longer there.
From what i was told the palace Jakarta was opened to service a client that was in conflict with a y&r client in the region. Only reason it started up and as per the pr above saying ihe name may be used here in the future, this will be the only reason, for a conflict client within the WPP group.
Given the amazing history of the Palace why feature a shot of a newish JWT guy in the obituaries?
Surely there are some great shots from the golden era around?
Stop being so dramatic, you people have been watching too much daytime TV. Every agency has it’s day, that’s the way it goes, always has. Enjoy the good stuff when it’s around and quit whinging. There’s plenty of other agencies apart from BMF who are also on very shaky ground. M&C were copping it until they started picking up heaps of business. No use in hanging on to the great advertising legacies of the past, move forward.
Does anyone know if the Melbourne creative directors retained their titles and a place in the patt’s department?
@Andrew… I have a bucket load of oldie photo’s. In fact I created a DVD for the re-union I put together 5 years or so ago… I feel a Youtube upload coming on…
@get over it said… you obviously never worked there… shame, you would have liked it.
Didn’t someone make a promise to Martin Sorrell at last year’s Cannes he would double the Y&R business. I bet Marty is not happy he’s actually halved it and destroyed an iconic brand on his way. Wonder how long he’s there for?
Hey Rocky, where’s the wake? Be nice to have one final memory that we can’t remember.
A wake is def. in order. Where? When? It would be sad not to mark the passing of such a great institution without raising a glass.
Where is that bloke Angus Henna? I thought he was the ECD of JWT.
I thought it had gone a long time ago.
It never recovered from the loss of Donna.