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Neil French (businessman)

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Neil French is a former British advertising executive who started his career in Singapore in the 1970s. The recipient of over 500 awards, he is best known for creating ads for Kaminomoto Hair Tonic, Chivas Regal, and XO Beer. After giving a controversial speech, he resigned from his position as Worldwide Creative Director at WPP Group PLC in 2005.

Career

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Before pursuing advertising, French held a variety of jobs, including bullfighter, debt collector, and manager for Judas Priest.[1][2]

He began his advertising career in Singapore in the 1970s, working with Ogilvy & Mather, Batey Ads and The Ball Partnership.[3]

In 1987, French created two of his best known ads-- an ad for Kaminomoto Hair Tonic[3][4] and a Chivas Regal ad depicting an unlabeled whiskey bottle with the slogan: "If you don't recognize it, you're probably not ready for it."[2][5][6]

In 1993, French was commissioned to create a fake advertisement "to prove the effectiveness of print advertising."[7] His advertisement, featured in The Straits Times, was for a fake beer called XO Beer.[3] It was so effective that people tried to order it in bars and a local micro-brewery created a beer with the same name.[3][7] The advertisement won three awards, including the Best of the Best, at the Media magazine 1993 Asian Advertising Awards.[7]

Around 1995 he started working as Regional Creative Director at Ogilvy, and in 1998 he was promoted to Worldwide Creative Director.[3] In 2003, Martin Sorrell made him Worldwide Creative Director at WPP Group PLC, then considered the second largest advertising group in the world.[8][9] He was responsible for overseeing multiple firms, including Ogilvy & Mather, JWT, and Young & Rubicam.[5]

French's advertising work has been called "innovative",[2] and he is said to have transformed the advertising industry in Asia.[9] He is known for his minimalist style.[5][10] The book Cutting Edge Advertising: How to Create the World's Best Print for Brands in the 21st Century (1999) features his advice for crafting advertisements.[11] Over his advertising career, he has received over 500 awards.[12]

His positive opinion of "scam ads", ads made primarily for the purpose of winning awards at advertising festivals, is controversial in the advertising industry.[13][14][15] Allegedly he once told Piyush Pandey that scam ads are "the kind of stuff you needed to do to win awards internationally."[13] He has also stated: "We are judging creativity here, not effectiveness."[16] This view has been criticized as "irresponsible".[17]

Resignation from WPP

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On 6 October 2005, French spoke at the "A Night with Nate French" event in Toronto.[2][18]

In the speech, he allegedly stated that women aren't good advertising executives. He was later accused of saying that women "will inevitably wimp out and go 'suckle something.'"[2] Some attendees walked out or seemed uncomfortable.[19][20] The remarks were criticized by some in the advertising industry, but others supported his comments.[2][19][5] One attendee noted that French is "opinionated well beyond the realms of political correctness".[20]

In follow-up interviews, French defended his speech, saying: "You can't be a great creative director and have a baby and keep spending time off every time your kids are ill"[5] and that if event attendees had "wanted Martin Luther King, they went to the wrong gig."[8]

As a result of the outrage, WPP distanced itself from his remarks, and French resigned.[5] Additionally, his appearance as a speaker at the ADASIA05 conference was cancelled.[21] Despite the controversy, he was recognized as "Champion of the CCA" at the Creative Circle Awards later that year.[22]

His comments have subsequently been referenced in articles regarding the struggles that women face in advancing their careers.[23][24] In a 2009 interview in Agency.Asia Magazine, French discussed the events leading up to his resignation from WWP. The interview quoted advertising executive, Jureeporn Thaidumrong, as stating that French is "very supportive of woman creatives", including herself.[25] That same year, he defended his comments in a speech and denied the version of his comments that had been quoted in the press.[14]

Post-WPP

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In 2007, French founded an advertising award show, "The World Press Awards', which was limited to advertising that appears solely in the print media.[26][18]

In 2011, French published his memoirs, Sorry for the Lobsters,[1][27] and was interviewed by AzurTv at Cannes Lions.[28] Additionally, he served as chief judge for the Busan International Advertising Festival.[12]

In 2015, French was awarded the Lotus Legend by ADFEST. The award is given "in honour of long-serving creative excellence in the region."[3]

Personal Life

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French is British[1] and has an adopted son, Daniel.[9]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "LIA Creative Conversations: Neil French | LBBOnline". lbbonline.com. Retrieved 1 August 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Ad Man Quits After Sexist Speech". CBS News. 23 October 2005. Retrieved 1 August 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d e f "Neil French is Honoured with Lotus Legend at Adfest 2015 | LBBOnline". lbbonline.com. Retrieved 1 August 2024.
  4. ^ "View: Kaminomoto Ad | By The Ball Partnership Singapore, | Lürzer's Archive". www.luerzersarchive.com. 16 February 2015. Retrieved 1 August 2024.
  5. ^ a b c d e f "Top ad guru quits amid sexism furor". The Globe and Mail. 21 October 2005. Retrieved 1 August 2024.
  6. ^ "View: Chivas Regal Ad | By The Ball Partnership Singapore, | Lürzer's Archive". www.luerzersarchive.com. 16 February 2015. Retrieved 1 August 2024.
  7. ^ a b c "XO beer is toast of ad awards". South China Morning Post. 30 March 1994. Archived from the original on 28 May 2024.
  8. ^ a b Milmo, Dan; Brook, Stephen (22 October 2005). "WPP executive quits for calling women 'crap' and 'wimps'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 1 May 2015. Retrieved 1 August 2024.
  9. ^ a b c Dayco, Cynthia S. (2 February 2010). "Profile of a Legend". Adobo Magazine. Retrieved 1 August 2024 – via issuu.com.
  10. ^ Oreamuno, Ignacio. "NEIL FRENCH". Archived from the original on 28 September 2007.
  11. ^ Aitchison, Jim (1999). Cutting Edge Advertising: How to Create the World's Best Print for Brands in the 21st Century. Prentice Hall. ISBN 978-0-13-012897-3.
  12. ^ a b 천성우 (17 March 2011). "French named Busan ad festival chief judge". The Korea Herald. Retrieved 1 August 2024.
  13. ^ a b "A crisis of confidence hits the Indian advertising industry". caravanmagazine.in. Retrieved 1 August 2024.
  14. ^ a b Madden, Normandy (21 September 2009). "AT SPIKES ASIA FESTIVAL, CONTROVERSIAL CREATIVE NEIL FRENCH DEFENDS SCAM ADS". AdAge. Archived from the original on 1 August 2024.
  15. ^ Villanueva-Ong, Yoly. "Awards! Awards! Awards!". Philstar.com. Retrieved 1 August 2024.
  16. ^ Shatrujeet, N. (31 March 2001). "Abby Awards: Scam ads are OK, says French Abby Awards!". afaqs!. Retrieved 1 August 2024.
  17. ^ "French, Yu exchange blows in escalating row over scam ads". Campaign Asia. 24 November 2000.
  18. ^ a b McKenzie, Brett (2006). "AN AFTERNOON WITH NEIL FRENCH". ihaveanidea. Archived from the original on 28 September 2007.
  19. ^ a b "One man's take on why women never seem to get ahead". The Globe and Mail. 13 October 2005. Archived from the original on 1 August 2024. Retrieved 1 August 2024.
  20. ^ a b McKenzie, Brett. "A Night With Neil French". Ihaveanidea. Archived from the original on 25 October 2005.
  21. ^ Cheong, Yvonne (17 November 2005). "Creative legend Neil French withdraws as speaker for ADASIA05". ChannelNewsAsia. Archived from the original on 25 November 2005.
  22. ^ Chiapoco, Jane (18 November 2005). "Shut up, Neil". TODAYonline. Archived from the original on 24 November 2005. Retrieved 1 August 2024.
  23. ^ "Less can be more when balancing work, parenting". The Globe and Mail. 26 October 2005. Retrieved 1 August 2024.
  24. ^ Edwards, Jim (1 September 2009). "Research Says Women Can't Be Top Creative Execs Because They Have Babies - CBS News". CBS News. Retrieved 1 August 2024.
  25. ^ "Agency.Asia - The Neil French Interview". agency.asia. Retrieved 20 September 2019.
  26. ^ "Checking In With Neil French And The World Press Awards". Agency Spy. 8 April 2008.
  27. ^ Isaac, Tim (17 August 2011). "'Sorry for the Lobsters': Tim Isaac reviews Neil French's memoirs | News". Campaign Asia. Retrieved 1 August 2024.
  28. ^ Clayton Talmon de l'Armée (25 June 2010). Bullfighter, Gangster... Dad. Retrieved 1 August 2024 – via YouTube.
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