GPY&R boss: ‘Time to shake out old school advertising’

I don’t know these guys nor do I know anything about Steve Doherty. I’ve been in agencies where management change has been met with ‘whooping and cheering’. But contributing to a piece that dances on the grave of someone’s career makes me dislike them and more importantly, distrust them immensely.

Totally agree. Publicly rubbishing the character of someone who has given 20 years of loyalty shows a distinct lack of integrity on their part. Very sad state of affairs.

Tasteless. Tactless. And just an all round sh!t effort on this from GPY&R.

I worked at Y&R 10 years ago with Steve. He was a good bloke then and I assume this has not changed. Irrespective, with 20 years under his belt, Steve does not deserve send off like this.

I was a big supporter of GPY&R after losing the ADF account for no apparent reason. But quite frankly, it’s hard to like or trust a management team that can so overtly and publicly knife one of their own. As a client, I will be sure to remember those proudly cheering on the demise of a close colleague.

I do know Steve Doherty and he’s one of the most professional, genuine and dedicated advertising people I’ve met. It’s incredulous these cowboys talk about ‘old school’ when under Steve’s leadership he created one of Australia’s best communications company in Australia today. It’s not hard to see why Y&R Australia is in constant turmoil given the poor decisions & actions their senior management team take. Good luck Steve.

Congratulations to the new management team. Sounds well deserved. But did you guys have any idea how this would come across to the outside world? Clearly not. George Patterson would turn in his grave.

I’m shocked at the callousness on display here. Steve is a good guy – funny and frank. He doesn’t deserve this kind of public serving, no one does.

This is simply disgusting by these two. I hope you fail, I really do.

I hate the expression Old School… and will until someone succinctly explains what the New School is. From evidence it appears to be all about rhetoric rather than a real and tangible business model. I also echo the sentiments of poor taste in rubbishing Steve Doherty’s career too.. or am I being “Old School”

ummm, the cheering is clearly in respect to two guys that were being promoted….

What a horrible, horrible article that sadly re-enforces the moral vacuum that is Y&R.

Steve is a great bloke who did a great job.

Surely you can celebrate great talent like the new management team, without insulting the old?

I wonder how many of those new business opportunities will run a mile after reading this.

Poorly worded statement. As staffer said the cheering was congratulatory to the new, not a shot at the old.

The cheering etc was reserved for the announcement of the promotions.
There was no dancing on graves or disrespectful behavior directed at Steve whatsoever.

I would think this is probably clumsy journalism more than dancing on Steve’s grave.

the implications inherent in this article are tasteless but Ben and Jason are too smart and nice to have meant this.

As a young person in the creative industry, I’m all for seeing younger faces in agencies in senior roles, and have been known for having a controversial and outspoken position on Mumbrella about the number of grey haired old men in this industry…..

But… whilst a generation gap could have created a conflict between the old and the new in the agency, celebrating the end of the career of people who have led your agency for years in a VERY public forum is incredibly distasteful.

If I were one of their clients, I’d be seriously considering the maturity of their senior staff at that agency and whether they could be trusted with my brand, especially if they’re willing to trash their own.

This article demonstrates just how mean this industry is and how out of touch and dumb these ad guys are if they think this will be perceived as positive PR.

“There’s no-one in the Australian communications industry delivering new business solutions for their clients really well. That’s where the smart agencies are looking.”

Based on the work we do at our content marketing agency and the feedback we get from our clients , I would have to say this statement is insanely inaccurate.

Someone got turfed after giving 20 years to a company and it’s met with “cheering and whooping and then the fridge opens and everyone has a good time”.

Stay classy Advertising!

You do realise clients read membrella too? Anyone that gives 20years to a company should not be publicly crucified in this manner. I certainbly would not like them working on my brands if this is how they manage thier own!

Mumbrella please explain……

The tone of your article, the placement and choice of quotes, and the headline make it sound like GPY&R were cheering the exit of Steve and to be honest make them sound like a bunch of *****.

You were the ones that had discussions with them and published this article. Is this what they really meant or is it just journalistic spin to create controversy?

Wow. Appalling attitude or appalling statement. Probably somewhere between the two sadly. This kind of crappy behaviour is still all too common in the industry, and what makes me very happy to have moved to the client side, where I have less of it to put up with. Hopefully Steve will be snapped up in an instant, he’s a top guy.

Do not know Steve Doherty at all as a first comment .

But wow, what has happened here with this piece ? I cannot possible believe that I have just read what is a disgraceful article where a guy who has worked in a business and I imagine given his all , is literally paraded as the reason for the agency needing to modernise . He has literally been spat on , kicked and beaten here .

I am hoping that Ben and Jason maybe have some issues here with this article , and maybe tempted to clarify the cheering, the opening of the fridge etc comments

If intended or not , the comments written in this piece are a disgrace .

I have to say, what would the existing clients of the agency be thinking right now !!

What is disgrace. Isn’t this the agency at the core of a whole bunch of media gaffs over the last couple of years!. They may think they have dropped the ‘old school advertising thinking’ – but their arrogance is a throw back to people who thought they ruled the media world. Get into the real world and get with the times – treat people with respect is a start.

Obviously, NOT clearly in respect to the promotion. Way to send appalling communications. I doubt anyone who’s read this article would use this company.

……..and if you think these comments are negative you should see the ones Mummy isn’t posting.

We made no mention of Steve in the interview. Steve is a friend, a decent bloke and we respect him enough not to discuss any details about his departure. Steve’s reasons for leaving are his own.

We are however very excited about the direction GPY&R is taking moving forward, as are our staff and clients.

Our focus was solely to announce the new structure and celebrate the appointment of Matty and Jules.

Misha. You weren’t there.

Shame on you coulson etc.

How do you expect clients to respect you when you treat your own this way GPY&R?? Explains a lot about the current state of advertising in general and GPY&R in particular

As a pitch consultant I avoid criticising agencies publicly. Having read the truly sickening comments attributed to Ben Coulson and Jason Buckley, I was about to break my golden rule, when I saw that 23 people had already said it all. Bravo to them for speaking out. Steve Doherty deserved better – much better.

How do you sell operation sovereign borders?

For next time…

“GPY&R are sad to announce [persons name] departure as CEO after 20 years with the company. He/She has left to pursue other things. He/She said “I’ve been here 20 years and while I’m sad to go, it’s the right time and I know I’m leaving it in good hands blah blah blah”

As a result, GPY&R have taken the opportunity to announce a management shift which will deliver a new scope of work for clients….blah blah blah. The new CEO said ‘I’m excited to have the opportunity”

Thats it. The fact that a national agency of this calibre doesn’t get this is *facepalm*

As someone just entering the world of advertising, it’s exactly this kind of behaviour that scares the hell out of me. It’s not knowing how sleep-deprived, stressed, frustrated, or worked to the bone I’m going to be the majority of the time, or even a fear of competition, failure, rejection, or change, it’s knowing that dedicating the next 20, 30, 40 years of my life to this profession still might not garner me the right to be treated decently upon my eventual departure. Scary stuff.

@ Jason Buckley – correct, you didn’t mention Steve in the interview, but you certainly made enough comments (unless you have been badly misquoted) to imply ‘good riddance to the old bloke who was holding the new school back’.

I also notice that no mention of Steve was made in the announcement, which appeared to be published in full on Mumbrella. Not even a quick ‘thanks for the past 20 years of service’.

Even if your intentions we’re as honest as you imply, I hope you realise that management of GPY&R now look like amateurish pricks.

This is just sad, poor Steve Doherty, as a client i don’t think it is a good look for the agency. That being said Julian and Matt are very capable but Steve didnt deserve this sort of treatment in the industry press. Let me tell you it will take GPYR a lot to pick up from this – typos, substandard attention to detail- maybe there was something good about a bit of old school – at least the quality was there, and you could have a beer with the clients.

As has been mentioned here a bunch of times already, the cheering was purely congratulatory, aimed solely at the announcement of two wonderful gentlemen taking a well deserved step up in their careers. I know because I was one of the those cheering, although I’m not sure I whooped at all to be honest.

@FFS well I think you have been whooped ….

Alex Hayes should apologize to Steve and to the staff of gpyr. I’ve worked with Steve for years and while there’s no doubt the change had to come, to twist a story and imply we all stood there and cheered is offensive to all of us. It didn’t happen.

THIS ARTICLE IS BOGUS.

The room was quiet when they announced Steve’s departure. Nobody was happy.

Promotions were then announced, which were well deserved. Our jobs are more secure after a losing Defence, and obviously we were all pretty happy about this.

This article has been spun in a horrible way.

Good luck to Steve who has contributed so much to Y&R.

A lot of ‘waa waa poor Steve’ coming from ‘Clients’ here.

Since when do Clients care when someone from an agency gets moved on, let go, retrenched, fired or sacked? What a joke.
This is what happens when accounts leave. When YOU leave.
Mostly its the little guy. This time it the big guy.
Appalling? Crappy? Sickening? Save those words for things that truly are.

Interestingly – there’s still something called common decency. Yes you might have your own internal gossip in the office about getting rid of someone but not in an industry forum.

I’ll be honest, I don’t know the organisation (or care really). But if someone is so willing to be so callous about another human being in a public forum, it tells a lot about their character and would make me think twice about doing any sort of business with them.

There’s no need for it, in any business.

@Ken. Good one. You really showed me.

PS. You make no sense, you witless spud.

On behalf of the Comms Council, I would like to say that It has been an absolute pleasure meeting and working with Steve. We have all benefited from his support, passion and commitment to the things that matter and are important to our industry. We wish you all the very best in your future endeavours. To Julian and Matt and all the team at GPY&R, congratulations and we look forward to the next few years to see your agency thrive. It is kudos to GPY&Rs leadership that there are great people to succeed leaders and a culture and strong team to back it.

Alex nice try, but if it looks like a duck, smells like a duck, quacks like a duck it is a fucking duck and no amount of “oh I was misquoted” will change that.

on face value, buckley and coulson have spoken about the agency’s enthusiasm for their new team. the article has translated this into enthusiasm for the departure of the previous MD. agree with you alex that it’s not been spun, but clearly you have set out all the dots for people to arrive at that conclusion. alterations and new statements just make it more muddy. deliberate or otherwise, this sort of thing doesn’t reflect greatly on anyone involved. suggest a deep breath and reflection required before continuing commentary…

Steve is a long time colleague and a very good bloke. I’ve worked along side him in more than one agency.

I am saddened to see a good news story about our business and two of it’s best people, take a wrong turn. I think Alex’s decision to include Steve’s departure in the headline and first paragraph paints the rest of the story in the wrong light.

Yes it made the story juicer and stirred up some fuss, which creates views and clicks, but it it didn’t do any of us any favours.

Let me be very clear, neither Jason or I have reason to say a bad word about Steve.

Steve, bloody sorry to drag you into this, you deserve better.

Ben.

I’d love a definition from Ben Coulson of what ‘old school’ advertising is. What is this hideous thing that keeps creeping back in if you’re not careful? How far back does the definition cover? Are the Coles ads – that sell loads of stuff, old school? Flash mobs and branded short films would have to be old school by now, wouldn’t they? And any brand that set’s out with a “higher purpose” to change the world for the good – like Coke, would be old school, yeah? And social media has been around for ages. I graduated from the ‘old school’. That’s where I learnt that there’s only what works and to rotate your head like an owl, because what works can come from anywhere, anyone, and any “school”.
– Mumbrella has edited this comment.

The ‘new school’ GPY&R might like to give some thought to updating their website which – as of right now – still lists Steve Doherty as the main contact for Melbourne and Adelaide offices.

I suppose as it all happened just before the weekend, everybody was too busy
cheering and whooping and having a good time.

The new team is certainly proving it’s “vigilant and on the case”.

It’s a real shame that Alex spun the story totally the wrong way. Shame on sensationalist journalism (if you can call it journalism).

To hang onto a major, major account for 13 years says something about Old School Advertising making an agency old-fashioned money.

Those who know, know. And this article has not been spun on any way shape or form. In fact, it is painfully accurate. Nevermind retractions, additions or otherwise regretful posts. Something is very, very wrong at once the mightiest agency of them all, and it’s been showing for a while. Flash has replaced substance, bravado has replaced wisdom and shiny trinkets have replaced results. best of lucks and God save us all.

Can somebody please explain what is “Old School” I am confused?

Know

can you squeeze any more cliches and hyperbole into your post?

Anyone with knowledge and experience is called old school. The ones that care about the idea, the craft of the idea and the production of the idea. The ones that have experience and know how and when to use it. And that scares the bejesus out of a large percentage of new schoolers. The new school are too busy boosting their own egos, doing ideas that they think are clever, usually ripped off from something else and that are usually at the clients detriment. You can be old school and also new school. Just depends how your mind and brain works. Hair colour is irrelevant. Time this country respected a brain rather than the age. And this comment is in response to what is old school, not the article or people within it.

Did Ben, or did he not say,

“It’s pretty good when you make a management announcement and there’s cheering and whooping and then the fridge opens and everyone has a good time.”

That is the quote that shaped the article.

Either he said it, or he didn’t. And if he did, well, blaming the poor journalist for doing their job is sour grapes.

Goodness
People
You
&re
Rude

“…came the announcement Matt Farrugia and Julian Bell had been made joint managing partners in Melbourne.
Ben Coulson, the group executive creative director, told Mumbrella: “It’s pretty good when you make a management announcement.” Pretty clear really it was not abount the demise but about the new appointments.
For a communication business however – epic fail. Should’ve gone to a good writer.

These delightful people (original comment got moderated) sum up everything thats wrong the industry.

The kind of self-absorbed pfaff and fluff that is endemic of why Australian advertising is the utterly deplorable crap that it is. Average mean little people in an average mean little business.

Is Steve Doherty a good guy? A bad guy? good operator? Bad operator? No idea.

What I do know is that every client of GPY&R will now be considering if they are an agency they truly want to work with.

Clients choose agencies for lot’s of reasons but a major one is trust. After reading this appallingly mean spirited personal vendetta against one individual I doubt any client would feel comfortable trusting GPY&R with their business.

Let the fallout start…and this is an agency that can’t even run their own self promotional advertising without typo’s. Amateur hour…

Have you guys lost your ability to reason after reading a sensationalist article??

Which one of these is more likely?

For an entire company of say 100 or so people, young and old, multi-gendered and multi-racial, to cheer and whoop when a comrade of 20 years departs the company in a heartless bastardly fashion.. or.. for one Alex Hayes, one guy, to write the article in a sensationalist way to get more traffic, then claim no-harm-no-foul.

What an insult! It doesn’t matter that we work in advertising, we are decent folks just like any of you.

As a total outsider (haven’t worked in mainstream advertising in 10 years) – my interpretation was “thank God the old bloke who was holding us back is gone”. Methinks the post writer was trying to stir up some controversy/traffic perhaps – nah that’s too cynical…

I met Ben Coulson recently, and discussed advertising

Old school means good.

This shows the shallowness of some people in Advertising. I have met Steve, and I can say he is one of the nicest blokes in the business, and I have met a number who are prepared to stop at nothing to further their own careers. Steve , you are better away from that firm, if this is the way they say goodbye to a loyal employee.

Old school means Effective and profitably executed.
Remember the days of long client tenures, reasonable deadlines, annual bonuses and not hanging dirty laundry in the trade press?