Gideon Spanier
Sep 29, 2023

‘Moray isn’t working’: M&C Saatchi’s poster tribute as CEO leaves after 40 years

MacLennan says he is “hanging up my advertising boots”.

Moray MacLennan: formally leaves M&C Saatchi this week
Moray MacLennan: formally leaves M&C Saatchi this week

M&C Saatchi said farewell to its departing chief executive, Moray MacLennan, after 40 years of service to the Saatchi brand with a fitting tribute – a spoof of the most famous poster in British political advertising.

The agency put the “Moray isn’t working” ad on a poster screen on a site at the top of Carnaby Street, close to M&C Saatchi’s Golden Square office, and took MacLennan to see it as a surprise send-off.

MacLennan, who formally leaves M&C Saatchi at the end of this week, originally joined Saatchi & Saatchi as a graduate trainee in September 1983 — just a few years after the agency created “Labour isn’t working” for the Conservatives ahead of their 1979 general election victory.

He went on to join M&C Saatchi, the breakaway from Saatchi & Saatchi, at its launch in 1995 and remained ever since, rising to chief executive of the stock market-listed company in January 2021.

MacLennan announced in July that he would be stepping down, shortly after Zillah Byng-Thorne joined as chair. She has become executive chair for up to 12 months as she looks for his successor.

“As I approach 40 years of Saatchi, it feels like the wrong time to move on in so many ways, but I have decided it is precisely the right time.” MacLennan wrote to staff in a memo at the time he announced he was leaving.

“We’ve come through our existential moment [when the company faced two takeover bids in 2022] and we are set – the right time to make way for new energy and new ideas.”

MacLennan signed off the memo, which was entitled “Hanging up my advertising boots”, by saying: “If you have a spare moment, do please say a short prayer for Wendy, my wife, who will be spending more time with me.”

The farewell poster was created by Andy Harris, head of design at M&C Saatchi London.

Source:
Campaign UK

Related Articles

Just Published

21 hours ago

Agency Report Cards 2024: We grade 25 APAC networks

The grades are in for Campaign Asia's 22nd annual evaluation of APAC agency networks. Subscribe to read our detailed analyses.

21 hours ago

Agency Report Card 2024: Havas Media

Newly independent and armed with its Converged strategy, Havas Media is pushing for growth in APAC. But with a limited regional presence, key account losses, and stiff competition from larger, tech-savvy rivals, the agency faces an uphill battle to prove its relevance and scalability in a cutthroat market.

22 hours ago

WPP launches data solution Open Intelligence

The network is calling the solution the advertising industry’s 'first large marketing model'.

22 hours ago

2025 Cannes Contenders: UltraSuperNew creatives ...

UltraSuperNew's creative chiefs in Tokyo pick the APAC campaigns that stand a good chance of winning a Lion.