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A little piece of advertising history has passed with the death of Geoff Seymour, the creative who gave us the iconic Hovis ad in the 1970s.

He came to prominence with his work at Collett Dickenson Pearce, later with Lowe Howard-Spink and at Saatchi & Saatchi in the 80s where he was involved with the British Airways account.

But what was it about Seymour and his approach to the Hovis “boy on bike” that would place it repeatedly in lists of the top UK ads of all time?

Mick Foden, Executive Creative Director at creative agency and Staniforth sister company, TBWA\ Manchester, says: “The Hovis ad had all the elements of a truly great ad: it was a throw-back to traditional values that the target audience of mums would remember and was true to the brand - a lovely, wholesome family favourite.  

“It was beautifully shot - using the skills of future film director, Ridley Scott - and had an idea that was strong enough to sustain it for years. With the music, taken from Dvorak’s New World Symphony, and the voice-over it generated a joy and celebration about the brand.

“Geoff had a passion for the way things were written, while telling the truth and keeping it simple. The work changed the way people looked at ads, combining a big idea with real humility.”

So, given that we’ve got the Olympics out of the way, there’s finally time to breathe. I’ve seriously never seen such a diverse range of brands being able to get involved with one event.

TBWA\ New York houses the TBWA\WW team here so you get to see everything big that’s going on throughout the global network. And they really go all out for the Olympics, from TBWA\China being hugely patriotic in their countdown to the Olympics for client, adidas and government anti-steroid campaigns from New York through to bespoke spots created for financial clients that are touch and go until the last minute, and totally dependent upon which athlete wins which medal. 

Maybe we should be more flexible in securing one off media spots. If it’s relevant and it works, why not do this instead of going with the humdrum and often channelling a load of $$$ (sorry, my keyboard doesn’t have a pound sign) into ineffective stuff. It’s definitely the reason for the guys here doing regular Media Arts sessions with clients. The whole idea of doing something that gets your brand to behave, be seen and be where their audience is, unsurprisingly seems to works.

If you want a taster, TBWA\London have done it well with their cocktail umbrella campaign for watchyourdrink.com. Targeting bars throughout the country, mini cocktail umbrellas were placed in drinks across the country when people weren’t looking, with a message on the umbrella saying ‘this is how easy it is to spike your drink’. Definitely more impactful than a TV awareness ad that’s hardly going to engage you whilst you’re on the safety of the TV couch… 

Which gets me onto tonight’s activities - must get out and play in the city. Sun’s still going strong over here amidst the random thunderstorms that threaten the end of the world arriving. So, maybe to one of the roof decks – Hotel Gansevoort in the Meat Packing District is a hot spot with gorgeous views of the Hudson River, or chill it down a little in Central Park.

The weirdest things go on there and I’ll no longer be shocked by anything after experiencing the hula hoop classes and roller disco where it’s mandatory to dance and roll at the same time…note to self, must learn to multitask better.

Spending the whole of August living in New York City, working at one of the world’s most talented agencies – TBWA\Chiat\Day, and still getting paid. Not a bad position to be in. How did it come about? Here’s the deal… 

As part of TBWA\Manchester’s ongoing push to build connections in our worldwide network, I’m out here to live, breath, experience and learn, first hand, how one of our most recognised network agencies works. It also means that we can keep ahead of the trends by making the most of the media and sector insights out here that we can take back and use for our clients. 

So, I’m at the work pod – naturally a Mac given that only geeks have PCs out here. It’s summertime hours and I’m still here, which does make me a bit of a geek but I like the buzz about this place. The agency, located on Madison Avenue, is a similar size to TBWA\Manchester (around 200ish people). There are 2 receptions, 3 floors, and walls that are plastered in Disruption case studies of some of the biggest and best brands you’ll ever come across. From Absolut Vodka, known for campaigns such as the Sex And The City placement through to Mars, whose Skittles campaign swept the floor at Cannes this year, beating Cadbury’s over exploited gorilla. 

There’s also a ‘firsts’ wall, spanning across a global map to reveal achievements of TBWA\ agencies worldwide. From holding the first vertical sprint up a 33 storey building and being the first to use U2 in a commercial through to creating China’s first interactive billboard and being the first to use currency as a medium, it gives you a sense of pride to know that you’re part of something so big and ambitious. 

First impressions? Makes for a pretty cool place to work in, and the fact that it’s 2 blocks from Saks and 2 streets across from New York’s hottest spa – Bliss – helps settle me in even more, despite the credit card looking tired and weary already.