Whenever a new tele-salesperson (invariably fresh out of University and (even more invariably) broke) tipped up at Adline Towers, we cynical types in editorial used to inevitably ask: “What did you really want to do with your life?”

I dare say that’s a question that many of the soon-to-be-at-a-permanent loose-end Guardian’s Manc-based classified sales team are currently asking each other. Sadly in, my experience, telesales people are seldom born or made, but merely unceremoniously bounced into the role through their own unemployablity elsewhere and possession of a lower second in Media Studies.

Murray

BDH 

Cynical types among you may decry BDH’s announcement of its appointment by Nissan Europe as an overly-timely one. Surely, sophisticated media agencies would know that the announcement of a ‘substantial win’ after a time of turmoil would be seen as a purely cosmetic band-aid were it not entirely kosher?

The fact that BDH’s parent company, TBWA, seems to already handle all of Nissan’s activity, (short of restocking Crunchie bars in its dealers’ forecourt vending machines) should do little to undermine the credibility of the win. Tish and pish to all those who suggest such a thing!

Still the win comes as something of a boost for the agency’s chief exec, Robert Harwood-Matthews who has clearly had the majority of BDH’s senior staff squarely in his double-barrels and has been firing on both of them. For those of you fresh back from the Dordogne, Nick Brooks, BDH’s MD, was the latest scalp to unceremoniously leave the agency with “immediate effect”.

“We’re looking to bring in more staff with non agency backgrounds,” Brookes told How-do earlier this year. Unfortunately, his boss seems to be more committed to moving existing staff into non-agency situations.

One of my favourite agency house ads was run by BDH after its success in the IPA’s National Effectiveness Awards several years ago. It featured a London Underground-style map depicting the locations of the UK’s 20 most effective advertising agencies. Naturally, the other top 19 were clustered in Soho, but one line (surely the Northern Line!) snaked out Mancwards to BDH’s Didsbury location.

It would be only just to return the compliment with a Manchester Metro map delineating where ultimate decision-making power now lay for the majority of the city’s marketing communications companies – how many of them would require an unseemly southwards extension to our premier North West light rail network to facilitate the inclusion of their absentee landlords?

Brazen 

Double congratulations this week to the chirpy chicks at Brazen – not only are they dominating the NW CIPR Pride nominations list, they have also been appointed by Comfy Quilts to promote its speaker-in-a-pillow Xmas-friendly product, Sound Asleep.

A Comfy Quilt’s spokesperson maintained Brazen had been appointed after it demonstrated its “creative and quirky tactics”. I’m going to wager 100 RMB (about £7.50 sterling) on a cheeky campaign revolving around a “pillow talk” preposition. A bit sad really, when you think of all the WAGs who will purchase this for their BFs expecting piped “Walrus of Love” in the boudoir, only to end up with live commentary from the Crucible.

BrainBox

Staying on the horizontal jogging motif, I’d like to nominate How-Do’s tale of a new quiz programme from BBC Entertainment Manchester’s as its filithiest to date. Although not easily shocked, I was taken aback when, in the space of just eight paragraphs, I read of the antics of Emma Swain, Caroline Roberts-Cherry and their new show Brainbox. And as to commissioning editor, “Sumi Connock”, for no readily apparent reason that sounds the filthiest of them all. Frankly, it reads like to cast of a Carry On movie.

Another gem here was the re-christening of that former graveyard slot, afternoon TV, as “early peak”. I can’t wait for the press release summarizing Brainbox’s viewing figures as “pre-substantial”.

And now in a brief nod towards interactivity, a little reader competition….which editor introduced his new blog this week thusly? 

Best job I ever had.... 

 “I reckon mine is one of the best jobs in newspapers - editing a paper with an incredible history, with fantastically loyal readers. And I get to live in one of the most beautiful places on earth with my wife Julie and our dog Max. I'll tell you in this blog about life as …

a)    Rob Irvine, editor of The Kashmir Vale Shuttle and Gazette in Northern Pakistan
b)    Rob Irvine, editor of The Masai Mara Advertiser & Shopper in Tanzania
c)    Rob Irvine, editor of The Daily Post in Llandudno Junction

Sunday Sentinel 

Fair play to Mr Irvine for “bigging up” his locale, perhaps a lesson here for Michael Sassi, editor-in-chief of the imminently-closing Sunday Sentinel, the Sunday edition of the Stoke Sentinel.

I remember a media presentation in Manchester where Clive Anderson sarcastically referred to “Scotland on Sunday” as “not an entirely enticing prospect”. I wonder what the tonsorially-challenged Mr Anderson would have made of the notion of “Stoke on Sunday”? Probably the same as the Sunday Sentinel’s dwindling band of readers and advertisers…

Dave Bailey 

Finally, a fond farewell to my old mate Dave Bailey, who steps down as creative director of Cicero, nee Broughton Jacques, this month.

How-Do made a brief nod to Mr Bailey’s departure at the end of last month, but I think it didn’t really do justice to his contribution as a creative, a manager, a keen supporter of the Creative Circle and one of the few individuals genuinely keen to nurture new talent in the region.

Dave was also perhaps the last link leading back to Broughton Jacques, the Stretford-based agency that merged with CAS to form Cicero at the end of the last century.

But fair play to Mr Bailey, one of the nicest guys in the business – unlike the aforementioned telesales folk of paragraph one, Dave really did know what he wanted to do with his life and did it excellently. Whenever two or three are gathered in the White Lion, he will not be forgotten, nor, I suspect, absent.

Tony Murray was formerly editor of a number of marketing communications titles (Adline, Synergy, The Marketeer,  Awards World and Scamp) that are sadly no longer with us and one that, regrettably (in his opinion at least) still is.

He is currently Director of Studies Designate at an English Language School in West Beijing, although he expects to put in a fleeting re-appearance in the North West in 2008. He can be emailed on tonymurray37@hotmail.com .

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