Episode 46: ROY GRACE SITE. With Allen Richardson

Roy Grace may well be the best ad guy you've never heard of.But you'll recognise some of his Volkswagen ads below, created at DDB between 1965 and 1986.Whereas most creatives will lean towards a particular medium - Roy was as good in print as he was in tv.Many creatives make their names on one, great account, like a Nike or Volkswagen, Roy did great work across everything; from J&B Rare whisky to Alka-Seltzer, from Chanel to SOS soap scrubbing pads, from Land Rover to IBM computers.Most creatives create their best work with one partner - Roy did great work with dozens of different partners (leading to the phrase 'everybody did their best work with Roy, Roy did his best work with everybody').Scroll through the work below and some of it may strike you as a little basic, especially compared to todays CGI extravaganzas.Take Mobil oil; tin cans on an empty table tops.It doesn't appear very 'creative'.But next time you need a motor oil, my money says you'll buy Mobil.Even if you didn't like the ads, you'll just think it's the best oil.Forty years after they were made.He left DDB with his writer Diane Rothschild, to set up Grace & Rothschild.Shortly after, they hired a young writer called Allen Richardson.Allen went on to create a lot of great work of his own, a large chunk of it at Crispin Porter + Bogusky in their golden years.But Allen has just created different - a website about Roy.Not a post, A SITE!I caught up with Allen recently to ask what the hell was he thinking?(https://davedye.com/2023/04/24/roy-grace-site-with-allen-richardson/)