The world of marketing and advertising lost a giant yesterday when David Thomason passed away after bravely battling a prolonged illness.

David was the client and mastermind behind some of Australia’s most awarded and effective campaigns over his 12 year tenure as general manager – marketing at Meat & Livestock Australia.

Campaigns David led included the Dancing Butchers, ‘Red meat feel good’ with Sam Neil and Sam Kekovich Australia Day for Lamb. While at MLA David worked with some of Australia’s greatest agencies including The Campaign Palace, Host and BMF among others and he was widely applauded for his commitment to creativity. Prior to MLA David worked at George Weston Foods and Cottees.

A multi-Effie winner himself, David was always passionate about effectiveness and was a tireless contributor to the Effies. Matthew Melhuish Australian Effie’s Chairman said “I had the great pleasure and privilege of working with David for many years both as a client and as a colleague on the Effies. He always had a tremendous energy, a wicked sense of fun and an intense desire to drive sales and challenge convention. He was a brave client and would always back his own judgment in favour of provocative creative work. David was a very special man and will be sadly missed by many across our industry.”

More recently David was a board member of Certified Australian Angus Beef (CAAB), the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation (FRDC), and the Primary Industries Education Foundation, an organisation that provides leadership to encourage primary industries education in schools.

The funeral service for David Thomason will be held on Friday 28^th November at 2.30pm at Macquarie Park Cemetery, Corner Delhi & Plassey Roads, Macquarie Park NSW 2113. All are welcome to attend.

The industry sends tributes to Thomason.

David is survived by his wife Sue and children Josh, Drew, James and Edwina.