M&C Saatchi’s group creative director Andy Flemming has accepted a redundancy from the agency he has worked at for the past 15 years.
Posting his own departure to social media, Flemming made the tongue-in-cheek quip that his reason to leave was the usual industry excuse of “more time to spend with my family” and “the chance to pursue exciting opportunities elsewhere”.
Then added: “To be honest, my GCD role was becoming unfeasible, and M&C Saatchi bent over backwards to make sure that redundancy was absolutely their last wish – going so far as to offer me other roles within the organisation,” he said
“But fifteen years is a ridiculously long time, and it seemed the right moment to take stock and peruse another adventure, wherever or whatever it is.
“M&C has been my home for a long time. It’s in great hands and it’ll be a little odd to watch their successes from the outside.”
M&C Saatchi chief creative officer Cam Blackley added: “Andy is a self-proclaimed sniper and I’d second that.
“Whilst we’ll miss him in the day to day, he’ll only ever be a phone call away for special operations.
“In all seriousness, it was Andy that welcomed me into the agency, he’s been a rock.
“I described him as a ‘scholar and a gentleman’ to the agency earlier and that’s the truth. He leaves an unparalleled legacy. His Ricky Gervais work for Optus is one of the greatest pieces of modern advertising in my opinion,” Blackley said.
M&C Saatchi’s founding creative director Tom McFaralane added: “What can I say about Andy that he can’t say about himself far more eloquently. He’s everything a good writer should be.
“Witty, curious and a lover of words. I enjoyed nothing more than seeing him strut through my door, just hours after receiving a brief, loudly declaring – ‘I’ve cracked it… and it’s fucking brilliant!!’ And it nearly always was.
“On the occasion it wasn’t, he’d exit, unbruised by rejection and reappear a short while later, with an idea that was indeed, utterly brilliant. And it’s that resilience that makes Andy a truly great writer.”
