98% pure potato - John Griffiths

From the late 1960s, advertising agency account planners helped to develop long-running advertising campaigns that went on to build the well-known household brands we still usetoday.

It was the golden era of advertising, partly because the campaigns seemed to connect with consumers so well. But who were the account planners who helped to develop these campaigns and build these brands?

In 98% Pure Potato, the untold history of those real-life men and women is revealed through insights and anecdotes from some of account planning's most revered pioneers: David Baker, John Bruce, David Cowan, Lee Godden, Christine Gray, Ev Jenkins, John Madell, Jane Newman, Jim Williams, Roderick White, Paul Feldwick, Jan Zajac and many more.

Industry experts John Griffiths and Tracey Follows trace the true beginnings, rise and evolution of the discipline that came to be known as 'advertising account planning', uncovering how the UK's most iconic campaigns came to be, and exploring what challenges and opportunities lie ahead.

This is the enlightening history of how a fundamental part of advertising practice came out of the UK, as well as an instrumental guide for anyone working or hoping to work in the advertising industry today.

John Griffiths has
been an account planner for most of his career in agencies including JWT
Manchester, FCB and CDP. He was one of the first planners to work outside a
pure advertising environment in the 1990s as integrated communications came to
the fore. He founded the consultancy Planning Above and Beyond and regularly
writes on the web about planning and research issues.

Tracey Follows has
worked in advertising for over 20 years, both client and agency side. She was
Chief Strategy Officer at J. Walter Thompson after VCCP, Lowe, McCann-Erickson
and Cogent and has worked in marketing at BT, One2One and T-Mobile. She is now
Chief Strategy and Innovation Officer at The Future Laboratory. She was Chair
of the APG (Account Planning Group) 2014-2015.