Mark Buckingham, a creative director of Joshua, has quit to join
Craik Jones as half of a senior team with his former partner, Dave
Brown.
Buckingham and Brown separated in 1995 having worked together at Rapp
since 1990. Buckingham went on to launch Clark McKay Buckingham, now
CMB.
Buckingham’s departure further depletes Joshua, which lost another
creative director, Andy Blackford, earlier this year (Campaign, 2
April). A third, Ivan Palmer, is thought to be moving to a strategic
role within the agency, leaving Andy Ray as the sole creative director.
Ray’s long-time business partner, Stuart Leach, left the agency earlier
this year to join McCann-Erickson.
Simon Kershaw, a creative director of Craik Jones, said: ’Despite all
their experience, Mark and Dave are simply interested in working
together to produce great work. Their coming here is a sign that the
direct marketing industry is maturing, as there are enough clients
around now with big budgets to satisfy senior teams, without them
wanting or needing to run their own agencies.’
Buckingham said: ’Craik Jones has a great pedigree, and focuses on the
product, which sometimes gets diluted in larger agencies.’