Mark Lees has been hired as the new creative director of J. Walter
Thompson Manchester.
Lees will partner Steve Longden, the executive creative director, and
will help him run the department.
Lees joins the agency from Australia where he was latterly creative
director at Young and Rubicam in Adelaide.
Lees began his advertising career in London in the early 80s after
completing his education in Manchester. His break came in 1985 when
he worked under Tony Brignull at the then DDB Needham.
In Australia, Lees had spells at McCann-Erickson and JWT in Sydney,
before moving to Batey, Singapore’s highly-rated agency. From there, he
returned to Australia, firstly to work for Foote Cone Belding and then
Y&R.
Lees has spent much of his career working on the accounts of large
multinationals, such as Johnson and Johnson, Colgate and Mitsubishi
cars.
Andrew Stothert, the chief executive of JWT Manchester, said: ‘One way
to move the business on is to bring catalysts into it.’
Lees commented: ‘My wife and I only went to Australia for a couple of
years and finished up staying ten. In the end, we missed England too
much.
‘Besides, it was all getting a bit too easy over there and a bit too
comfortable. You get to the point as a creative where, if it ain’t
broke, you break it anyway,’ he added.
