John Tylee chooses M&C Saatchi’s poster campaign to relaunch Courage
Best. ‘Ever heard the one about the seagulls who fly upside down over
Middlesbrough because there’s nothing worth crapping on? Southern humour
at the expense of the North can be pretty spiteful sometimes, but it’s
hard to see anybody taking offence at this advertising, which manages to
put a few shallow dents in northern pride without being insulting. As a
Londoner born and bred I laughed fit to bust. Mind you, if I were a
Courage marketing man I’d think twice about venturing further upcountry
than the Watford Gap motorway service station.’ Copywriter Richard Dean,
art director Martha Riley