The death of the creator of Gough Whitlam’s 1972 ‘It’s Time’ campaign commercial has been reported by The Australian newspaper.
The paper says that Paul Jones, the former creative director of the advertising agency McCann Erickson, was found dead in a Sydney park two days ago. He was 59, according to the article, but most likely 69, according to this 1971 article in The Australian.
The famous commercial featured many television and recording artists of the time singing ‘It’s Time’.
This is the text of the article by Simon Canning in The Australian today:
“The mastermind behind the “It’s Time” television commercial that helped propel Gough Whitlam to power in 1972 was found dead in a Sydney park on Wednesday.
“Paul Jones, 59, created the “It’s Time” TV commercial, featuring dozens of celebrities singing the anthem, when he was creative director of Labor’s advertising agency McCann Erickson.
Mr Jones’s ad for Mr Whitlam changed the face of Australian political advertising, rallying voters around the catchy jingle at a time when political ads consisted of little more than dull policy statements.
“His body was found in a reserve in Mosman, on Sydney’s north shore.
“He was also the driving force behind advertising for Coca-Cola in the late 1970s and early 1980s and created MacTime for McDonald’s in the 1990s with the late worldwide CEO of McDonald’s, Charlie Bell.
“‘Paul Jones and Charlie Bell made Maccas great,’ said Matt Eastwood, creative director of McDonald’s ad agency DDB.
“Geoff Wild, former deputy chairman of Clemenger and Ogilvy & Mather, where Mr Jones worked as creative director, said he had left an indelible mark on Australia through his advertising campaigns.”
