Allan Johnston (advertiser)
Encyclopedia
Allan Johnston is an Australia
n advertising
creative executive, a copywriter who enjoyed particular success as a jingle writer in the 1970s and 80s. Together with his long-time business partner Alan Morris
, he formed the Australian advertising agency
Mojo
which enjoyed much Australian and some international success in the 1980s and whose name survives today as Publicis Mojo, an Australian subsidiary of the French
multinational
advertising
and communications company holding Publicis Groupe.
Johnston started out as a copywriter in that city before taking a job as an assistant producer in an Adelaide ad agency, then moving into the copy department writing jingles. He relocated to Sydney in 1968, joining an agency called Marketing and Advertising, later to be known as Hertz Walpole Advertising. In the mid 70s he was teamed with freelance writer Alan Morris and together they had immediate success as a team working on campaigns for Hertz Walpole's clients Meadow Lea
margarine ("You oughta be congratulated") and Tooheys
beer ("How do you feel?"). In 1973 they left the agency and in 1975 started their own consultancy and continuing to work on such accounts as they grew their business. In 1979 their creative consultancy became the full-service ad agency Mojo
and Meadow Lea and Tooheys amongst other clients, signed with the new shop.
During the 1980s Mojo was the hottest creative agency in Sydney and Mo and Jo had success jointly authoring World Series Cricket
's "C'Mon Aussie C'Mon" and later the Australian Tourism Commission's
spot with Paul Hogan
's instruction to put another "Shrimp on the barbie
.
The Mojo approach to TV advertisements used a colloquial and irreverent style, often with a catchy jingle to simple accompaniment and frequently sung in Jo's own "gravelly" voice. Contrasting against the clipped and British-imitating style of voice presenters on Australian TV up till that point, Mojo ads highlighted Australian idiom and its laconic accent. Ads such as “I’m as Australian as Ampol
”, “Hit ‘em with the Old Pea Beau” (insectide), “Everybody loves Speedo
”, “I Can Feel a Fourex
Coming on”, “Every Amco tells a Story” (for Amco jeans) all came out of the Mojo agency in the 1980s. The use of Peter Allen
's I Still Call Australia Home
to promote Qantas
was developed at Mojo in the late 1980s and as of 2010 this campaign concept is still in use by Qantas and its current ad agencies.
In August 1987 Mojo was acquired by the Melbourne based publicly listed agency Monaghan Dayman Adams
Limited and became MojoMDA. The resultant merged business maintained its listed status until 1989. The Mojo MDA Group had offices in London, New York, San Francisco, Hong Kong, Singapore and affiliates throughout Asia. In 1988 Advertising Age
named it as International Agency of the Year. In August 1989 the Mojo MDA Group was Australia's largest ad agency with billings of $180million and was acquired by the Los Angeles agency Chiat\Day. The merger was unsuccessful and in 1992 Chiat/Day sold off Mojo to Foote, Cone & Belding. In later international dealings which saw FCB acquired by the Interpublic Group, the Australian Mojo offices were sold to Publicis.
In 1994 Jo left the employment of the Australian Mojo business and returned to Hertz Walpole as an Executive Creative Director, taking up a shareholding. When Alan Morris finished up a stint at Singleton Ogilvy & Mather
in 1999, he took up the opportunity to re-unite with Jo and Jim Walpole and their agency was renamed "Morris Johnston Walpole". The re-unification failed to set the advertising world on-fire and in 2002 the veterans accepted an offer for sale from the Japanese multinational communications group Hakuhodo
. As of 2010 the agency at which Jo started in 1968 which was then called "Marketing & Advertising" is still in operation and known as "MJW Hakuhodo".
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n advertising
Advertising agency
An advertising agency or ad agency is a service business dedicated to creating, planning and handling advertising for its clients. An ad agency is independent from the client and provides an outside point of view to the effort of selling the client's products or services...
creative executive, a copywriter who enjoyed particular success as a jingle writer in the 1970s and 80s. Together with his long-time business partner Alan Morris
Alan Morris (advertiser)
Alan Morris was an Australian advertising creative executive, a copywriter who enjoyed particular success in the 1970s and 80s. Together with his long-time business partner Allan Johnston, he formed the Australian advertising agency Mojo which enjoyed much local and some international success in...
, he formed the Australian advertising agency
Advertising agency
An advertising agency or ad agency is a service business dedicated to creating, planning and handling advertising for its clients. An ad agency is independent from the client and provides an outside point of view to the effort of selling the client's products or services...
Mojo
Mojo (advertising)
Mojo was an Australian advertising agency formed in Sydney by Alan Morris and Allan Johnston in 1979. Its lineage can today be directly traced to Publicis Mojo, an Australian subsidiary of the French multinational advertising and communications company holding Publicis Groupe.Johnston, initially...
which enjoyed much Australian and some international success in the 1980s and whose name survives today as Publicis Mojo, an Australian subsidiary of the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
multinational
Multinational corporation
A multi national corporation or enterprise , is a corporation or an enterprise that manages production or delivers services in more than one country. It can also be referred to as an international corporation...
advertising
Advertising
Advertising is a form of communication used to persuade an audience to take some action with respect to products, ideas, or services. Most commonly, the desired result is to drive consumer behavior with respect to a commercial offering, although political and ideological advertising is also common...
and communications company holding Publicis Groupe.
Career
Born in AdelaideAdelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
Johnston started out as a copywriter in that city before taking a job as an assistant producer in an Adelaide ad agency, then moving into the copy department writing jingles. He relocated to Sydney in 1968, joining an agency called Marketing and Advertising, later to be known as Hertz Walpole Advertising. In the mid 70s he was teamed with freelance writer Alan Morris and together they had immediate success as a team working on campaigns for Hertz Walpole's clients Meadow Lea
Meadow Lea
Meadow Lea is one of Australia's leading brands of polyunsaturated margarine spreads, founded in Sydney by 1932 and owned since 1986 by the Australasian food public company Goodman Fielder.-History:...
margarine ("You oughta be congratulated") and Tooheys
Tooheys
Tooheys is a brewery in the suburb of Lidcombe, in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It produces beers under the Tooheys and Hahn trademarks, and is part of the New Zealand Lion Nathan beverages group.-History:...
beer ("How do you feel?"). In 1973 they left the agency and in 1975 started their own consultancy and continuing to work on such accounts as they grew their business. In 1979 their creative consultancy became the full-service ad agency Mojo
Mojo (advertising)
Mojo was an Australian advertising agency formed in Sydney by Alan Morris and Allan Johnston in 1979. Its lineage can today be directly traced to Publicis Mojo, an Australian subsidiary of the French multinational advertising and communications company holding Publicis Groupe.Johnston, initially...
and Meadow Lea and Tooheys amongst other clients, signed with the new shop.
During the 1980s Mojo was the hottest creative agency in Sydney and Mo and Jo had success jointly authoring World Series Cricket
World Series Cricket
World Series Cricket was a break away professional cricket competition staged between 1977 and 1979 and organised by Kerry Packer for his Australian television network, Nine Network. The matches ran in opposition to established international cricket...
's "C'Mon Aussie C'Mon" and later the Australian Tourism Commission's
Tourism Australia
Tourism Australia is a statutory authority of the Government of Australia, with responsibility for tourism marketing within Australia and internationally, as well as research and forecasting of domestic and global tourism trends...
spot with Paul Hogan
Paul Hogan
Paul Hogan, AM is an Australian actor best known for his role as Michael "Crocodile" Dundee from the Crocodile Dundee film series, for which he won a Golden Globe award.-Early life and career:...
's instruction to put another "Shrimp on the barbie
Shrimp on the barbie
"Shrimp on the barbie" is an often-quoted phrase that originated in a series of television advertisements by the Australian Tourism Commission starring Paul Hogan from 1984 through to 1990. The actual quote spoken by Hogan is "I'll slip an extra shrimp on the barbie for you", and the actual slogan...
.
The Mojo approach to TV advertisements used a colloquial and irreverent style, often with a catchy jingle to simple accompaniment and frequently sung in Jo's own "gravelly" voice. Contrasting against the clipped and British-imitating style of voice presenters on Australian TV up till that point, Mojo ads highlighted Australian idiom and its laconic accent. Ads such as “I’m as Australian as Ampol
Ampol
Ampol, the Australian Motorists Petrol Company, was incorporated by Sir William Gaston Walkley in 1936 in New South Wales. This was in response to Australians' concerns about perceived inequitable petrol pricing, and allegations of transfer pricing by foreign oil companies to limit their tax...
”, “Hit ‘em with the Old Pea Beau” (insectide), “Everybody loves Speedo
Speedo
Speedo International Ltd. is a manufacturer and distributor of swimwear and swim-related accessories. Founded in Australia in 1914, the industry leading company is now a subsidiary of Pentland Group Plc. Today, the Speedo brand can be found on products ranging from swimsuits and goggles to wrist...
”, “I Can Feel a Fourex
XXXX
XXXX is a brand of Australian beer brewed in Milton, Brisbane by Queensland brewers, Castlemaine Perkins. It enjoys wide popularity in the state of Queensland, where it is commonly found on-tap in pubs and bars....
Coming on”, “Every Amco tells a Story” (for Amco jeans) all came out of the Mojo agency in the 1980s. The use of Peter Allen
Peter Allen
Peter Allen was an Australian songwriter and entertainer. His songs were made popular by many recording artists, including Elkie Brooks, Melissa Manchester and Olivia Newton-John, with one, Arthur's Theme, winning an Academy Award in 1981...
's I Still Call Australia Home
I Still Call Australia Home
"I Still Call Australia Home" is a song written and performed by Peter Allen in 1980. In it, Allen sings of Australian expatriates' longing for home.It has been used to suggest Australian patriotism and nostalgia for home...
to promote Qantas
Qantas
Qantas Airways Limited is the flag carrier of Australia. The name was originally "QANTAS", an initialism for "Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services". Nicknamed "The Flying Kangaroo", the airline is based in Sydney, with its main hub at Sydney Airport...
was developed at Mojo in the late 1980s and as of 2010 this campaign concept is still in use by Qantas and its current ad agencies.
In August 1987 Mojo was acquired by the Melbourne based publicly listed agency Monaghan Dayman Adams
Phillip Adams
Phillip Andrew Hedley Adams, AO is an Australian broadcaster, film producer, writer, social commentator, satirist and left-wing pundit. He currently hosts a radio program, Late Night Live, four nights a week on the ABC, and he also writes a weekly column for the News Limited-owned newspaper, The...
Limited and became MojoMDA. The resultant merged business maintained its listed status until 1989. The Mojo MDA Group had offices in London, New York, San Francisco, Hong Kong, Singapore and affiliates throughout Asia. In 1988 Advertising Age
Advertising Age
Advertising Age is a magazine, delivering news, analysis and data on marketing and media. The magazine was started as a broadsheet newspaper in Chicago in 1930...
named it as International Agency of the Year. In August 1989 the Mojo MDA Group was Australia's largest ad agency with billings of $180million and was acquired by the Los Angeles agency Chiat\Day. The merger was unsuccessful and in 1992 Chiat/Day sold off Mojo to Foote, Cone & Belding. In later international dealings which saw FCB acquired by the Interpublic Group, the Australian Mojo offices were sold to Publicis.
In 1994 Jo left the employment of the Australian Mojo business and returned to Hertz Walpole as an Executive Creative Director, taking up a shareholding. When Alan Morris finished up a stint at Singleton Ogilvy & Mather
Ogilvy & Mather
Ogilvy & Mather is an international advertising, marketing and public relations agency based in Manhattan and owned by the WPP Group. The company operates 497 offices in 125 countries with approximately 16,000 employees.-History:...
in 1999, he took up the opportunity to re-unite with Jo and Jim Walpole and their agency was renamed "Morris Johnston Walpole". The re-unification failed to set the advertising world on-fire and in 2002 the veterans accepted an offer for sale from the Japanese multinational communications group Hakuhodo
Hakuhodo
is Japan's second largest advertising agency, with gross sales of approximately 700 hundred million yen. It has its headquarters at Akasaka Biz Tower in Akasaka, Minato, Tokyo....
. As of 2010 the agency at which Jo started in 1968 which was then called "Marketing & Advertising" is still in operation and known as "MJW Hakuhodo".
Personal life
His marriage to his wife Jean is longstanding. Their sons Jason and Leith followed Jo into careers in advertising. He is a grandfather to Declan and Ruby, (Jason's), Matilda and Zeke, (Leith's)Accolades
Together with Morris, Johnston was acknowledged by his peers with admissions to the Halls of Fame of Campaign Brief (magazine) in 2006 and the Australian Writer and Art Directors Association in 2009. In 2007 the Advertising Federation of Australia awarded its AFA Medallion to Mo and Jo describing the pair as "the Lennon & McCartney of Australian advertising". In 2009 Morris & Johnston were included in the inuagural 12 inductees to Ad News Magazine's, Australian Advertising Hall of FameFurther reading
- Coombs, Ann "Adland : a true story of corporate drama" (William Heinemann Australia, Melbourne 1990). ISBN 0-85561-340-8