The Andrex Puppy. The Smash Martians. The Oxo Family and The Honey Monster. From the late 1960s, advertising agency account planners helped to develop long-running advertising campaigns that went on to build well-known household brands that we still use today. It was a golden era of advertising, partly because the campaigns seemed to connect with consumers so well. But who were the account planners who helped to develop these campaigns and build these brands? In 98% Pure Potato, the untold history of those real-life men and women is revealed through insights and anecdotes from some of account planning’s most revered pioneers: David Baker, John Bruce, David Cowan, Lee Godden, Christine Gray, EV Jenkins, John Madell, Jane Newman, Jim Williams, Roderick White, Paul Feldwick, Jan Zajac and many more. Industry experts John Griffiths and Tracey Follows trace the true beginnings, rise and evolution of the discipline that came to be known as ‘advertising account planning’, uncovering how the UK’s most iconic campaigns came to be, and exploring what challenges and opportunities lie ahead. This is the enlightening history of how a fundamental part of advertising practice came out of the UK, as well as an instrumental guide for anyone working or hoping to work in the advertising industry today.

About the Author

John Griffiths has been an account planner for most of his career in agencies including JWT Manchester, FCB and CDP. He was one of the first planners to work outside a pure advertising environment in the 1990s as integrated communications came to the fore. He founded the consultancy Planning Above and Beyond and regularly writes on the web about planning and research issues. Tracey Follows is an advertising professional with over 20 years' experience working in agencies and client-side, creating brand advertising for the likes of Cadbury's, O2, easyJet, BT, T-Mobile, Canon, and John Lewis. Tracey is the Chair of the APG (Account Planning Group) which is the industry-recognised community for advertising strategists and planners. Most recently Tracey held the position of Chief Strategy Officer at JWT, one of the two agencies credited as being the birthplace of planning, and has previously held senior positions at, or been a client of, some of the UK's most famous ad agencies including BBH, Saatchi & Saatchi, AMV, VCCP and Lowe. She also sits on the Exec of WACL (Women in Advertising and Communications London).