The advertising business has never been particularly sentimental about departures. Executives leave; press releases are issued; the org chart is updated before the goodbye cake is cut. But occasionally, a transition arrives with something that almost resembles human feeling.
Jon Cook, who spent 30 years at VML and helped oversee WPP's creative transformation from the top, is stepping away from the agency he helped build. Taking his place is Eric Campbell, whom Mr. Cook described not merely as a business partner but as one of his "best friends in life."
It is the sort of statement that would sound like corporate theater if it came from most corners of the holding company world. From Mr. Cook, who joined VML in its early startup days and stayed through the mergers, acquisitions, rebrands, and integrations that have become the industry's version of weather, it lands differently.
VML, which sits within WPP's creative portfolio, has been through more than its share of corporate reshufflings over the years. (The agency's name itself has been hyphenated, merged, and reconstituted enough times that keeping track requires a flowchart and perhaps a stiff drink.) Mr. Cook navigated all of it, a steadiness that is rarer on Madison Avenue than the holding companies' annual reports would suggest.
That Mr. Campbell was beside him for much of that journey appears to have made the departure easier to contemplate. Handing an agency to a stranger is one thing; handing it to someone who helped build it is another.
Whether the friendship survives the transition — the advertising business being what it is — remains to be seen. But for now, at least, the goodbye cake can be eaten in something approaching peace.
Original story published in adweek.com: "Jon Cook on 30 Years at VML and Handing the Agency Over to His Best Friend"