Cliff Francis
Creative Director
Brand Strategist
Copywriter
In-house &
Freelance
During my 30+ years at Saatchi & Saatchi - first in London, then New York - I was the go-to person for the briefs no one could crack, the problems no one could solve and the pitches that needed saving.
Eventually I was handed the toughest brief of them all - the global creative and strategic leadership role on the world's most demanding client and the agency's most valuable account - Procter & Gamble.
To quote Frank Sinatra: 'if you can make it here, you can make it anywhere.
'
Now available for freelance. New York or Remote.
BRAND EXPERIENCE
Home Care
Tide, Ariel, Flash, Cascade, Sandtex
Bissell
Pet Care
IAMs,
Eukanuba
Baby Care
Pampers, Luvs,
Dreft Detergent
Personal Care
Head & Shoulders, Olay, Rodan + Fields, o.b.
Safeguard, Crest
Technology
HP Printers, BP,
Microfocus, Microsoft
Cybeta
Corporate & Cause
BP, P&G Alumni, Abbey National Building Society
The Hertz Corporation
Travel
Hertz, Dollar, Thrifty, British Rail,
Trust House Hotels,
Food & Drink
Campbells, Schweppes,
Sunny D, Labatts, Folgers,
Fiber One
Media
Sky TV, Times Newspapers,
Daily Mail, Evening Standard
FUN FACTS
My standard Resume is here. This is the color commentary.
Finding my 'calling'
I left home and school at 17. My first job was selling ad space. 75 cold calls a day. I'm not afraid of the hard sell
Creative directions
The ECD of Saatchi gave me a six month trial in creative simply because 'no one from media has ever asked me before'
No entry
The Houndsditch won Capital Radio's Ad of the Month so often they eventually stopped letting us enter
You can blame me
I was one of the masterminds behind bringing P&G to Cannes. Over the next 5 years our P&G brands won 100+ Lions
I Heart NY
I was asked to move to NYC by the WW CEO while sitting in a taxi in Tribeca at 8.35 a.m. The date? September 11th.2001
Always Be Closing
My second job was generating leads for a company that pumped foam into cavity walls. Think Glengarry Glen Ross on steroids
First blood
My first legitimate ad was a leaflet for Bissell carpet cleaners featuring Manuel from Fawlty Towers
Global domination
Under my creative leadership, we turned three European P&G assignments into global wins: Pampers, H&S and Olay
Cannes you hear me now
I've presented on the main stage at Cannes four times. Once dressed as a mime. Words can't describe. Fortunately
Party Animal
I worked on election campaigns for both the Conservative and Labour parties in the UK. At different times I hasten to add
Calligraphy rules
I got my first job at Saatchi as a Media Assistant because a PA liked my handwriting. No book. No degree. True story
Pile them high
I wrote over 250 radio commercials for the Houndsditch Discount Warehouse turning it from earworm to award winner
It's always Sunny
When we launched Sunny D in the UK, it briefly outsold Coke in supermarkets. A first. Voted Launch of the Decade in the UK
Saatchexit
When the Saatchi brothers left, I was appointed joint ECD of the London office. Over the phone. While stuck in traffic
Nothing is Impossible
I lived the dream. The Saatchi roller-coaster took me from media assistant to WW ECD and Deputy Chairman. What a ride
