14 DAY TRIAL // The Chairman of advertising agency TBWA and creator of Apple’s famous TV ads, Lee Clow, has confirmed his plans to continue working with the Mac maker, after being erroneously reported as relinquishing his role as the head of TBWA.
66-year-old Clow decided to step down as chief creative officer at the agency, although he will remain the chairman and global director of the Media Arts Lab and fulfill other roles within TBWA. Clow’s best known work is undoubtedly tied to the iconic "1984" TV spot that heralded the introduction of the original Macintosh. Directed by Ridley Scott, the 60-second commercial aired during the third quarter of Super Bowl XVII on Jan. 22, 1984. Made with a budget of $900,000, the ad is considered to be an advertising masterpiece.
Last week, Clow was reportedly stepping down from his role with TBWA, the company handling Apple’s advertising, and that he would be replaced, period. The misunderstanding emerged from the fact that Duncan Milner had taken Clow's role as chief creative officer of the TBWA/Media Arts Lab, according to AppleInsider. However, Clow then sent an e-mail to the employees at his agency, a copy of which was provided to AppleInsider. The site posts the following portion of the letter:
So we tried to promote Duncan Milner because of the great job he's been doing leading the Media Arts Lab and look at how the blogosphere decided to make it a conversation about me.
As you all know, I'm here every day meddling in everything that goes on, pushing the creative on many brands including keeping an eye on Apple.
I remain Chairman of MAL, Global Creative Director of Media Arts and Chief Creative Officer of TBWA Worldwide.
I'm not going anywhere.
Love, Lee
According to the AppleInsider report, Clow and TBWA also put their talent to work to create Apple's "Think Different" campaign, and the "Get a Mac" ads, featuring PC (John Hodgman) and Mac (Justin Long).