John Hegarty

John Hegarty originally pursued an education in the fine arts, eventually switching to graphic design at the suggestion of one of his instructors. Hegarty came of age in the cultural revolution of the 60's, and, influenced by the pioneering work of Bill Bernbach, he sought to bring creativity, wit, entertainment and accessibility to British advertising. He worked with fellow advertising legend Charles Saatchi at the firm Benton & Bowles and was a founding member of Saatchi & Saatchi. He was also a co-founder of 

TBWA, and served as creative director until he left to found Bartle Bogle Hegarty (BBH) in 1983. 

Although Hegarty had considerable success before founding BBH, he cemented his place in advertising history with his 1980's ads for the jean manufacturer, Levi-Straus. BBH's 1985 Levi's 501 Launderette commercial not only proved successful in selling it's intended product, jeans, but also in influencing British pop culture. The soul songs that provided the campaign's soundtrack, including a version of "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" reentered the British pop charts. The stylized 1950's look of the ads sparked a British 50's fashion revival, and the underwear worn by the model in the launderette ad is credited with getting a generation of British men to retire their y-front briefs for boxer shorts. Other products represented by Hegarty and BBH include Audi, British Airways, and Johnnie Walker, and AXE bodysprays (known as Lynx in the U.K.).

Sir John Hegarty, knighted in 2007, is revered as an advertising legend in Britain.  BBH, with Hegarty as chairman, remains a force in British advertising today. The company remains true to its roots by retaining ownership of the firm (a 49 percent stake is held by Publicis), and has only 6 offices worldwide. BBH recently opened the first virtual advertising agency on Second Life, the popular internet-based virtual world.