Richard Copping to leave Saatchi Singapore
Saatchi & Saatchi Singapore/Malaysia head of art, Richard Copping has resigned. Copping joined Saatchi & Saatchi in Singapore in 2004 after stints at BBDO and Bates. He was promoted to ECD in 2008 but late last year took on the Head of Art role when Adrian Miller became ECD after both the Malaysian and Singapore offices were merged to a single operating structure. Subsequent to Miller’s decision to resign, Saatchi has hired Bruce Matchett from Ogilvy Sydney to take on the ECD role.
Saatchi & Saatchi Regional ECD Andy Greenaway confirmed Copping’s departure saying: “Ritchie’s been a great servant to us and a great hire for anyone that hires him. I will sorely miss him. He’s one of the best creative guys I’ve worked with: talented, hard working, loyal and willing to embrace the new world.”
50 Comments
Wow, what is happening with Saatchis?
Is anyone left. this Matchet guy is going to have to do everything
Is there anybody left in the building? Andy, turn the lights off on the way out would you.
Ladies and gentleman, it’s the Dean Taylor Andy Greenaway show.
Great servant or great leader? Who wrote the copy?
hey andy, why you call people servant?
I think Richard deserves a better farewell note.
Guys, I think you are misreading this.
The quote from Andy is not a press release but from a personal note in response to my quick “I hear Ritchie is leaving…” email yesterday. The way I read it, and the way I meant to write it, was Andy is acknowledging Richard’s contribution to the agency in very glowing terms.
I wanted to post this news quickly so I used Andy’s comment. I’m sure an official press release would go into much further detail, but for a one para quote you couldn’t get a more glowing endorsement than this.
Kim
Richard is a great craftman but he lacks great ideas. However bruce has none of these two things. They gonna struggle big time and there wont be any more scams coming out of saatchi’s singapore. This place is a scam kingdom.
Master And Servant lyrics
It’s a lot
It’s a lot
Like life
There’s a new game
We like to play you see
A game with added reality
You treat me like a dog
Get me down on my knees
We call it master and servant
We call it master and servant
It’s a lot like life
This play between the sheets
With you on top and me underneath
Forget all about equality
Let’s play master and servant
Let’s play master and servant
It’s a lot like life
And thats what’s appealing
If you despise that throwaway feeling
From disposable fun
Then this is the one
Domination’s the name of the game
In bed or in life
They’re both just the same
Except in one you’re fulfilled
At the end of the day
Let’s play master and servant
Let’s play master and servant
Let’s play master and servant
Come on master and servant.
i think “creative” “leaders” who are nasty with their remarks to other creatives[usually asian] are very bad people. Frauds.
The boy has been at the end of quite a bit of stick on this forum so I will say this: he certainly has nicely defined pecs.
In an industry that’s brilliant at reading in between the lines, that quote does sound like a backhanded compliment. Apart from the servitude, there’s the willingness to “embrace the new world” – what, like he’s some sort of savage from Papua New Guinea? Hilarious.
Andy is English. In the UK, the term “servant” is commonly used to refer to anybody who works for a company, otherwise expressed as being “in service” to a company. This applies to everyone from the tea lady, to a mid-management employee, to the CEO. Football managers in the EPL often refer to players and staff who have been “servants” to the the team.
So there was obviously no slight intended. Andy was thanking the man for a job well done, simple as that.
@3:27 You for one defintely can’t read between the lines. If you’ve been reading Andy’s PR plugs he’s trying to position himself as the old guy that know all about the new things like social media, the web and so on. He simply means that Richard is trying to embrace the world of new media which, if Andy is to be believed, Andy invented.
Embrace the new media? Quite a joke…is that even possible for the self-serving singapore ‘legends’ who haven’t even embraced the ‘old media’…just used it to do one off ads for award juries?
New media practitioners right now are like the agencies on Madison Avenue that did all kinds of crap before Bill Bernbach came along.
Everybody seems to be separating creatives into those who understand new media and those who don’t. Ok, fine.
Let’s dump the old fools and get the 16 year old kids with Flash skills.
But how do you really capitalise on the new media when the client is the same (old media supposedly), the account director the same, the planner the same ….are we saying that the only component that requires changing in the digital age is the creative department?
What about clients who have no idea about digital and how it works…..planners and suits who supply generic briefs and think they’ve tackled the digital part simply by writing “please provide a 360º approach”?
They have no idea of how digital works either so aren’t they holding up the queue as well?
Wow. What a negative industry we work in. I was tempted out of silence as I know both these guys well. First off, I have never in my years heard Andy ever slag anyone off. He doesn’t talk shit about people, and that’s rare in Asia’s ad industry. So you’d have some dignity to do the same. I also know Andy thinks very highly of Ritchie so please stop misconstruing what he said. Agencies evolve, things change, people come and people go. Ritchie was there 5 years and there’s nothing so mysterious about a change of life. He’s a solid art director and hard worker so he’ll do well wherever he goes.
All the best Richard! You’ll do well!
2008 – ECD of Saatchi Singapore and then downgraded to Head of Art, replace by Adrian Miller as ECD Singapore Bruce took over from Adrian Miller no sooner. So, Andy…if you deem Ritchie a great hire, why get Bruce to be the ECD and not Richard again? If he’s not being valued by the network, why should he stay anyway. The network sounded like a chaotic political place to be.
Dear Campaign Brief,
Please don’t filter the negative comments on Richard and Andy – clearly it’s happening because there are a lot of posts our group uploaded, but haven’t appeared. However, almost every single one of our comments on John, has.
You are a solid democratic voice, so please don’t be partial to Andy and Richard.
If this is a truly free thread, please let it unravel the truth.
Campaign Brief Asia says: Sorry but this is not a free forum at all. See our “House Rules” on the home page. If the post is adding to the discussion we do edit words, phrases and sentences where we can rather than ignore the whole comment completely. Having said that, around 40 comments received on the two stories you refer to have not been posted as they did not fit in with the house rules. Of course, if you put your name (and email address) to the comment then you can say what you like.
Hey CB – any merit posting more stuff on the Richard thread here? Just asking cos it looks like the good lord’s going too soft on em. 2 nice posts went a missin, you know
I love that you are all spelling his name Ritchie.
Poor bastard gets swept aside by Adrian and then Bruce and as a final insult no one can spell his name correctly in this thread.
Now there’s a legacy.
Richard, I like your SPCA campaign!!! All the best!!!
This has become as bad and bitchy as the CampaignBrief Aussie and Kiwi page. At least the comments on that page are funny and ironic. But trust SIngaporeans to take someone apart with all the finesse of fucking fishmongers. Pathetic. Leave the poor man alone, you tossers. He’s going to surface in another agency and you’re going to be first to line to suck up.
Ritchie is a great guy and will be do brilliantly wherever he goes. Andy will continue to be one of the nicest guys in industry anywhere. You sad twats on here will continue to be bitter, underachievers, with but the odd bronze to look upon while you slag those who have succeeded off.
Now stop thumbing the pages of Archive and pouring over Ads of the World and do some real work.
Yup, CB’s clearly allowing more `unrelated’ stuff through for Kyriakou than Copping. Wonder why Richard and Andy are being protected by CB.
My career almost ended at Saatchi. Good thing my association with them ended when it did, because I’m now a Creative Director scripting big ticket global TVCs.
Whatever happened to all the posts we lined up at Simon’s bash on Sat night mateys? There were at least 15 good points on that list… Step on it CB!
Richie is a great mentor and a wonderful friend. I trust that his strong, good-natured character and visionary ideas will lead to great things throughout his future. All the best, wherever you go, Richie.
Ritchie’s leaving is not going to solve the whole problem. The top management of an agency, creative or servicing, need to take as much responsibility. All the best Ritchie.
Someone told me this post had caused a bit of a storm. So I decided to come in and have a look.
I’m happy to clarify my statement.
As someone above rightly pointed out, “servant”, in the context I used it, applies to anybody who has worked loyally and selflessly for a company over many years. That applies to the CEO as well as the tea lady. So please don’t misconstrue its meaning. It was a compliment to Richie.
Secondly, let me make it clear, Richard is fantastic. I will sorely miss him – and still hope in some deluded way I can persuade him to stay. Richie is a big ideas man as well as a superb crafter of ideas. He has not only embraced the new world, but has been a key architect in helping Saatchi re-invent itself.
I sincerely wish him the best in whatever he does next. He will not find it difficult to find a job. We are great friends and will remain so.
11:26 and 12:38, perhaps you are the same person, perhaps not, but what i’d like to ask you- and what you should be asking yourself- is what your deeply seated problem is… you state that ‘a lot of posts our group have uploaded haven’t appeared.’ what the f*$k are you doing with your day? sitting around in a think-tank of hate writing negative messages to down someone? whether it’s a ‘group’ of you or just you writing angry messages your life is pretty pathetic.
“Help Saatchi re-invent itself”????!
What are you talking about Andy…you guys have no accounts left?
What’s going on CB? Is it true that you guys are shielding Copping & Co by filtering out the nasty truths being uploaded about him? Do you realize just how many careers have been ruined? Is there no conscience left in your editorial soul – to guard them, just because of what they mean to you commercially? This is a prayer – do YOUR bit for this dying industry by letting the truth prevail CB.
So long as that Macak fellow hangs around, Saatchis will be alright.
10.57….stop chastizing CB for not playing into your hands. To run potentially defamatory articles that can threaten someone’s livelihood has legal consequences….unless you have proof. Do you have any information that can stand up under cross examination in a court of law?
As CB said already, provide your name and email address and then say what you want….so at least the lawyers know where to find you.
Even if you’re anonymous, your IP can still be traced, so tread carefully.
10.58: Macak was this Jugee guy’s alter ego. The only noble thing Andy ever did was take the rap on Jugee’s behalf in the media. So Macak’s now at Ogilvy, not Saatchi.
Waouh, looks like an episode of “The Young and the Restless” !
I’m moving to S’pore in September where I’ll be looking for a position of Regional Account Director. Any advice to help me to knock on Heaven’s door (ie fast moving agency with great challenging clients and tremendous internal atmosphere) ?
Mr Greenaway, I don’t know you or the current HR context of Saatchi in S’pore, therefore I have no opinion on Mr Copping’s resignation. However, in Paris, where I’ve been working for 12 years (6 years in Publicis group), I haven’t met many top managers who would accept stepping in the web arena and meet the lions around such a violent debate concerning one of their management decisions ! Looking forward to meeting you…
There is a theory that scam can make you very successful and get you promoted like crazy in the agency you’re already in…but it makes it very difficult to get a job in another agency later.
We are entering a new age in which this theory is soon going to be tested.
Lions? Lions don’t remain anonymous.
Most of them on here (okay, myself included) are like pussies. Pussycats, I mean of course.
Good on Greenaway for speaking up for himself.
What accounts do Saatchi have now?
Any at all?
UOB gone. Tiger gone, Sony E gone. Navy gone.
What clients are left? How many staff are left?
They lost them all? Confirm? UOB gone. Tiger gone, Sony E gone. Navy gone.
Hey look everyone, we took $XX million and turned it into…nothing…..now if that isn’t re-invention, what is?
Well, if they save up on the award entries, at least they still get to keep the $ in the agency with many of those clients gone. Maybe those medals would worth something in Ebay.
Richard Copping, Jugdesh Ramarakeshnan (aka Roger Mackak), Andy Greenaway, and let’s not forget Graham Kelly’s contribution. Great job guys. You all deserve a pat on the back and a big fat bonus. It seems John Kyriakou is the only one laughing all the way to LB with the bank. Ha ha hee hee. Too many chiefs not enough acccounts.
I just read this thread. A great read. Was out of the Singapore scene for a while. What happened you guys!!! Saatchi is dead? JWT is dead? Ogilvy went Aussie and lost the plot and now DDB is the place!!!!! WTF did you guys do? Reset! Somebody hit reset!!! OMG!
Some simplistic very black and white observations on Singapore/AsiaPac agencies, like Saatchi, JWT:
– Too many chiefs, i.e. overpaid BS-ers, heading account, planning and creative departments (most 50+ yr old expats are only in it to be in a very easy, very well paid, early retirement mode)
– Too much focus on scam (sorry, “initiative”)
– Too much money spent on scam departments and the scammers that populate them (fame and glory are not paying for any bills, nor impresses clients nowadays) and with that too much money spent on attending every scam-show in the region and the entry fees for scam worldwide
– Not capable of ensuring consistent creative output from day-to-day creative to awarded scam (scam looks amazing, day-to-day pure pulp)
– Not putting the right people on specific accounts (like 25 yr old kids doing a regional TV campaign for a very high end financial business institute, omg)
– Not listening to clients, not even hearing them but force feeding them artsy-fartsy campaigns to make the agency look witty, smart, whatever, disregarding the real reasons why those clients advertise; sales.
You all destroyed Saatchi. You bled it with your scams, trips to Cannes and fat salaries. Saatchi now is so depressing and it all started with you guys pretending you’re david droga. Sorry lads, but the truth hurts.
A certain someone (no names) who took over S&S in 2009/10 once held court at a pub with an adoring audience of young guns.
When asked which agencies he rated as creative threats, he dismissively rattled off a list of shops as creatively crap.
These shops went on to take every one of his clients.
Lesson:Don’t get high on your own supply.
“A certain someone (no names)…”
Such a person has no business in advertising let alone leading an agency. They should be in treatment for bi-polar disorder syndrome and under overall mental
observation.