Vale Christen Monge: a class act
Many in the ad industries throughout Australia, Asia and Europe will be saddened to hear of the passing of Christen Monge, a world-renowned creative director from the 80s through to 2010, at only 61 years of age.
Monge is well-known to many who were in the Sydney industry from 1988 to 1992. In early 1988 he was brought into Ogilvy Sydney from Ogilvy London – where he helped launch Fosters in the UK and was part of the team on the long-running Guinness campaign – and soon set about changing the rather staid image of the agency with award-winning work for Homer Hudson Ice Cream, American Express, Philips, Lipton and Guinness.
In the 1990 Campaign Brief poll, Monge was voted #2 creative director in Australia by his peers.
In 1990 Monge left Ogilvy to join FCB Sydney, followed by a long high-flying career back at Ogilvy in Asia and Europe. In 2010 he left the advertising industry, finally pursuing his dream of renovating Kingscote Estate in Sussex, where he planted a vineyard – with the first harvest only last year.
13 Comments
Ahhh, shite – that’s really sad news – I worked for Christian, when he was CD of FCB – his ‘listening strategy’ was legendary – and very funny. ‘Bumped into him again a few years ago, and shared many beers and laughs about our days at Foot Sore and Bleeding, where I was very 26 and an absolute pain in the arse to manage. My sympathies to all his family and friends.
Deeply saddened to see one of my oldest and closest friends pass.
Christen was one of the best blokes in advertising….passionately creative, fit and courageous, and always took the path less well trodden. He led one of the most creative eras on O&M.
He leaves four great kids who will shine a proud light on his legacy. I will miss you terribly me old “mucker”. Rip
Monge was a top bloke who was working in an agency called Carter Hedger Mitchell with Rowan Dean when I got my first job in London. They always got the best briefs, they did some great work and he was always great fun and a real gent. It doesn’t seem that long ago, thanks for the great memories matey and RIP.
He was my boss, twice. Once in Sydney and once in Hong Kong. A class act and I learned so much from him.
When we saw him at Christmas he was so happy to show us his English vineyard, to have us sample his first vintage (excellent) and to tell us all about his plans. Cheers Mate. Cheers…
A man of few but always perfectly chosen words. Here’s proof – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONTgZqL79L. John Curran is the ‘hand talent’. Christen, fittingly, plays the ‘Chairman’.
I’m very sad to hear this news. I worked with Christen in HK. He was a lovely, funny, generous man, as all of these posts have testified. I’m sure there will be many more. You’ll be missed, Christen.
Christen offered me head of TV job at O&M Sydney whilst playing pool in a pub in London on new years eve 1987. I turned him down and won the game. Once the hangover cleared I realised my mistake and asked for a second chance. That led to the two best years of my working life – made all the more entertaining by sharing a house with Christen. There are many of us from those days who are indebted to Christen for his laissez faire style – he gave us the space to fly.
I was fortunate enough to work for Christen in London, Hong Kong and Tokyo. A true gent who never lost his cool
He gave me my first job in the uk at Ogilvy when I was down to my last 2 pounds.
Thanks mate. Youll be missed.
My thoughts go out to Alison and the children.
Christen was a gent and a generous one at that. When I was working in Hong Kong, he poached one of my art directors. Over a beers later I said, “You owe me.”
Talk then turned to the travails of expat life and I mentioned, in passing, that I was looking to buy a car. The next day a set of keys arrived in an envelope. They fitted an aptly named Saab CD which served me faithfully for the duration of my stint in Honkers.
Sad news and too soon to go. Christen should have lived to a ripe old vintage.
I’ve discovered that the link I provided doesn’t connect. (Sod’s Law). The commercial I was referring to is worth tracking down. Simply go to YouTube and search ‘Homer Hudson Ice Cream ‘Boardroom’ TVC’. At a sad time, this will make you smile.
I was also lucky enough to have been under Christen’s leadership over that Ogilvy period and later he took me up to DDB Hong Kong with him. You have those formative moments in your career and despite DDB HK being great, Ogiivy was it. He had amassed a pretty formidable creative department and i was lucky enough to come in under Mark, on a pay cut, to have the privilege to work with them all. Christen lead with intellect and feel and pretty much showed me (and the rest of us) what really good work was. I will never forget what you gave us Christen. thank you. My thoughts goes out to his family.
Christen turned up to a studio I was working in on his very first job as O&M CD …the director who was slated to direct that day didn’t turn up for reasons that are difficult to elaborate on.
Suffice to say that at 7am, upon hearing the disastrous news, he looked at me, merely a camera assistant at the time and smiled that mad trusting grin of his, handed me the script and said ‘OK great, you’re it, so what are we doing?”
That commercial won a Clio!
That was his style: he made you want to live up to the promise he saw in you…
Like many, I owe him much.
Such sad news.
The best boss I ever had and one of the best mates as well. I saw Christen two days before this tragic event and he was the same as ever, full of plans for the future. What Christen and Alison created together at their place in Sussex was truly inspiring. Everyone should go to their vineyard website http://kingscotevineyards.com/shop/buy/ and order a case or two and raise a glass to the man and the legend. It’s definitely what he would have wanted. Rest in peace mate, you were one of the best there was.