THE CHAIRMAN
The sixth release in The Macallan Archival Series, Folio 6 celebrates a wonderfully witty advert, which cleverly featured ‘The Chairman’ as a Scotsman dancing the Highland fling over a pen and brush, the symbols of the advertising team of Holmes and Salaman.
At the time, The Macallan Chairman was Allan Shiach, who as a writer himself, was known to suggest the occasional idea to the brand’s creative team. Naturally, the two admen tended to bridle a little at these suggestions from above – but of course when it was The Macallan Chairman they could hardly demur.
Brows were furrowed. Misgivings were muttered. But the admen stuck to the creative task, and ultimately chose to feature the Chairman himself in their response to the gauntlet he had thrown down. The resulting campaign remains one of the brand’s most memorable, and to many, the most amusing.
