Vale Colin Fraser: legendary Patts creative director who wrote the original VB commercial
It is a great sadness to announce that yesterday Colin Fraser, a pioneer who made a significant contribution to the advertising industry in Australia, passed away at the age of 94.
Fraser’s career in advertising really started with the introduction of television in Australia. After being sent over to the US to learn how television worked on behalf of HSV-7 and in working as the stations program manager he faced the task of getting companies to use TV for advertising. Because almost no-one knew how it worked, it he literally wrote the book on it – How to Use TV Advertising.
After some years working for HSV-7 he joined George Patterson, where, as a creative director, he wrote the original VB ad in 1967 (adapted from a commercial fellow Patts CD Bruce Jarrett had written a few years before for Bulimba Beer in Queensland) before becoming managing director and then vice-chairman. He remained at Patts until the mid-1980s.
After leaving George Patterson he joined Samuelson, Talbot & Partners as joint chairman where he worked for another 25 years – right into his 80s.
Click here to read an article in the The Australian which talks about his role in the introduction of TV in Australia.
4 Comments
Nice guy, helped me when I was young.
I had the great privilege of spending time interviewing Colin about 14 years ago. He was over 80. A fascinating man full of stories of VB and his beloved George Patts where he also worked on Cadbury, Holden, the early days of Big M … his one regret, as vice chairman of the agency he agreed with Keith Cousins that advertising was, ‘a young man’s game’ and set retiring age at 60,
I’m very sad to hear of the passing of Colin Fraser, who was a mentor to me in my early days in the industry. In 1969, whilst working at Channel Nine as a news cameraman, I met Colin at George Patts and he offered me a job in the Audio Visual Department. Colin gave me my start in advertising and I worked for him for 3 years at GP. Colin then went on to recommend me for the role of Commercial Director at Channel 0 – a job I held for 5 years. He encouraged me to form my own production company in partnership with Cambridge Films, and then to form Horizon Films in 1989. Over the years I directed many of George Patt’s commercials. Not only was he a great mentor, and taught me so much, but he was a dear friend. A terrific bloke – the industry will miss this pioneer very much.
My Uncle Colin was a true gentleman, a mentor and a carer. I loved spending time with him and we always shared great conversations together about brands, trends in advertising and so on.
I interviewed Uncle Colin when I was studying my Master in Business Marketing and that interview contributed many insights into my thesis.
Very missed by me and our family xx