16 - Sundas, July 8, 1990 - North Shore News

JOHN
LEONARD
STILL AWED
AT THE
POWER OF
ADVERTISING

NORTH VANCOUVER’S
John Leonard is the self-
styled ‘‘senior senator’? of
Vancouver’s highly com-
petitive advertising industry.

By SURJ RATTAN
News Reporter

The 58-year-old president of
Miller and Leonard Advertising
and Public Relations Inc. is equal-
ly adept at marketing products as
he is at marketing ‘tdamage con-
trol” for high-profile clients who
become the target of unwarranted
criticism.

And while Leonard admits that
the advertising game is one of the
most highly competitive
businesses, competitors take notice
when he starts eyeing new clients
and creating slick advertising
campaigns aimed at beating both
his and his clients’ competition.

If there ever was a veteran of
the advertising business, Leonard
is it. He started in advertising
when he was only 16 years old in
his native Australia.

Originally from Sydney,
Leonard began his advertising ca-
reer in Australia with J. Walter
Thompson.

Some years later, after working
on both the client and agency
sides of the advertising business,
Leonard again teamed up with
Thompson and became vice-presi-
dent and general manager of the
company’s western Canadian

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NEWS photo Cindy Goodman

JOHN LEONARD: The ‘‘senior senator” of the Vancouver advertising industry.

operations based out of Van-
couver.

In 1976 he formed his own
agency, which became known as
Walker, Leonard Advertising, and
landed such major clients as Scott
Paper, the B.C. Ferry Corp.,
Price Waterhouse and the Van-
couver Stock Exchange (VSE), all
of whom are still doing business
with Leonard.

Last December, Walker and
Leonard merged with Miller and
Co. to form Miller and Leonard
Advertising and Public Relations
Inc.

Leonard, whose wife Shirley

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was in charg? of the finances in
his first company, has lived in
North Vancouver for almost 30
years. The Leonards have three
sons and one daughter.

He says his company deals with
both the print and broadcast
media and warns that anyone in-

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volved with advertising has to
have deep pockets.

‘‘Advertising is an extremely
expensive business. It’s costly to
get your message out because it’s
so competitive,’’ says Leonard.

“It all has to do with the
thought process. It’s always think-

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He adds that recent technologi-
cal advances in communications
have increased the power of
advertising and the media.

“t've been in the business for
many, many years and I'm still in
awe of the power of advertising.
It carries a tremendous weight and
now with instant communications
it's been mostly beneficial,’’ says
Leonard.

One of Leonard’s most impor-
lant recent campaigns was to
boost the sagging image of the
VSE, which was the subject last
year of a scathing story in the
New York-based Barrons maga-
zine.

“Over the years the Vancouver
Stock Exchange has been through
some pressures. We were brought
in three years ago to bring the
positive side out,’’ says Leonard.
“I had one of my people go up to
the Vancouver Public Library and
put together all of the articles he
(the Barrons reporter) did. He just
chose to write it (VSE story) in
such an antagonistic and ugly style
of writing.

See Employees
Page 17

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