Devondale marketing boss Simon Brady exits

By By Wenlei Ma | 30 November 2012
 
The controversial Devondale 'Dev and Dale' campaign. Head of retail marketing Simon Brady has left the company.

EXCLUSIVE: Dairy cooperative Murray Goulburn's head of retail marketing, Simon Brady, has left the company amid the controversy surrounding the Devondale ad campaign.

Brady, who had been in the role for less than six months, appeared to have departed his position earlier this month. From mid-last week until yesterday afternoon, his LinkedIn profile listed his tenure at Murray Goulburn as having ended in November 2012. The Murray Goulburn entry on his profile has now been removed altogether.

Devondale, the consumer-facing brand for the dairy cooperative, launched a rebrand two months ago of the logo while an ad campaign was unveiled several weeks ago.

As reported by rural publication The Weekly Times, farmers belonging to the cooperative were incensed with the campaign. Specifically, they strongly objected to the portrayal of farmers as 'bogans' through the 'Dev and Dale' characters.

The Weekly Times also reported that the campaign has now been scrapped.

It's not clear if Brady's exit was related to the reaction of the 'Dev and Dale' campaign.

Murray Goulburn manager corporate affairs Kim Lovely declined to comment on the matter. She said the company does not comment on the circumstances of its employees.

The Murray Goulburn Cooperative is owned by 2,500 farming families.

UPDATE: After the original publication of this article, a source suggested to AdNews Brady's departure was a result of a separate matter to the 'Dev and Dale' campaign.

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