John Flannagan celebrating his Order of Australia.
John Dale Crawford Flannagan, a founder of Advertising Partners Australia, has died. He was 92.
His family said John could not have spent a more fulfilled life. His perpetual work ethic led him to achieve great things.
He also gave back to society in a lasting way by forming Foodbank Australia, amalgamating four separate states into one central operation for food negotiations, warehousing and distribution to the needy.
For this work, he was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM).
Originally from Brighton in Melbourne, he spent most of his working career in the advertising industry.
He was an account executive with Emmett Australia Ltd in Victoria, an account executive with Public Relations Associates Ltd and in 1954 he became manager of Fortune Australia in Adelaide.
He then set sail to the UK where he joined the London Press Exchange Ltd as account director at the age of 22.
He went on to join the International Division of LPE in London and then moved to Africa to become director and general manager of LPE International in Zimbabwe.
In 1965 he moved to their Singapore operations, became president of the Association of Accredited Advertising Agencies in Singapore and was responsible for implementing the country’s first Family Planning Program and the Keep Singapore Clean campaign which continues to this day.
He returned to Sydney Australia in 1968 with his family. His boat Benito had been built in Singapore and John always maintained that this this had saved his life many times in tricky seas.
He had a great passion for fishing and the sea. He fished in many competitions and on charters for big game fish, and held the NSW record for the largest Blue Marlin caught in NSW in 1993. The lure was retrieved and framed in memory.
In 1978, he launched his own advertising agency, Advertising Partners Australia Ltd, with his then business partner Heather Leembruggen.
The agency went on to become one of the top 10 Australian owned advertising agencies, operating in Sydney for more 34 years.
When he retired he then went on to become chairman of Food Bank Australia for eight years.
He was a fellow member of the Advertising Institute of Australia, a member of the Institute of Practitioners of Advertising UK, the British Institute of Management UK, the International Advertising Association USA and the Institute of Directors of Australia.
“John’s achievements in life were something to be proud of and his contribution back to society in the end, was deservedly rewarded,” his family said.
“He leaves behind a passion for the sea; a drive to succeed in whatever one does; a man who was a great master of ceremonies.”
He was a much loved partner to Patricia Parker, and a legacy as a teacher and mentor to his daughters Nicole, Lorraine and Wendy.
He will be privately cremated and his ashes scattered at sea.
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