From marketingmag.ca. January 10, 2008

By Jeromy Lloyd

Canadian ad legend Terry O’Malley has joined the team at Toronto startup agency Huxley Quayle von Bismark as chairman of the board of advisors.

O’Malley, former president and creative director of Vickers & Benson, has invested in the agency and will have an advisory role at HQvB, helping to steer corporate strategy and creative direction.

“If anyone has any question about how serious we are in creating a world-class agency, this announcement ought to answer it,” says Chris Hall, former creative director at Arnold worldwide and HQvB founding partner.

The Marketing Hall of Legends inductee has informally mentored founders Hall, Andy Shortt (formerly of Dentsu Canada), and Mark Tawse-Smith (formerly of Downtown Partners) for some time.

“I was impressed with these guys,” says O’Malley from his condo in Sarasota, Fla. O’Malley splits his time between Florida and St. Catharines, Ont., where he runs a small consultancy called Sizzling Solutions.

He says HQvB presents something he’s familiar with from his days at V&B but that is missing from the industry today—ideas.

“Ideas are the answer, and it doesn’t have to be a 30-second TV spot or a newspaper campaign,” he says. “It may be standing naked at Dundas Square.”

HQvB is billing itself as a new kind of agency with a global outlook and new creative approach to getting consumers involved with brands. It is currently working on a project for one undisclosed client, as well as its own branding campaign.