MELBOURNE: On the heels of the film Chopper opening in the US, the man himself, Mark Brandon ÒChopperÓ Read will grace billboards advertising Black Flys sunglasses. The infamous underworld standover man, now a best-selling author, was enlisted by J Walter Thompson to be the first Australian to advertise the California brand, licensed here by Black Flys Australia for the past six years. While the campaign has only just begun in Melbourne, Black Flys spokesman Stephen Bates said his US counterparts are ÒincrediblyÓ excited by the image of Chopper Read wearing little else but his Black Flys. ÒWe usually go with the American images, porn stars, rock groups, and as our brand appeals to the anti-establishment, we thought JWTÕs idea of using Chopper was a very good one,Ó he said. ÒWe only had about $70,000 to spend, which is a lot for us but pretty small for agencies, I gather.Ó Michel Lawrence, JWT chairman, said an agency the size of JWT should always be able to create successful campaigns for smaller clients. ÒBlack Flys isnÕt the sort of client which would normally approach a large multinational, but it did, and the work of course is stimulating in a different kind of way.Ó Jane Schou-Clarke
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