Sir John Hegarty, left, with Dr Sean Nixon from the Department of Sociology.

Sir John Hegarty, worldwide creative director of the advertising agency Bartle Bogle Hegarty gave a talk to sociology students at the University of Essex this week.

Sir John is a founding partner of Bartle Bogle Hegarty and was knighted in 2007 for services to the creative industries. He art directed the agency’s renowned television adverts for the re-launch of Levi’s 501 jeans in 1985 and has worked on numerous adverts for global brands including Audi. 

He talked to students studying for the University’s MA in Advertising, Marketing and the Media, and the BA in Media, Culture and Society in the Department of Sociology. His theme was the challenges and opportunities facing advertising agencies as suppliers of creativity in an era of media proliferation. This included the role of agencies as communicators of social issues.