Q&A: David Abbott

“David Abbott is God,” said Robert Campbell of Rainey Kelly Campbell Roalfe/Y&R, London, in a taped tribute to the Lifetime Achievement honoree at the Clio Awards. Colleagues recalled Abbott’s respect for his staff at London shop Abbott Mead Vickers as well as his respect for his consumer, and paid tribute to work ranging from the touching Chivas Regal print ad to witty Economist executions. Retired for three years, Abbott keeps close to the business, acting as a non-executive partner of Miles Calcraft Briginshaw Duffy, writing the occasional ad for friends and making, he says, slow progress on a novel.