It was a devastatingly sad week for the South African media, marketing and advertising sector which lost a giant of the industry, veteran media director and ad industry leader, Gordon Patterson, who died tragically in a car-jacking in Johannesburg, SA. Gordon was a popular and principled leader in the industry for 30 years, serving in various leadership roles.
He was business director of Omnicom at the time of his death; on the Audit Bureau of Circulations Board; vice-chair of the Advertising Media Association of SA; on the print subcommittee of the SA Audience Research Foundation; and held leadership positions across advertising and media bodies throughout his career. Previously, he was MD of SMV Group and chairman of Vivaki South Africa.
He was also a skilled PADI diver and instructor, an expert underwater photographer, as well as the proud owner of a wolf and exotic reptiles - including rare snakes. He was known to take some of his pets to work with him from time to time.
Gordon was a remarkable man who shaped the South African communications industry and left an indelible mark on it. He will be greatly missed. Condolences to his wife, Sonja, family and friends. Bizcommunity has a tribute page to honour him.
On a happier note, the 20 Best Liked Ads of 2015 were announced by Millward Brown, and featured ads chosen by the consumer; from Vodacom, KFC, Coca-Cola, Toyota, Nestle, J&J and many more. Congrats to all those who garnered a top 20 spot.

Have a good week!
Louise Marsland
Africa Editor: Bizcommunity.com

Comment online in our ed's column archive. Go mobile with apps and m.bizcommunity.com. Engage with us on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Google+. Subscribe to YouTube and via RSS. Send all your African marketing and media news and event invitations to africanews@bizcommunity.com, exclusive opinion pieces to contributors-africa@bizcommunity.com and international news to internationalnews@bizcommunity.com. Read "How to contribute to Biz, from op-ed pieces to news".