A tribute to Vic: Ogilvy Cape Town loses its no. 1 man

Victor Jansen

Vic wasn't just the guy at the front desk, he was an institution, a piece of our soul, a legend. Always sporting his trademark trilby hat, Vic was the official ambassador, the unofficial ambassador, the lifeblood, the "dude" of the company.

Shouts of "Hold the lift lovey" and "Have a good day my darling" would bounce across the foyer as Vic went about his day. Whether he was swapping stories with suppliers, trading banter with the creatives or amusing their favourite clients, Vic was the main man. He was the first person the staff at Ogilvy ever saw when they arrived in the morning. He was the guy who said hello when they arrived on their first day at the company. He was often the last person they saw when they left. He was the man out in front in so many respects.

A gaping hole in the Ogilvy family

Victor passed away on 13 July 2011 and has left not only an empty chair in reception, but a gaping hole in the Ogilvy family. He is mourned by his own immediate family, but also by his family at Ogilvy. By a legion of grief-stricken suits, shocked creatives and a community of advertising people whose day will be that much poorer without him in it.

After twenty years as the face of Ogilvy, Victor will always hold a special place in the hearts of all those who have worked for and with the agency. His energy, his never-ending 'chirps' and banter are gone forever. He was that 'little bit of crazy' with a whole lot of soul. In a way no-one represented the true character, the DNA, the 'mojo' of the agency more than him.

"Vic was a part of the very fabric of Ogilvy Cape Town's culture," says Gavin Levinsohn, managing director. "He was unfailingly positive, high-energy and fun. He was deeply committed to Ogilvy and proudly loyal; which was a good thing because he definitely knew all our secrets. He will be deeply missed."

Goodbye Victor - the staff at Ogilvy will miss you.

Jacques Massardo, associated creative director:

"There are many things I remember about Vic. His larger than life presence, his wicked sense of humour, his philosophies. But my most enduring memory is from about five or six years ago, when we were still at the old building in Roeland Street. There was a security sector strike at the time and the marchers had descended on parliament in numbers. Some of them had started to vandalise shop front windows and the police were firing tear gas. Things got nasty. It was chaos. At one point a large group of marchers ran up our road towards the gate. My enduring memory is of Vic standing at the entrance shoving a stick through a small gap in the closed gate as the marchers pushed up against it from outside. This best sums up Vic for me. He was fearless. He was immovable. He didn't give an inch. He looked out for all of us."

Greg Tebbutt, business director:

"As one of my senior clients said to me - 'you must realise just how special that guy in your reception is, he sets the tone for my meetings with you. I feel welcomed, I feel important and special, I get a smile on my face and I come into your offices feeling really good and positive about being here.' That buzz and energy, the chirps and comments, the jokes, the insights, the care and the love all made Victor a unique and special character. It's just not the same without him. Victor we all miss and love you buddy."

Tammy Ward from Leading Edge:

"Personally I was a huge admirer of Victor, I never quite fathomed we he got all his endless energy and enthusiasm from. He was a force to be reckoned with, I felt Ogilvy were extremely lucky to have suck a quirky, fun and authentic character at front of house. He really was the face of Ogilvy. We will miss him, in the short few months/years we knew him, I always looked forward to seeing his face upon arrival. I'm not sure who will call me 'bokkie' anymore."

Stephen Jones from British American Tobacco:

"Without the lively passion and omnipresent positive energy that Vic showed me on every single one of my visits to Ogilvy, it is clear that Ogilvy and all their clients will really miss the 'Vibrant Victor'."

Tammy Pearce, senior art director:

"I always said he was too big for reception, maybe he should have been in PR or maybe a life coach. He was just larger than life. Even now I can just see him giving downtrodden angels pep talks."

Lee de Andrade, media buyer:

"For nearly 20 years you were the first person that I saw as I arrived at work. You always had a cheerful smile, a compliment about what I was wearing (good or bad) a joke or something of interest to impart...whether it was to talk to me about your fish, the interesting book that you were reading and recently, you used to stop me and ask me to identify the band that was playing on your PC. I loved your themed music days. One day it was reggae day, the other was rock. Whatever it was, off I went into the lift with a spring in my step, because of you."

Chris Gotz, exec CD

"The thing that I found utterly amazing about Victor was the breathless, astounding, never-ending enthusiasm with which he approached every single thing he did. Just watching Vic listen to the radio was a command performance. Sometimes I used to wonder if it bothered our clients to be greeted by Vic in his trilby listening to Bob Marley on full volume. Now I wonder what we will ever do without him."

For more tributes from the staff, suppliers and clients, please visit www.blogilvy.co.za