Ad men behind John Lewis’s Christmas TV campaigns share £85m bonanza

The ad men behind John Lewis’s much-loved Christmas TV campaigns have landed a massive payout after their agency beat performance targets.

James Murphy, David Golding, Ben Priest and Jon Forsyth will share £85 million after Adam & Eve, the agency they founded and then sold to Omnicom, exceeded expectations.

Industry paper Campaign reports that Murphy and Golding, with 25% stakes in Adam & Eve made the most, while Priest had a 22% stake, and Forsyth about 12%.

The four had already enjoyed a £25 million payout when Omnicom bought Adam & Eve in 2012 and merged it with DDB London. The scale of the earn-out makes the agency one of the most financially successful, creative UK start-ups of the past decade, industry bible Campaign said.

Adam & Eve is known in the industry for its John Lewis ads, but has also done high-profile work for Lloyds Bank and Virgin Atlantic among others.

Adam & Eve/DDB extended its reach to the US by winning Samsung’s account in North America in autumn 2016 before the end of the earn-out.

Murphy, Golding and Priest have agreed to stay at Adam & Eve/DDB after their earn-out completed but Forsyth has left.