Tesco’s head of advertising, Robin Gray, is retiring after working with the supermarket for 32 years.
Brand marketing manager Paula Withell, who has been with Tesco for two years, has been promoted to the position of head of advertising.
During his career at Tesco, Gray has overseen the introduction of more than 2,000 Tesco advertisements. He was also responsible for appointing Tesco’s advertising agency, Lowe, in 1989.
Gray led the development of Tesco’s TV campaign featuring Dudley Moore, in which the star undertook a three-year worldwide search as a Tesco buyer on the hunt for free-range chickens. Gray also worked on the retailer’s ‘Dotty’ campaign featuring Prunella Scales and Jane Horrocks and was involved with the introduction of the Tesco strapline ‘Every Little Helps’ in 1995.
Paul Weinberger, chairman of Lowe London, said that the secret of Gray’s success was his attitude to business and his colleagues.
“Working for Robin was always a joy, but also a bit of a hardship.
“A joy because, if you felt strongly about a creative issue, he would always put his trust in you. A hardship because you always found yourself trying 10 times harder in order not to let him down.”

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