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Former Advertising Federation of Australia boss Bruce Cormack dies

Bruce Cormack, former Federal Director of the Advertising Federation of Australia died this week.The former federal director of the Advertising Federation of Australia, Bruce Cormack, died at the age of 82 this week.

Bruce Cormack served as the head of the federation, which has since become the Communications Council, for 14 years from 1979. He died in Sydney on Monday and the funeral will be next Monday.

He was best-known for his “legal to purchase – legal to advertise” stance when it came to tobacco in Australia. Bruce Cormack was seconded by Leo Burnett when he was elected.

During his first annual review he said “We have seen a full decade of assaults on our ability to do business in a competitive marketplace. The national nanny is not only alive, but growing – frequently sustained by government grants or entities.”

He railed against threats to advertising freedoms, agency extraction rates and fair compensation, attrition and loss of experienced people from the industry, and championed training through AdSchool.

Communications Council CEO Margaret Zabel said: “Cormack was instrumental in unifying the advertising industry and laying the foundations for a strong marketing communications peak body.”

Former AFA Federal Director Lesley Brydon added: “He was always a complete gentleman, never lost his love for the industry and his desire to stay involved.”

Cormack later remained active in a more international sphere as the long-time representative of Warc in the Asia Pacific region. The World Advertising Research Centre, as it was previously known, is the strategic knowledge partner of the World Federation of Advertising, and the association with The Communications Council remains to this day.

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