Frank Lowe (advertiser)


Sir Frank Budge Lowe is a British advertising agent who worked for Collett Dickenson Pearce, Lowe & Partners Worldwide, and Red Brick Road. He was knighted for services to charity and advertising.

Career

He first rose to fame running Collett Dickenson Pearce, which he built into one of the best known agencies in the United Kingdom. In 1981, with Geoff Howard-Spink he started Lowe Howard-Spink, which eventually became Lowe & Partners Worldwide. In 1979, Lowe arranged sponsorship of the Queen's Club Championships, which became known as the Stella Artois tournament, an arrangement that lasted almost 30 years. He became founder and president.
Lowe built 50 Glebe Place in Chelsea between 1985 and 1987.
In the 2001 Birthday Honours, Lowe was knighted for services to charity and advertising, allegedly less than a year after donating £2m to the country's first City Academy, Capital City Academy, in North West London.
He quit his eponymous agency in 2003, becoming its chairman emeritus, after falling out with parent Interpublic, which had acquired Lowe Worldwide in 1990.
After fulfilling a two-year non-compete clause, Lowe founded the Red Brick Road integrated agency, taking its name from the route that Dorothy didn't follow in the Wizard of Oz. He launched by poaching Tesco's £50m advertising account from Lowe Worldwide. Other clients include Gala Coral, Sky One, Heineken and Olympus. In 2010 Lowe announced that he was "stepping back from day-to-day involvement"

Personal life

Lowe was married five times. His fourth wife was a US citizen, Dawn Lowe. They were married for 16 years and had a son, Sebastian.
In 2008, Lowe married for the fifth time to 1960s model Pat Booth. She died of cancer in 2009, aged 66.

Legacy

Lowe is the only account manager to have won The President's Award from the Design and Art Directors Association of London.