From Advertising . . . To Charity

The Age

Saturday August 18, 2007

Katie Cincotta

They say a good ad man can sell ice to Eskimos - but can he sell exercise to kids in a nation where one in four is overweight or obese?

DAVID SIMPSON spent 30 years working as an advertising executive for agencies such as J. Walter Thompson, so he understands the art of shaping perception. In his new job as chief executive of the Bluearth Institute, he's tackling sedentary lifestyles with a fitness program that motivates kids to move.

"There's so much focus on the diet and calories but the real issue is that we've engineered activity out of our lives," he says.

Mr Simpson knows a thing or two about being on the go. Born in Canada, his advertising career took him to Japan, Hong Kong, South Africa and Australia.

Political events in those countries have given him an important global focus. In South Africa, he witnessed the unbanning of the African National Congress, in Hong Kong he saw the Tiananmen Square massacre unfold and in New York he saw the planes hit the World Trade Centre.

"Our office in the west village was on the 14th floor and we were up on the roof garden watching the second plane hit," he says.

In 2004, at 53, he dropped half his salary and moved from New York to Melbourne with his wife and three teenagers to take up the cause against couch potatoes.

"The old chestnut is 'where do old agency people go to die?' I'd lived through the dotcom crash in New York, the broadband crash and 9/11. The business had got a lot harder and I was running out of gas," he says.

Working for a not-for-profit organisation has given him a sense of redemption. "I tell people after 30 years of advertising, it's time for me to atone for my sins," he says. He's stopped worrying about money, too.

Mr Simpson has worked hard to nationalise Bluearth, which now has 40 coaches, including Olympic high-jumper Tim Forsyth, who run exercise programs in 10 per cent of Australia's primary schools.

His advertising management skills have translated well, especially in dealing with a "hard-boiled" education system that can be cynical of third-party providers.

"Advertising trains you for teamwork," he says. "You spend your career learning to be a good problem solver and to deal with people."

He finds satisfaction in helping children develop physical confidence, self-esteem and a healthier lifestyle.

"We survey every student, teacher and principal and in virtually every report there are one or two stories that are heart-tugging, like the kid who would find every excuse to leave his gym clothes behind on gym day making a complete transformation."

-- KATIE CINCOTTA

© 2007 The Age

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