Search monolith Google has announced the appointment of former Ogilvy & Mather vice-chairman and executive creative director Patrick Collister as its head of design.

According to James Swift of Campaign magazine:
Collister will join Google in this month and is understood to be replacing Irene Au, who handed in her notice in June 2012. In his new role, Collister will lead Google’s creative team with the aim of helping ad agencies make the best use of Google products, such as YouTube.

"Loosely, we want to encourage major brands to spend more money online." Collister said.

"I have been a creative director for 25 years now and the fact that an organisation like Google is looking to a grey-hair like me is very interesting because I think it shows that good old-fashioned understanding of brands, ideas and – dare I say it – people is important.


"Within some digital agencies, people tend to think platforms are a substitute for ideas, but you need both. Technology drives creativity, but it doesn’t lead it."

Collister makes the excellent point that age should not deter fashionable tech companies when considering their next hire, as experience in traditional marketing can still play a vital role in ultra-modern digital marketing. With Google showing the way, perhaps other companies will follow suit with their hiring strategies.