Paul Arden Passed Away at 67

Paul Arden, famous for his 14 years of creativity at Saatchi & Saatchi, passed away last week. He shared his passion and made his impression on the book world with two titles: A telling profile of the bestselling author from Creativity-Online:

"Paul Arden was one of the most exceptional creative directors I've known, with an individualism and passion for perfection that resulted in some of the best advertising of the 80s and 90s," said Anthony Simonds Gooding, chairman of U.K. awards show D&AD, in a statement. "His idiosyncrasies made him unforgettable and his generosity and encouragement to students and young creatives is an example to all." Mr. Arden was such a perfectionist that he was often maddeningly over budget, insisting that the smallest details be perfect, such as searching for a certain pair of wildly expensive spectacles to achieve just the right look on a face that would be seen briefly in passing in a TV spot. His public appearances were talked about for years. In one industry talk, he stood silently next to a woman playing the cello. Another time he gave a speech with a naked man on stage, demonstrating that a person is a blank canvas. And he once hired an actor to babble onstage while Mr. Arden displayed meaningless charts. His point was that although no one in the audience knew what was going on, they would never forget it.