Budding astronaut fires booster for City TV’s licence bid

Trevor Beattie

Trevor Beattie

Would-be astronaut and advertising guru Trevor Beattie adds his name to the supporters list for City TV in Birmingham:  “I am delighted and honoured to support the City TV bid. The creative energy emanating from Brum, and Moseley in particular, has touched the world.

“This is the voice we’ve been waiting for.  Let’s make it happen,” enthused Beattie.

Debra Davis, Chief Executive, City TV Broadcasting said:  “With two weeks to go before the application deadline, City TV welcomes Beattie’s voice.  He is one of the UK stars in the world of advertising and PR and from this very creative city.   More importantly, Trevor is an ardent voice for Birmingham on the national scene.

“Coming from an advertising family in Montreal, and having worked for a leading agency at the beginning of my career, I am thrilled that someone as renowned and talented has recognised our ambition to make Birmingham a more visible city!  We look forward to working with him on his Jack and Ada Beattie Foundation once we win the local television licence.”

Trevor Beattie was born in Birmingham and educated at Moseley Art School. He gained an Hons Degree in Graphic Design from Wolverhampton Polytechnic before moving to London and a career in advertising. A career which has seen him become one of the most talked-about characters in an industry packed with talked-about characters.

He found fame through ad campaigns for Playtex Wonderbra (“Hello Boys”) and French Connection (“FCUK”), before setting up Beattie McGuinness Bungay (BMB) in 2005. After just 3 years of trading, BMB was made Marketing’s Creative Agency of the Year in 2008.

He is currently planning a marketing campaign for the launch of Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic Spaceship Two, and as one of the earliest purchasers of a (return) ticket, is looking forward to becoming an astronaut in 2013.

“I set up The Jack And Ada Beattie Foundation in honour and memory of my parents. It will adhere to their life-long held principles of fair play, care for the vulnerable and getting the job done. It will fight against inequality in all its forms (when you come from a family of TEN, you soon learn the importance of equality…) and it will probably bear the Beattie family trait of defiance in the face of adversity.”

City TV Broadcasting Ltd. is one of four bidders for the local television licence focussing solely on the Birmingham and the immediate area.  City TV will bring local news and current affairs, local sports, entertainment, arts and culture programming to audiences in Birmingham, parts of Wolverhampton, Walsall, and Dudley in 2013 on Freeview Channel 8.