Trevor Beattie quits agency after 15 years to work with Chris Evans

Trevor Beattie, the Labour Party's advertising guru, has quit his agency TBWA on the eve of the general election. The ad man famous for the Wonderbra and FCUK campaigns is to set up a new creative agency with Chris Evans and the film director Matthew Vaughan.

He announced his resignation as chairman and creative director to TBWA's 270 staff last night, after 15 years with the agency. The TBWA chief executive, Andrew McGuinness, is also leaving to join Mr Beattie in his new venture.

Mr Beattie, whose recent ad campaign for the Labour Party depicting Michael Howard in a pose reminiscent of Shakespeare's Shylock was accused of anti-Semitism, admitted that he had deliberately chosen the day before the election to quit.

He said: "It's a very heavy moment. I've been here 15 years. I'm leaving because it's the right time. It's the election tomorrow and it's a big, big challenge. I've just taken a 75 per cent pay cut and I'm very scared. It's the saddest day of my life. Every other day here has been a highlight."

As the involvement of Messrs Evans and Vaughan suggests, Mr Beattie's new enterprise will be more than an advertising agency. The advertiser has recently broadened his horizons by producing an adults-only burlesque show at the Arts Theatre in the West End, starring the striptease artiste Immodesty Blaize.

Mr Beattie said: "I've never done this before. I don't just want to set up an ad agency. It's a bit more than that; whether that's branded entertainment in the West End, or exhibitions or movie-making."

He added: "We have no desire to create TBWA Lite. TBWA goes on. It remains the finest agency in London. TBWA will continue to do what it does brilliantly: creating brilliant ideas for brilliant clients. I will miss the people and the place, but I'll be cheering them on loudly from a little office somewhere." His departure will be a big blow to TBWA, which recently lost major accounts with Abbey and News International, publisher of The Times, The Sunday Times, The Sun and News of the World.

Mr Beattie would not confirm the involvement of Mr Evans and Mr Vaughan. Nor would he comment on whether he plans to take the French Connection and other accounts with him to his new company. He denied his departure was connected to TBWA's loss of accounts.

"It's nothing to do with the agency losing accounts. We have just won a multimillion-pound account with Ittihad [the Abu Dhabi government airline] that more than replaces the News International account. Every week an agency loses business. Life goes on."

Despite Mr Beattie's insistence that he is leaving TBWA in rude health, one insider described his departure as "a cataclysmic disaster" for the agency.

One of eight children from Balsall Heath in Birmingham, Mr Beattie made his name in advertising with the 1994 car-crash-inducing Wonderbra campaign featuring Eva Herzigova and the strapline "Hello Boys". Never afraid to shock, his FCUK campaign for French Connection provoked controversy, but become indelibly connected to the brand, even featuring on T-shirts.

He has become known as the Labour Party's favourite ad man, in 2001 creating a campaign for the party featuring William Hague sporting Margaret Thatcher's hair.

In this election campaign, he came under fire for a poster that superimposed the heads of Michael Howard and Oliver Letwin on two flying pigs. As both men are Jewish, it led to accusations of anti-Semitism.

Paul Bainsfair, president of TBWA Europe, said: "We are sorry to say goodbye to these guys, in particular Trevor, whose contribution to the success of TBWA London over the past 10 years has been outstanding. We wish them every success. Fortunately, TBWA London is well- blessed with talent and management resource and I have every confidence it will continue as one of London's leading agencies."