Sandy Jack
Encyclopedia
George Alexander Jack better known as Sandy Jack was from Methil
Fife
, Scotland
. He is known as campaigner and consumer champion from the Hoover free flights promotion
Jack was born on September 30, 1922 in Kirkcaldy
, Scotland. His career in the British Armed Forces
lasted between 1940 and 1946. Jack served in the Royal Marines
with R.M. Commandos in Yugoslavia
; he was a sergeant at the age of 19 and was twice wounded in action.
In the 1950s, after teaching at an approved school at Whittingham in East Lothian
, Scotland
, Sandy moved to Uganda
. There he was the principal of a teacher training college at Ngora for a number of years. Later he worked in Qatar
in the Middle East.
Sandy Jack lived in Methill in Fife
, Scotland
with his second wife Sheila. He had two sons. (He had another two sons by a previous marriage.) Before his death in 2002, Jack was the Headmaster of Linnwood Hall in Fife
.
and became a folk hero
-like figure to customers waiting for their free flight tickets. Working with his publicity agent (Harry Cichy) and fellow pressure group member they were seldom out of the news.
Methil
Methil is an eastern coastal town in Scotland. It was part of the former Burgh of Buckhaven and Methil. It lies within a continuous urban area described as Levenmouth.Methil lies geographically between Largo bay to the east and Wemyss Bay to the west....
Fife
Fife
Fife is a council area and former county of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries to Perth and Kinross and Clackmannanshire...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. He is known as campaigner and consumer champion from the Hoover free flights promotion
Hoover free flights promotion
The Hoover free flights promotion was a marketing promotion begun in 1992 in which the British division of The Hoover Company promised free airline tickets to customers who purchased more than £100 worth of their products...
Jack was born on September 30, 1922 in Kirkcaldy
Kirkcaldy
Kirkcaldy is a town and former royal burgh in Fife, on the east coast of Scotland. The town lies on a shallow bay on the northern shore of the Firth of Forth; SSE of Glenrothes, ENE of Dunfermline, WSW of Dundee and NNE of Edinburgh...
, Scotland. His career in the British Armed Forces
British Armed Forces
The British Armed Forces are the armed forces of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.Also known as Her Majesty's Armed Forces and sometimes legally the Armed Forces of the Crown, the British Armed Forces encompasses three professional uniformed services, the Royal Navy, the...
lasted between 1940 and 1946. Jack served in the Royal Marines
Royal Marines
The Corps of Her Majesty's Royal Marines, commonly just referred to as the Royal Marines , are the marine corps and amphibious infantry of the United Kingdom and, along with the Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary, form the Naval Service...
with R.M. Commandos in Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
; he was a sergeant at the age of 19 and was twice wounded in action.
In the 1950s, after teaching at an approved school at Whittingham in East Lothian
East Lothian
East Lothian is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, and a lieutenancy Area. It borders the City of Edinburgh, Scottish Borders and Midlothian. Its administrative centre is Haddington, although its largest town is Musselburgh....
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, Sandy moved to Uganda
Uganda
Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...
. There he was the principal of a teacher training college at Ngora for a number of years. Later he worked in Qatar
Qatar
Qatar , also known as the State of Qatar or locally Dawlat Qaṭar, is a sovereign Arab state, located in the Middle East, occupying the small Qatar Peninsula on the northeasterly coast of the much larger Arabian Peninsula. Its sole land border is with Saudi Arabia to the south, with the rest of its...
in the Middle East.
Sandy Jack lived in Methill in Fife
Fife
Fife is a council area and former county of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries to Perth and Kinross and Clackmannanshire...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
with his second wife Sheila. He had two sons. (He had another two sons by a previous marriage.) Before his death in 2002, Jack was the Headmaster of Linnwood Hall in Fife
Fife
Fife is a council area and former county of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries to Perth and Kinross and Clackmannanshire...
.
Hoover Free Flights Promotion
Sandy Jack gained massive nationwide publicity from the Hoover free flights promotionHoover free flights promotion
The Hoover free flights promotion was a marketing promotion begun in 1992 in which the British division of The Hoover Company promised free airline tickets to customers who purchased more than £100 worth of their products...
and became a folk hero
Folk hero
A folk hero is a type of hero, real, fictional, or mythological. The single salient characteristic which makes a character a folk hero is the imprinting of the name, personality and deeds of the character in the popular consciousness. This presence in the popular consciousness is evidenced by...
-like figure to customers waiting for their free flight tickets. Working with his publicity agent (Harry Cichy) and fellow pressure group member they were seldom out of the news.
History
- In 1992 Jack started legal action against HooverThe Hoover CompanyThe Hoover Company started out as an American floor care manufacturer based in North Canton, Ohio. It also established a major base in the United Kingdom and for most of the early-and-mid-20th century, it dominated the electric vacuum cleaner industry, to the point where the "hoover" brand name...
. Jack v. Hoover set a precedent at Sheriff CourtSheriff CourtSheriff courts provide the local court service in Scotland, with each court serving a sheriff court district within a sheriffdom.Sheriff courts deal with a myriad of legal procedures which include:*Solemn and Summary Criminal cases...
in KirkcaldyKirkcaldyKirkcaldy is a town and former royal burgh in Fife, on the east coast of Scotland. The town lies on a shallow bay on the northern shore of the Firth of Forth; SSE of Glenrothes, ENE of Dunfermline, WSW of Dundee and NNE of Edinburgh...
, FifeFifeFife is a council area and former county of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries to Perth and Kinross and Clackmannanshire...
. Jack was the first person in the United KingdomUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
to take HooverThe Hoover CompanyThe Hoover Company started out as an American floor care manufacturer based in North Canton, Ohio. It also established a major base in the United Kingdom and for most of the early-and-mid-20th century, it dominated the electric vacuum cleaner industry, to the point where the "hoover" brand name...
to court over Hoover free flights promotionHoover free flights promotionThe Hoover free flights promotion was a marketing promotion begun in 1992 in which the British division of The Hoover Company promised free airline tickets to customers who purchased more than £100 worth of their products...
. - In 1993 Jack and Harry Cichy formed the Hoover Holiday Pressure Group. Group shown and recommended by the BBCBBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
Watchdog program. - In 1994 Jack, Cichy, and Lee RobertsonLee RobertsonLee Robertson is a Scottish former professional football player.Robertson began his career with Rangers making three league appearances for the club. He was released from his contract and moved to Norway with IK Start. He had spells with Molde FK and FK Bodø/Glimt and also a seven day trial at St...
meet with James Powell, Maytag head of communications, at Maytag HQ in Newton, IowaNewton, IowaNewton is a city in and the county seat of Jasper County, Iowa, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 15,254. It is the home of Maytag Dairy Farms and was formerly home to the Maytag Corporation's corporate headquarters until the Whirlpool Corporation acquired it in 2006...
. ABCAmerican Broadcasting CompanyThe American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
TV have the three British citizens leaving Maytag HQ. - Jack and Cichy enlist the help of Ralph NaderRalph NaderRalph Nader is an American political activist, as well as an author, lecturer, and attorney. Areas of particular concern to Nader include consumer protection, humanitarianism, environmentalism, and democratic government....
in the Hoover debacle. Len HadleyLen HadleyLen Hadley was the CEO of the Maytag Corporation in Newton, Iowa, at the time of the "Hoover free flights promotion" marketing blunder.In 1994 three British citizens from the Hoover Holiday Pressure Group attend the Maytag Annual General Meeting in Newton, Iowa...
Maytag CEOChief executive officerA chief executive officer , managing director , Executive Director for non-profit organizations, or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer or administrator in charge of total management of an organization...
refuses to talk to Nader over HooverThe Hoover CompanyThe Hoover Company started out as an American floor care manufacturer based in North Canton, Ohio. It also established a major base in the United Kingdom and for most of the early-and-mid-20th century, it dominated the electric vacuum cleaner industry, to the point where the "hoover" brand name...
flight fiasco. - In 1994, Jack received a standing ovation from Maytag shareholders when speaking on the HooverThe Hoover CompanyThe Hoover Company started out as an American floor care manufacturer based in North Canton, Ohio. It also established a major base in the United Kingdom and for most of the early-and-mid-20th century, it dominated the electric vacuum cleaner industry, to the point where the "hoover" brand name...
flight promotion at the Maytag Corporation Annual General MeetingAnnual general meetingAn annual general meeting is a meeting that official bodies, and associations involving the public , are often required by law to hold...
chaired by Len HadleyLen HadleyLen Hadley was the CEO of the Maytag Corporation in Newton, Iowa, at the time of the "Hoover free flights promotion" marketing blunder.In 1994 three British citizens from the Hoover Holiday Pressure Group attend the Maytag Annual General Meeting in Newton, Iowa...
.
Photos
See also
- The Hoover CompanyThe Hoover CompanyThe Hoover Company started out as an American floor care manufacturer based in North Canton, Ohio. It also established a major base in the United Kingdom and for most of the early-and-mid-20th century, it dominated the electric vacuum cleaner industry, to the point where the "hoover" brand name...
- Len HadleyLen HadleyLen Hadley was the CEO of the Maytag Corporation in Newton, Iowa, at the time of the "Hoover free flights promotion" marketing blunder.In 1994 three British citizens from the Hoover Holiday Pressure Group attend the Maytag Annual General Meeting in Newton, Iowa...
- MarketingMarketingMarketing is the process used to determine what products or services may be of interest to customers, and the strategy to use in sales, communications and business development. It generates the strategy that underlies sales techniques, business communication, and business developments...
- Maytag Corporation
- Hoover free flights promotionHoover free flights promotionThe Hoover free flights promotion was a marketing promotion begun in 1992 in which the British division of The Hoover Company promised free airline tickets to customers who purchased more than £100 worth of their products...