One thing is certain, and that is if you're over 30 you'll know his work, because it represents the best of UK advertising. It's the work that made a lot of us want to get into advertising in the first place.
(If you're under 30 and you haven't heard of Alan or his work, please take the time to get to know it, I guarantee you'll be better off for it.)
It's fair to say he was a well-regarded maverick, two things that you might not see in the same sentence in advertising today.
There's something about the passing of another advertising great that casts a very bright light on advertising today – in that it reminds us that we are lacking the people and work to step into these (admittedly huge) shoes.
It's easy to accuse those who say this of having rose-tinted spectacles, but before you do, just look at his work. There is nothing out there, or that has been out there in the last 15 years, that gets anywhere near this (this is just a small selection)...
Thanks Alan.
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There's an excellent post about the B&H campaign on Dave Dye's blog (from where I pilfered those last two images) here.
More from Campaign on Alan here.