The man who took Glasgow to the world

IF one man became the public face of the Glasgow's Miles Better campaign, it was the city's then Lord Provost, Dr Michael Kelly.

When the slogan was being given massive promotion in the UK and worldwide, it seemed not a day passed without a Michael Kelly/Glasgow's Miles Better picture in the papers.

He became the man who sold the slogan to the world.

Even more than its creator, he is remembered as the person who promoted the city and its fresh new smiley slogan.

Dr Kelly famously stood with the Queen at Glasgow City Chambers with a giant poster bearing the slogan beneath them.

He also held a Glasgow's Miles Better umbrella over the Queen's head. Pat still has Smiles Better souvenirs PAT LALLY was leader of the council when the Glasgow's Miles Better campaign was running and he still has a car sticker and other memorabilia at his South Side home.

He recalls being in New York with John Struthers, the advertising agent who dreamed up the slogan.

He said: "We were there picking up an award from the Film and Television Festival and John was going around putting the stickers on New York buses.

"There was a piper playing on Fifth Avenue and he had his pipe case open so John persuaded him he should have a sticker too.

"The question is always asked Miles better than what?'. The answer is miles better than it used to be'.

"The book No Mean City generally drew the wrong kind of attention to the city and we needed something to make the world aware of what we were and what we were trying to be.

"Glasgow's Miles Better provided an impetus for the city, it helped put us on the map.

"There was a time when the description of a tourist in Glasgow was someone who was lost. Now we are a destination."

Mr Lally still has a piece of personal Mr Happy memorabilia.

On his wall is a framed card and poem from Mr Struthers, with his own picture and Mr Happy raising his hat, presented when he won the 1994 council leadership contest.

It reads: "I raise my hat to your talent and verve. It's little more than you deserve.

"I really have to admire your style, No wonder Glasgow's beginning to smile."

And when his term as Lord Provost ended, Dr Kelly developed a sound business reputation as a city image maker.

Another major Glasgow political figure of the time, Pat Lally, also used the slogan to promote the city at every opportunity.

Lally had such a ready smile for the cameras many people thought he was Mr Happy.

The two men's promotional exploits are responsible for the message being picked up across the world - and they live on in cyberspace.

A website entitled Glasgow 2020 features a fictional chief of public affairs and tourism by the name of Mungo Kelly-Lally jnr.

Dr Kelly was Lord Provost from 1980 to 1984, a time, he said, when Glasgow was crying out for a positive shot in the arm.

He said: "Glasgow had come in for tremendous criticism externally about its image.

"It had bad housing, urban deprivation, religious intolerance and football hooliganism - all of which interfered with our ability to attract investment.

"When I first encountered this I tried to step back and have a look at it in a different way.

"I realised cities that were regarded as good visitor destinations, such as New York, had all these problems and on a much bigger scale. But if you went there you would see and hear about the Statue of Liberty, you would never go to the Bronx.

"I decided we should talk up the positive parts of Glasgow and ignore the things we could do nothing about in the short term."

Dr Kelly organised a competition that ran in the Sunday Standard newspaper. The winning entry, by the wife of a former moderator of the Glasgow Presbytery of the Church of Scotland, was "Glasgow Makes Me Smile".

That, he said, was the "kernel"

for working on the eventual slogan, but even now he admits it was a risky strategy.

He added: "I was extremely nervous beforehand because I thought this could be greeted with a big laugh.

"It was not as clear cut then as it seems now. It was a high risk strategy that could easily have backfired."

But Dr Kelly's unrelenting use of the local and national media and the ex-patriot Scottish community worldwide helped ensure its success.

London journalists flew to Glasgow for guided tours of the city.

And it seemed that in every corner of the world Glasgow's Miles Better stickers were appearing - Mount Everest, Ayers Rock, Hong Kong Harbour, Times Square.

Dr Kelly recalls the "true professionalism" of the Queen when she visited the city in 1984.

He said: "She was terrific. I told the Royal Household I wanted a shot of her on the City Chambers standing above Mr Happy.

"She was so professional she walked straight on to the balcony and stood exactly where she was supposed to - and she mentioned it in her speech." CAMPAIGN MEMORIES LINDSAY McCULLOCH, 49, A LAB TECHNICIAN, HOUSTON: I can remember the campaign clearly because I had my first job then and there was a huge billboard on the M8 that I used to drive past every day. It was definitely effective at changing the way people saw Glasgow. ISA WALKER, 76, RETIRED, MILTON, GLASGOW: It was a good time when they launched that advert. The city was all cleaned up and the streets had never looked better. I just loved my city when that campaign was starting up. ANDREW YOUNG 40, LOCAL GOVERNMENT WORKER, PAISLEY: The ad campaign did stick in my head because it was everywhere but I don't think it made that much of a difference. Glasgow has more to be proud of than a smiley face. JODI YOUNG, 26, STUDENT, PAISLEY: I was really young when the smiley face advert was started so it's always been what I think of when I think about Glasgow.

The big yellow face was everywhere but it's outdated now.