David Amstel, head of campaigns at the Cabinet Office, dies aged 52

David Amstel, the Cabinet Office’s head of campaigns, has died at the age of 52. Amstel had an illustrious 30-year career in marketing and advertising, spanning roles at brands, agencies and at the heart of UK government.

Friends and former colleagues have paid tribute to Amstel, describing him as “much loved and respected”, an “extremely generous and loyal friend” and a compassionate, energetic man with an “extremely loud laugh”.

Paul Knight, the chief executive of OmniGov, said Amstel’s untimely death was a “huge loss”, adding: “His enthusiasm, support, wit and intelligence have been invaluable over the past four years, as we have collectively worked through some of the biggest communication challenges this country has ever faced, such as [the UK’s] EU exit and Covid. He remains in our thoughts and will never be forgotten.”

A lifelong love for ads

Amstel was born in 1969 in Watford and was an avid radio listener from an early age with a particular love for ads and a penchant for the jingles that rang out on Capital Radio.

After reading politics at the University of Nottingham, where he further enhanced his passion for advertising while DJ-ing on campus radio, he graduated in 1991 and embarked on his career in advertising.

He cut his marketing teeth as a graduate trainee at then-United Distillers (today known as Diageo) in London. It was here Amstel met friend and future best man Thomas Veit, with whom he “overlapped the first few years”.

“But on that score he was already a great mind on advertising planning, meticulous detail and great execution, as we both worked on some fantastic brands such as him on Gordon’s and me on Pimm’s,” Veit said.

Amstel headed overseas, travelling to Africa and the Caribbean as brand manager for Bell’s Whisky, moving to United Distillers’ Perth HQ, before moving agency-side at Edinburgh’s Leith Agency, where he managed accounts including Grolsch. He returned to the UK capital in 2000 to help launch Leith London.

Amstel subsequently worked freelance at agencies including radio specialist Eardrum, Meteorite, Billington Cartmell, Springer & Jacoby and Doner Cartwell Hawkins. He spent 12 years at the latter as group account director working with clients including Fuller’s London Pride, Alfa Romeo and Nikon. It was here that he met childhood hero Ronnie Corbett on a Wiltshire Farm Foods ad shoot. He also worked with pop duo The Cheeky Girls.

Back to Number 10 

Amstel’s first main foray into government communications began in 2015 upon joining Breakthrough Media (now Zinc Network), where he worked for various government clients and departments. He later moved to the Crown Commercial Service and helped create the Crown Marketplace.

It was in 2018 that Amstel started in his most recent role as head of campaigns for the Cabinet Office – a position that played to his love for both advertising and politics – advising government departments and working on public campaigns.

Amstel’s boss at the Cabinet Office, director of campaigns and marketing Conrad Bird, said: “David’s tragically early death has deeply affected us all in government communications, as well those in the industry who worked with him.”

He added: “He was a much loved and much respected colleague who embodied public service and worked tirelessly to improve the effectiveness of government advertising. His loss has left a large gap in all our lives.”

Honest, compassionate and ‘hilariously funny’

Throughout his three decades in adland, Amstel established a reputation for hard work and advertising nous. But his influence extended beyond mere professionalism. He was active in helping others develop their skills, and outside Number 10 he volunteered as a mentor for the Social Mobility Foundation and was a steward at a local Covid vaccination centre.

His partner, Andrew Davidson, noted that he had an “extremely loud laugh, which often shocked people in public places and could be heard easily, even across a large and busy office”.

Veit, who came out as gay at the same time as Amstel, summed him up as an “extremely generous and loyal friend”, who was “always there when things got tough for me on a personal level and professionally as I struggled when first living in the UK as a foreigner at the end of the 90s”. Amstel was Veit’s best man at his civil partnership in 2008.

“He was hilariously funny and espoused so many values of honesty and integrity much missed today,” he said.

Amstel was an avid swimmer, runner and cyclist, but in January of this year he suffered a heart attack that resulted in brain injury. He died on 24 February with his partner at his side. He is survived by Davidson, his parents Sue and Robert Amstel, and his sister Lisa Collins.

Nearly £9,000 has been raised in Amstel’s memory, for the Marie Curie Hospice, where he died, and the Albert Kennedy Trust, a charity close to his heart. Readers can donate to both causes via the links.