CHAPTER 1: John Donovan, Shell’s nightmare
CHAPTER 2: An unscrupulous Shell executive
CHAPTER 3: Donovan vs Shell litigation
CHAPTER 5: Shell corporate espionage in the run-up to the Smart trial
CHAPTER 6: Shell Smart Trial at The Royal Courts of Justice
CHAPTER 7: A biased High Court Judge who resigned in controversial circumstances
CHAPTER 8: Peace treaty shattered by Shell
CHAPTER 9: Shell did not just steal our ideas
John Donovan, a co-founder of promotional games company Don Marketing: Photo taken in 2015.
By John Donovan
In 1979, the company I co-founded, *Don Marketing, created and supplied promotional games that were used to promote petrol sales on the forecourts of all major petrol brands in the UK, including Shell.
In June 1981, we moved into a direct contractual relationship with Shell as a result of a presentation I made at Shell-Mex House in The Strand, the then London HQ of Shell UK Limited.
I put forward a proposal for Shell to launch a legal version of a promotional game called Make Money that Shell had abandoned in the 1960‘s out of concern that it was in breach of UK lottery laws.
The name of my Amazon Kindle book – “John Donovan, Shell’s nightmare” is not an ego-driven title dreamt up by me, but the headline of an article by an award-winning newspaper journalist, Christoph Giesen published across the EU in ten languages.
A broadsheet German daily newspaper, Süddeutsche Zeitung published a major article about me on 20 March 2012 under the headline “Konzernfeind No. 1.”
The article by Christoph Giesen told the story of my epic feud with the oil giant Royal Dutch Shell, a former client of the multinational company I co-founded, Don Marketing.
We suspended our website don-marketing.com before the Smart trial commenced in June 1999.
Screenshot from the Wayback Machine web archive for shell-shareholders.org website: 12 March 2000
The trial actually commenced on 15th June 1999 in Court 58 on the 7th Floor of the modern air-conditioned Thomas More Building at the Royal Courts of Justice in London.
HIGH COURT TRIAL JUNE/JULY 1999 Case No: DD04199 Court 58 John Alfred Donovan v. Shell UK Ltd
At the start of the trial the Judge, Mr Justice Laddie QC commented that it was one of the most unpleasant cases that had ever come before him, with both sides making extremely serious allegations against each other.
Some Don Marketing Games from the 1980s
An article published by Prospect Magazine in February 2007 authored by Derek Brower, senior correspondent of Petroleum Economist, provides an overall background to the disputes between Royal Dutch Shell and Alfred Donovan and his son, John.
Rise of the gripe site: How two men and a website humbled one of the oil industry giants
Picture of John Chambers and John Donovan
Don Marketing was founded by Alfred Donovan, Bob Donovan, John Donovan and their fondly remembered friend and business partner, chartered accountant, Don Redhead (deceased). Alfred, Bob and John are all retired from commercial activity. John Chambers was managing director during the most successful years of Don Marketing which, following a series of court actions with Shell, ceased trading some years ago.
A small sampling of the thousands of retailers and major global brands that were all clients of the worlds No1 Promotional Games company, Don Marketing.
Whitbread Scoop the Pools promotion.
Approx size: 21 x 30 cm portrait 
Don Marketing co-founder John Donovan photographed in October 2020 with a Whitbread “SCOOP THE POOLS” poster.
Nabisco Shredded Wheat Space Invaders Promotion.
Approx size: 22 x 30 cm portrait.
Don Marketing co-founder John Donovan photographed in October 2020 with a Nabisco Shredded Wheat Space Invaders poster.
RELATED LINKS
Fast flowing Don: Marketing Magazine 16 February 1984
Shell Make Money full page advert: Daily Express 21 February 1984
Shell Make Money full page advert: Evening Standard 21 February 1984
Shell is back making money: Incentive Marketing and Sales Promotion March 1984
Anatomy of a Shell winner: Campaign Magazine 27 April 1984
The “Every Card Can Win Shell Star Trek scratch card game was invented for Shell by promotional games wizard John Donovan (photo left from a magazine article published at that time).
Donovan was a co-founder of the promotional games company Don Marketing which was responsible for creating a host of innovative forecourt games for Shell on an international basis including Shell Make Money, Shell Mastermind (linked to the BBC), Shell Make Merry (linked to Harrods) Shell Bruce’s Lucky Deal (linked to Bruce Forsyth) and Star Trek the Game linked to the original Star Trek TV series and the follow-up Star Trek: The Next Generation. Each promotion had a budget of around £4.5 million. Don Marketing games for Shell ran in several countries around the globe.
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