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HIGH COURT TRIAL INDEX PAGE: John Alfred Donovan v. Shell UK Ltd

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Copy of archival information

HIGH COURT TRIAL JUNE/JULY 1999 Case No: DD04199 Court 58

John Alfred Donovan v. Shell UK Ltd

SHELL SMART MULTI-PARTNER LOYALTY CARD SCHEME

HIGH COURT TRIAL INDEX PAGE

(Modified 23 April 2018 when all references to relevant Shell executive changed to “AJL”)

Further modified 21 Oct 2020 with the green text added immediately below and further references to the same Shell executive spotted and changed to AJL)

The judge himself admitted in open court that he had lost control of the trial. The following is an extract from a transcribed comment he made to Shell’s barrister Mr Geoffrey Hobbs QC on Tuesday 29 June 1999:

MR HOBBS: Your Lordship said was there any other matter. I do not know whether your Lordship wishes to know about the open correspondence that has passed between the parties.

MR JUSTICE LADDIE: Mr Hobbs, it may come as a surprise to you but I am not running this case. That is very apparent. If you wish to make any submissions to me or bring anything to my attention that is a matter for your choice. I have decided there is no point in me making further enquiries of my own volition.  read more

shellplc.website and its sister non-profit websites royaldutchshellplc.com, royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellenergy.website, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, shellnews.net and shell2004.com are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia feature.

Shell Star Trek Promotion created and supplied by Don Marketing

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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. read more

shellplc.website and its sister non-profit websites royaldutchshellplc.com, royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellenergy.website, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, shellnews.net and shell2004.com are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia feature.

1984 Shell Make Money Game created and supplied by Don Marketing

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Shell has run three versions of the Shell Make Money game in the UK.

THE 1966 VERSION

The first, in 1966 (above), offering cash prizes of up to £100, was created and supplied by Ralph Glendinning of Glendinning Associates, an American marketing consultancy. The game was a huge success but there were grave doubts about the legality. Shell was concerned about the possibility of being prosecuted in the UK for conducting an illegal lottery. Shell was also rightly concerned about the security of the half-note currency.

More information further down this page.

THE 1984 VERSION (THE MAIN SUBJECT OF THIS ARTICLE)

The second version was launched in 1984 (envelope above) offering cash prizes of up to £10,000. It was created and supplied by Don Marketing, a UK promotional games company founded by John Donovan, his family, and Don Redhead, a Chartered Accountant/mathematician. Don Marketing supplied a QC’s opinion to Shell confirming legality. The promotion, known internally as Operation Leo, was a huge success. read more

shellplc.website and its sister non-profit websites royaldutchshellplc.com, royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellenergy.website, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, shellnews.net and shell2004.com are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia feature.