Editorial: Coomber was caught in an impossible situation.

Ron Coomber's decision to relinquish the reins of the Broadcast Advertising Clearance Centre after only a year looks like the reaction of a square peg that found itself in a round hole. Coomber has promised himself a long holiday when he steps down next month. Hardly surprising, perhaps - his term of office has not only proved exhausting and disillusioning personally, but has failed to raise esteem for the BACC among advertisers and their agencies.

Hired because of his experience in getting systems to run smoothly, Coomber candidly described himself as 'the original backroom boy' on his appointment last summer. And there's little doubt the BACC has made progress in streamlining the often lumbering, bureaucratic processes of getting TV scripts and commercials approved. The trouble is, in attempting to overcome the practical problems of passing judgment on almost 40,000 scripts a year, it has neglected its equally important role in advising agencies about the possible pitfalls of pursuing a particular creative route.

A cynic might argue that those charged with running the BACC have only themselves to blame. While Coomber was capable of putting its house in ...