PR and advertising agency TBWA/ANG has hailed its founder Godfrey Grima, calling the veteran journalist and publicist who fell victim to COVID-19 on Monday the “true spirit of the company”.

Mr Grima, who was 79, started his career as a foreign correspondent for the Financial Times in 1967 before setting up Associated News Group in 1986.

He grew the company from a one-man operation to a full service creative agency serving some of the islands’ biggest companies.

In a post on Facebook, TBWA/ANG said that Mr Grima was a “larger-than-life figure who brought his remarkable passion, experience and energy to the office, even until recent weeks”.

“Here at the office, we called him God,” it continued, adding that his objective was always “to introduce quality to the market and to provide strikingly memorable adverts for our clients”.

Noting that he was responsible for some of the most memorable advertising campaigns in Malta, the company said that after securing Coca-Cola as one of his first big clients, Mr Grima continued attracting top clients, with Associated News Group joining the worldwide TBWA collective shortly after signing McDonald’s as a client.

It highlighted the Medal of Honour he was given in 2017 in recognition for his contribution to journalism and the communication industry.

“He leaves behind his wife, family, and a legacy within Malta’s media industry.”