Trevor Beattie is a canny political Capricorn (December 24 1958), although up to now you might never have guessed it. This advertising guru started collecting jingles when other lads were collecting stamps. He loves flogging things, and he's also a big boxing fan. During the past few years, he has been ducking and weaving his way through a significant turning point, his astrological mid-life crisis. Known as the Uranus Half Return, this happens to everyone between the ages of 38 and 42 as Uranus, planet of independence and revolution, reaches a half-way point in its movement around the horoscope. It marks a now-or-never mood in a person's life, a feeling that if you don't start doing NOW the things you were 'meant' to do, then you never will. So what was Beattie put on this planet to do?

His achievements to date have reflected his talkative, Peter Pan Gemini Moon, perfect for art, media and communication: " This specimen does not merely UNDERSTAND media. They ARE little radios which jabber, jabber, jabber all day long. They simply need to express themselves... Thy trash and thy trivia, it comforts them... And what an ear for accents, buzz-words, slang!" (Debbie Kempton-Smith).

This jabbering Moon opposes playful Mercury, the 'messenger of the gods' and planet of commerce, in a line-up which "can sell anyone anything". When we add inventive Uranus to this, we have a true symbol of an advertising genius. All the astrology textbooks wax eloquent about the talents of this combination:

" These planets indicate original talent: they usually give a quick and capable mind, with a considerable degree of independence. The native is very clever in certain special directions... able to express himself well, and has a dramatic sense... He may coin striking phrases, or, if a writer, he may invent characters that seize the popular imagination" (Charles Carter).

So the word play of Beattie's French Connection fcuk campaign was written in the stars, just like his 'hello boys' for Wonderbra. It's a gift he can always draw on but at this stage in his life, clever bits of advertising with a short shelf-life are not enough. In the next few years, Pluto pulls him towards grittier, more socially responsible commitments. Capricorn is a political sign and Beattie, a staunch socialist, has said that handling the New Labour account in the run-up to the election is "the greatest moment of my career". His horoscope has stunning connections with the Labour Party (February 27 1900). His Capricorn Sun is joined to Labour's Saturn, giving him the chance to make his mark on posterity. This year, he is still in a Uranus phase and with his horoscope keyed in to Labour's own Uranus and its socially reformist agenda, he can push political advertising to new and provocative limits.

The New Labour brief is just the beginning. By summer 2002, Beattie could get the chance to create an impact in areas of greater global concern, perhaps with campaigns for poverty, civil liberties or the third world. So it's bye-bye boys. Beattie is now about to punch his weight in the real world of political and social concern.