Advertising Industry Archive

BBDO on thin ice with Altoids — Sources said the agency is on very thin ice with high-profile client Altoids, which Wrigley placed at Energy BDDO after yanking the prize breath mints account from Leo Burnett/Chicago and briefly assigning it to a West Coast agency. [Source: Sun-Times] Fallon named agency for Boston Market — Fallon was awarded the marketing account, estimated to be...

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Subway has agreed to settle a false advertising case for $645,000. The chain will agree to give some consumers $2 gift cards because promotions promising discounted foods were not honored in stores. The settlement was won by Marin County, Calif., prosecutors, according to the Marin Independent Journal: Authorities filed a civil action against the company after customers reported that advertised...

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It was a banner year for truly awful advertising. Here’s BNET’s Worst Ads of 2008: Extended Stay Hotels “farting” ad Extended Stay wanted viewers to know that you’d feel so comfortable at their place you’d feel free to break wind any time you wanted. So they produced an ad showing just that. Advice: Never associate your brand with farting! Salesgenie’s...

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As the recession grinds on, the ad agency business is coming out with reams of advice for the newly poor, whether they are clients on tight budgets or fired staffers. Some of the advice is — how to put this politely? — not as good as it might be. Here’s a selection of questionable agency advice for the downturn: Ad Age has produced a couple of stories from the perspective of...

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Bruce Willis will star in one of the most expensive ads ever made, for British finance client Aviva (which recently changed its name from Norwich Union). The TV commercial cost $13.4 million, or £9 million, and is by AMV BBDO, according to the Sun, a London tabloid. In the ad, Willis and Elle Macpherson are shown — via computer trickery — alongside their younger selves. Willis is...

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Deutsche Bank analyst Matt Chesler has downgraded the target share prices of both Omnicom and Interpublic following news of layoffs at both networks. Noting the 3,500 layoffs at Omnicom agencies (see BNET coverage here and here), Chesler wrote in a note to investors: We … think OMC is acting to adjust its cost structure to be in line with where it is seeing early ’09 organic growth...

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Crispin Porter & Bogusky wins more Best Buy – Client moves the bulk of advertising in 2009 to the shop, dealing a blow to Omnicom Group’s BBDO, which did the heavy lifting on the retailer’s $380 million account this year. The client plans to focus overwhelmingly on its Geek Squad customer-support unit — which Crispin handles — at the expense of the traditional...

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Interpublic chief Michael Roth is considering “targeted” cuts at his network, according to Reuters. Sources say layoffs will amount to “less than 5 percent” of worldwide staff, or up to 2,000 jobs. The move was expected. As BNET reported on Oct. 28, Roth promised investors that he would “manage his margins” for 2009. BNET noted at the time: “Managing our...

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Wunderman won the £18m global digital business for Nokia – It is understood to have beaten Euro RSCG 4D and RMG Connect to scoop the account. The agency will work with global advertising agency Wieden & Kennedy. [Source: Marketing Week] Toymaker Leapfrog  splits with TBWA/Chiat/Day — Parting ways after just over two years. Leapfrog spent an estimated $25 million on marketing...

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It will be a cold Xmas and a dark New Year for ad agency folks, as network chiefs, clients and analysts spent most of this week either firming up plans for job cuts or revising downward their already grim predictions for adspend in 2009. Even freelancers felt the chill, as WPP circulated a memo demanding their use be curbed. Among the developments: 3,500 jobs are to go across Omnicom’s...

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