Hasta La Creative!

During his tumultuous 17 months as CEO, Ron Johnson played a key role in JC Penney’s marketing. In his absence — and in the wake of the departure of several marketing execs — Sergio Zyman, the polarizing former Coca-Cola marketer, has been entrusted to begin charting a new path for the retailer.

To many, it will seem a surprising choice, given Mr. Zyman was part of one of the biggest marketing blunders in history: New Coke. The Mexican marketing pundit, known for his flamboyant personality, was first publicly revealed to be working with JC Penney during a conference call with analysts, in which it he was credited with working on the retailer’s Oscars ad campaign, “Yours Truly.” Even before Mr. Johnson’s departure and the return of former CEO Mike Ullman, Mr. Zyman had started quietly talking to agencies about handling advertising for JC Penney, said several industry executives.

There are other changes afoot. Mr. Zyman and The Bureau, which created the “Yours Truly” campaign that aired during the Oscars, recently ended their relationship. “The ‘Yours Truly’ work we did for the Oscars was done on a project basis,” said Tom Suiter, a creative at The Bureau, noting the shop’s work for JC Penney wraps up in May. “We recently made a mutual decision with Sergio Zyman that The Bureau doesn’t offer the type of creative and services he needs going forward.”

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