Hasta La Creative!

Halo Top named Venice Beach, California-based creative agency and consultancy Wolfgang as its first agency of record, following a review.

“Halo Top is a dream brand,” Wolfgang co-founder and president Seema Miller said in a statement. “It’s fun, guilt-free and has essentially redefined the entire ice cream category. We are excited to carry on the momentum for this amazing brand.”

Earlier speculation that Anomaly won the account was incorrect. According to sources close to the matter, Doner and CP+B were finalists in the review.

The brand previously worked with Philadelphia agency Red Tettemer + Partners on a project basis and the agency launched the brand’s first national campaign this past summer. In September, Halo Top teamed up with Mike Diva and Lord Danger Productions for a strange cinema ad.

Halo Top spent a little over $2.1 million in 2016 and $4.2 million during the first six months of 2017, according to Kantar Media.

JC Penney recently moved its advertising account to Badgers & Winters.

“Badger & Winters is proud to be working as agency of record for JCPenney, an iconic retail brand,” Badgers & Winters president Jim Winters said in a statement. “We have always admired JCPenney and its commitment to bringing value to America’s hardworking families. We are very much looking forward to working closely with the company on their creative and marketing strategy.”

AdAge reported that mcgarrybowen, an incumbent on the account since 2015, would aid in the transition, with the last work from mcgarrybowen airing some time in the first quarter of 2018. It was unclear, however, whether the assignment had been preceded by a review.

Sources with direct knowledge of the matter told AgencySpy that Badgers & Winters won the assignment following a review conducted by R3.

There are contradicting reports from sources as to whether the incumbent was part of that review.

A source close to the matter informed AgencySpy that “while no agency wants to walk away from an account,” most employees working on the account had already been reassigned and the agency was actively hiring, adding that JC Penney picked an excellent new partner in Badgers & Winters.

Mcgarrybowen picked up a series of new clients in 2017, including American Express, and is part of the Dentsu team that Subway consolidated its U.S. and Canadian accounts last month.

The agency’s work for JC Penney included the June, 2016 body positivity spot “Here I Am.”

Arnold Worldwide will no longer serve as lead creative agency for CenturyLink.

Sources claim that CenturyLink has ended its relationship with the agency and launched a review, but Arnold claims it is still on the client’s roster.

“With CenturyLink’s acquisition of Level 3 Communications, they have expanded their roster of agencies to allow for cost efficiencies,” an agency spokesperson wrote in a statement. “There was not a review and Arnold is still a roster agency.”

We reached out to CenturyLink, which declined to comment, stating that it doesn’t discuss its agency relationships.

CenturyLink named Arnold as its lead creative agency following a review in November of 2014. Its work for the client included a February, 2016 ad starring Paul Giamatti.

Last month, we reported that Arnold went through a recent round of layoffs at its Boston and New York offices which impacted 32 employees. The staffing cuts followed the agency parting ways with Carnival in May, preceding a review which concluded with the selection of Anomaly as the new creative AOR for the cruise line, and Hershey announcing in August that it was consolidating its creative account with MDC Partners.

Arnold’s future relationship with two other clients are also unclear.

Sources claimed in December that Angie’s List, which named Arnold as its lead creative partner as part of a brand refresh last January, was no longer working with Arnold. An Angie’s List representative commented that the company was “still evaluating our 2018 ad strategy and agency relationships” at the time.

When asked about KAO’s relationship with the agency, KAO senior vice president, regional executive officer, Americas and EMEA mass business Dave Muenz, Sr. said in a statement, “We have and may continue to partner with Arnold on a project basis.”

2017 saw a series of executive level changes for Arnold Worldwide. The agency parted with executive director Barbara Reilly and senior vice president, marketing director and head of new business Michael Shonkoff in February, followed by chief creative officer Jim Elliot the following month. Over the summer, Arnold welcomed Icaro Doria from DDB as its new CCO.

Lindsay Rittenhouse contributed reporting to this story.

Crystal Cruises is in the final stages of a review.

A client spokesperson confirmed it is in the “final stages of the RFP process” to find an agency of record for 2018. Crystal Cruises also confirmed that incumbent VML has been invited to participate and that the agency “continues to support all of our digital initiatives.”

Sources claim the other finalists include MRMMcCann, Digitas and Fluid but the client declined to specify participants beyond the incumbent.

Crystal Cruises spent a little over $1.2 million on measured media domestically last year and around $558,000 in the first six months of 2017, according to Kantar Media.

The news follows the company’s recent announcement that it has appointed Kari Tarnowski as its new vice president, marketing.

VML won AOR duties for Dick’s Sporting Goods in October and retailer Express in August.

Nokia Health has selected San Francisco-based TBD as its global creative and strategic agency of record, following a review, tasking the agency with leading integrated marketing campaigns for its digital health services across the U.S. and Europe.

San Francisco-based Mediasmith will handle media buying and planning duties for the brand in the U.S., while Initiative will continue to handle these responsibilities in Europe.

TBD was launched in October by former 180LA executive creative director Rafael Rizuto, innovation strategist Virginia Wang and Argonaut founder Jordan Warren, based on a philosophy of “continual evolution.”

“We were impressed by TBD’s commitment to our vision and its level of sophistication, strategy and listening,” Nokia Digital Health global head of marketing Gemini Babla said in a statement. “In a short amount of time, TBD showcased a great understanding of our products and values by presenting thoughtful and impactful creative that resonated with our team. Culturally we are in the same place and immediately felt like partners.”

TBD’s first assignment for the brand will be a cross-channel campaign launching in early 2018.

“At TBD we are committed to working with purposeful brands who are striving to make a difference in the world,” TBD chief creative officer Rafael Rizuto said in a statement. “We’ve spent a lot of time crafting our vision as an agency so that we aren’t ‘just another agency’ and I couldn’t be more thrilled to see this coming to life with an iconic brand like Nokia in such a relevant category as digital health.”

“We couldn’t have dreamed of a better first client for our new agency,” added TBD CEO Jordan Warren added. 

In an effort to cut costs, McDonald’s consolidated its local advertising business this summer with just seven agencies, a sharp decline from the 58 it used to employ, according to sources with direct knowledge of the situation.

One person, who spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed that the agencies chosen were longtime partners Lopez Negrete, Bernstein-Rein, Moroch, Davis Elen and H&L and newcomers Zimmerman and Doner.

Another reliable source confirmed this lineup, which was first reported by AdAge, and added that Zimmerman has since lost an unspecified portion of the business—which amounted to 19 regional co-ops including Ohio. The chain’s 180 cooperatives had been consolidated to 50 prior to the review. Each then chose an agency partner from the list of 7.

It’s unclear why Zimmerman lost a portion of its responsibilities.

“Building the modern, progressive company that we aspire to be involves changing the way we do business,” a McDonald’s spokeswoman wrote in an email to Adweek. “In order to accelerate our efforts to engage customers across all platforms to advance our brand vision, we aim to streamline and modernize our local marketing efforts in 2018.”

She declined to comment further.

Zimmerman also declined to comment, deferring to the client. The agency had not previously worked with McDonald’s, but the primary source said McDonald’s relationship with Omnicom—centered on the dedicated agency We Are Unlimited—played a key role in the chain’s decision to assign the work to the Florida agency.

The decision to consolidate came from McDonald’s executives, who are being pressured to deliver on a pledge they’ve made to produce $300 million in cost savings over the next five years, according to the primary source.

McDonald’s CEO Steve Easterbrook has been laser-focused on what he calls a “velocity growth plan” to reduce costs and streamline operations as the fast-food chain invests heavily in new technology and works to return capital to shareholders.

Per a Kantar Media report, McDonald’s spent $791.3 million on advertising in the U.S. in 2016 and $350.7 million in the first half of this year.

Lowe’s confirmed today that it has launched a creative review and will no longer be working with creative agencies on an AOR basis. The news first ran in Adweek.

This is bad for BBDO, which has been creative agency of record on the brand for more than a decade, and for its parent company Omnicom, which already lost the media portion of the business back in February.

From a company spokesperson:

As we continue to explore compelling and efficient ways to engage with consumers, we made the decision to evolve our agency business model to one where we can collaborate with a roster of creative agencies. We believe this new approach will provide our team with the diverse thought, talent and capabilities needed to lead in a dynamic marketing environment.

We are currently working independently on the bidding process. BBDO is participating in the review process to be considered as one of the firms on our roster of creative agencies. We are just beginning the bidding process and can share more details in the coming months.

BBDO first won the business in a 2005 review, beating out Deutsch, McCann and TBWAChiatDay in an IPG vs. Omnicom pitch. It has successfully defended the account twice since then.

According to a couple of people who spoke to us, this is a procurement-based review that gained greater urgency when the incoming CMO Jocelyn Wong conducted an audit and found that Lowe’s spends a considerable amount on TV and print placements; much of BBDO’s recent work has been more focused on digital and social media.

The client’s paid budget came out to $400 million last year, but it’s not clear how much of that went to traditional media and much revenue BBDO draws from the account.

Nor is it clear which agencies are pitching—though it would not be surprising to see a small group of independent shops win portions of the business, as they did in the case of General Mills earlier this year.

[Pic via Lowe’s]

Air Canada has selected FCB Canada for a retail communications assignment.

“We are evolving our agency model and are elevating our brand presence and communications by partnering with best-in-class agencies, leveraging their expertise to complement our team’s robust capabilities. FCB has a proven track record in retail, and we look forward to this expanded relationship,” Air Canada managing director, brand Andy Shibata said in a statement.

The assignment will involve input from all of FCB Canada’s offices, including FCB Toronto and FCB Montreal, which will continue to lead work for Air Canada. Air Canada’s appointment marks an expansion of its relationship with FCB Canada, which dates back some twenty years.

“FCB Canada has had the pleasure of servicing Air Canada for more than 20 years, and this win solidifies the confidence that they have in us to continue our creative partnership moving forward,” added FCB Canada CEO Tyler Turnbull. “I am extremely proud of the FCB team for delivering an organic win, which both expands and strengthens our relationship with Air Canada.”

FCB Montreal president Samia Chebeir was also enthusiastic about the assignment, adding, “We have a unique momentum in Montreal, and I am extremely thrilled that our team is extending our partnership with Air Canada and leading this new venture. Air Canada has been going through a transformation in recent years, and we are incredibly proud to continue to be part of their journey to create more innovative engagement between the airline and its consumers.”

The assignment follows the arrival of a series of creative hires at FCB Canada in September. Back in February, FCB Canada welcomed group creative directors Matt Antonello and Noel Fenn to its Toronto office.

Casual dining chain Chili’s Grill & Bar has appointed Boulder, Colorado-based Fact & Fiction as its social media agency of record.

“In a rushed and oversaturated world where you have milliseconds to capture someone’s attention, we realized that telling our story through social media was an area where we could reinvent ourselves,” Chili’s chief marketing and innovation officer Steve Provost said in a statement. “We needed the right partner to challenge us, energize us and give us the production chops to be able to tell our story at the speed of social.”

“Social should be fun – it’s the perfect avenue to articulate a brand’s personality and voice strategically, yet fearlessly,” added Fact & Fiction partner Kyle Taylor. “The Chili’s brand has a strong heritage for a reason, and I’m thrilled that we get to help tell the story of what they do best: connecting friends and family over burgers, ribs and fajitas.”

Back in May, Chili’s parted ways with longtime agency partner Hill Holliday. At the time, the chain said it would move to working with agency partners on a project basis for future broadcast and digital campaigns. Hill Holliday had worked with the brand since winning the account away from GSD&M, an incumbent of some two decades, back in 2007. Chili’s subsequently launched a review which it concluded by awarding a project assignment to O’Keefe Reinhard & Paul.

Chili’s spent a total of around $129 million on measured media in the U.S. last year, according to Kantar Media.

Ford appears to be re-examining its relationship with WPP’s dedicated agency GTB going into 2018.

A client representative provided the following statement:

“We value the talented and creative men and women at WPP. They are trusted partners and curators of the Ford brand. As we are across the Ford business, we are exploring options to improve the fitness of our marketing and advertising operations. No decisions have been made.”

Representatives for both GTB and WPP deferred to the client.

It’s unclear if “exploring options” refers to a potential formal review, but the statement seems to indicate that Ford will reassess its relationship with the agency in some capacity and that unspecified changes are being considered.

Last month, the auto giant promoted Kumar Galhotra to CMO. Former CEO Mark Fields was replaced by James Hackett, who had run the company’s Smart Mobility division, back in May.

GTB has faced a series of setbacks this year. Longtime chief creative officer Toby Barlow left the Ford-dedicated WPP unit back in February, and the agency brought on TBWA veteran Tito Melega to replace him in September.

SVP, director of platforms and partnerships John Gray then went to Pinterest this spring before the agency laid off between 100 and 150 employees over the summer. Earlier this month, we also learned that Dwayne Raupp, who co-lead GTB’s invention design studio, Kinetic Optimism Studio, had left the agency to become executive creative director at Huge Detroit.