Hasta La Creative!

Dallas-based indie agency Firehouse has been on a local roll recently, picking up a couple of big regional accounts over the last couple of months in Dairy Queen Texas and Lennox Residential, a top maker of HVAC systems.

The Lennox win, which broke this week, makes Firehouse the Richardson, TX-based company’s first AOR. Its campaigns had previously been handled by a variety of agencies including GSD&M on a per-project basis over the past 15 years. The finalists in this review were Firehouse and the Omnicom shop.

Moving forward, Firehouse will handle creative, media, social and content along with product rollouts and promotions for national retail accounts.

“Lennox is a premium, blue-chip brand that any agency would be lucky to work with. They’re sharp folks with high expectations and the fact that they saw the same in us speaks to a great partnership moving forward,” said Tripp Westbrook, who holds the dual role of ECD and CMO at the agency and recently moved from creative lead to strategist and head of new business.

For context, here’s a 2015 Lennox spot by GSD&M.

Last month, the agency also picked up Texas Dairy Queen, beating out area finalists including Loomis, Slingshot and Commerce House.

Texas includes more Dairy Queens than any other American state, and its Lone Star division operates as an independent business separate from the national chain. Over the past decade Texas Dairy Queen has handled its advertising efforts in-house after working with Loomis.

Barkley remains agency of record for the larger chain, which has spent around $75 million on U.S. paid media annually in recent years. Texas Dairy Queen’s budgets runs to an estimated $12-13 million.

Firehouse, which recently expanded into consulting work, celebrated its 20th anniversary this year with a new logo and website.

[Image via Roadside Architecture, which has some truly impressive old school Dairy Queens.]

Davos Brands selected Erich & Kallman as agency of record for Astral Tequila, the tequila brand founded by Master Sommelier Richard Betts it acquired a controlling stake in earlier this year.

According to a press release, Erich & Kallman beat out a number of New York and Los Angeles agencies to become Astral Tequila’s first creative agency. The agency will be tasked with handling video, digital, print, social, and OOH components for the brand.

Erich & Kallman, as you may recall, is the independent San Francisco agency founded by W+K, Barton F. Graf and GS&P vet Eric Kallman and former CP+B president Steve Erich in May of 2016. Since its launch the agency has added Chick-fil-A and General Mills to its client roster.

“When you’re entering a crowded category with a new brand, it’s vital that you can cut through the noise with compelling creative. Creative that will get noticed and get people talking,” Astral Brands vice president, marketing Joen Choe said in a statement. “After a lengthy pitch process with some of the best agencies on both coasts, it was actually pretty easy to see that Erich & Kallman’s creative was head and shoulders above the rest.”

“Astral is a fantastic product in a growing category,” added Erich. “We’re thrilled about the opportunity to launch a product created by Master Sommelier Richard Betts, using the talents of Jonathan Goldsmith to promote its introduction.”

Back in June, Astral Tequila released a brief ad featuring Jonathan Goldsmith referencing his old “The Most Interesting Man in the World” character for Dos Equis.

Cadillac Canada has partnered with renowned Toronto chocolate maker Brandon Olsen on a direct mail campaign that puts a decadent twist on the standard test drive invitation. Working with its lead agency Red Lion, the automaker tucked away keys to new Cadillac CT6s inside the hugely popular “Ziggy Stardust Disco Egg” from Olsen’s trendy Toronto […]

The post Define Drivers: Keys To A New Caddy; A Bespoke Chocolate Egg; Dinner at La Banane appeared first on Adpulp.

NHL expansion team the Vegas Golden Knights has selected Las Vegas-based SK+G as its agency of record.

“We are beyond excited at the opportunity to work with the Vegas Golden Knights,” SK+G managing director John Schadler said in a statement. “We feel honored to be a part of launching the city’s first major league sports team.”

“We are excited to partner with SK+G during our inaugural NHL season,” added Vegas Golden Knights chief marketing officer Brian Killingsworth. “We were impressed with their passion and creativity. It was also important that we work with a home-grown agency that’s ‘Vegas Born’ just like the Golden Knights. As a member of the Las Vegas community, we want to support local businesses.”

The Vegas Golden Knights will make their debut during the upcoming 2017-2018 NHL Season as part of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. Owned by a Black Knight Sports & Entertainment consortium led by Bill Foley, the team will play its home games at the T-Mobile Arena on the Las Vegas strip.

The team will join an SK+G client roster that includes MGM Resorts, Planet Hollywood, Cirque de Soleil, Wolfgang Puck and Waldorf Astoria.

In case you missed it (you almost certainly didn’t), Papa John’s has launched a creative agency review with extra toppings—its first since 2014, when Grey won the business away from Zimmerman.

AdAge broke the news yesterday, almost exactly three and a half months after former Wendy’s vp of advertising Brandon Rhoten joined the company as its new CMO. Like clockwork, he alerted “10 agencies and holding companies” with the goal of ending the review later this year and starting a “new creative vision” for the pizza chain.

Rhoten implied that Grey could retain the business as long as it sticks to “the new expectations” but also emphasized a desire to name an agency partner with capabilities that go beyond “traditional” creative. Perhaps he has heard that Grey has its own post-production studio.

Today a client spokesperson said that he cannot reveal which agencies are involved, adding, “We need a creative AOR that can help Papa John’s stand out in the commoditized pizza category and make clear Papa John’s commitment to better pizza. All in a world where more than 60 percent of our domestic sales come from digital channels.”

In short, Papa John’s wants to compete against Domino’s by focusing more on digital delivery orders, social media and stunts like the kind that CP+B has been dreaming up for a decade or so. They really missed out on the emoji ordering and the self-driving cars.

Now we hear that Sir Martin Sorrell really wants to keep the account, which makes some sense as Papa John’s generally spends between $100 and $150 million on paid media in the U.S. each year. He is purportedly in the process of arranging one of his famous cross-agency teams to pitch the business, though it’s not clear at this time which shops will contribute beyond the incumbent.

A spokesperson for Grey deferred to the client for comment, and WPP corporate PR hasn’t gotten back to us.

On a related note, we find it kind of interesting that Papa John’s likes to publicize the finalists in its creative reviews. Or at least it did back in the halcyon days of 2013. Anyway, something tells us Peyton Manning isn’t going anywhere.

[Pic via]

Dignity Health is the fifth largest health system in the nation and the largest hospital provider in California. The healthcare brand may also be one of the most compassionate in the land. Given the emotional turmoil saturating our media today, it’s a pleasant relief to be reminded that people are caring individuals and capable of […]

The post “Hello Humankindness” Campaign Is Just What The Doctor Ordered appeared first on Adpulp.

Back in March, BSSP made headlines for resigning the Mini account after more than 11 years.

It was the agency’s longest-held account, but the company’s reliance on procurement-mandated reviews and its assorted cost-cutting measures led to diminishing returns, and CEO Greg Stern told us that he couldn’t justify going through another review.

Several parties also indicated that parent company BMW had moved more of the creative work on that brand in-house after dropping BSSP for UM on the media side—and that it would continue to do so after the current review.

Now, we hear that the announcement will come in the next few days, with the final round pitting R/GA against 360i.

According to two individuals familiar with that matter, several of the agencies competing for some portion of the Mini business—along with that of its parent company—also took issue with the nature of the contract. These agencies allegedly included Anomaly, Huge, 360i and R/GA, at least two of which dropped out. The client then reportedly restructured the specifics.

There’s been a good bit of confusion on all sides as the specifics of the contract dispute and the nature of the assignments being considered are unclear. Some were initially called in to discuss the BMW brand, and it would appear that multiple briefs were involved. Others report a disconnect between the company’s marketing teams in Germany and the United States.

Beam of Boston has been Mini’s social and digital AOR for several, but we do not believe they were involved in the final rounds of the current review. According to one source, the client’s brief initially concerned “digital transformation” on BMW but later expanded to include the Mini brand as well.

For context, BMW will officially go into review next year, again due to procurement status. It is not clear whether global AOR KBS will defend.

Representatives from Anomaly, Huge, R/GA and 360i all declined to comment or did not respond to related messages this week.

When we reached out to Beam, a representative from the PR firm working on Mini responded, stating simply that the company would share more news “once the review process wraps in Q4.”

ESPN will soon announce a new partnership with Droga5, according to two parties with knowledge of the news who spoke to us anonymously today.

ESPN representatives have not yet responded to short-notice requests for comment. A Droga5 spokesperson declined to comment.

In January, Wieden + Kennedy made headlines across the ad industry by splitting with its former client of 25 years and signing with Fox Sports. According to several parties who later discussed that relationship, the shared contract ended late last year and both parties agreed to go their separate ways after hundreds of “This Is Sportscenter” ads. The company also has an in-house creative team in addition to working with other agencies such as 72andSunny. W+K produced fewer spots toward the end of its tenure.

One party who confirmed the win described the account as “super small,” and many media observers have also speculated on ESPN’s ability to survive declining cable subscription rates and ad revenue totals. Parent company Disney has suggested that the brand will not offer a direct to consumer service for several years, and in April ESPN laid off approximately 100 anchors, staffers and production team members.

According to Kantar Media, ESPN spent $26.3 million on paid media promoting its brand in 2016 and just under $9 million during the first half of this year.

The nature of the relationship between ESPN and Droga5 is not yet clear. It’s also not clear whether the appointment follows a competitive review. The agency’s most recent new business wins include Chinese gaming giant Tencent, Ancestry.com and Dos Equis, which had been with Havas for more than a decade.

We will update this post when more information comes in.

Multinational aerospace and transportation company Bombardier selected McCann Canada as its new agency partner, following a review launched this spring involving Canadian and international agencies.

The assignment includes strategic marketing and communications but does not appear to be an agency of record assignment. McCann will lead the account out of its Montréal office and begin work immediately. Bombardier’s headquarters are also located in Montréal.

“McCann offered extensive experience and created a custom-built team to meet our needs, including expert resources from their national and global network. Their collective passion for our brand, relevant experience and the high level strategic thinking that they brought to the pitch process was unmatched,” Bombardier senior director, corporate strategy Stéphanie Laforest explained in a statement. “The bonus was having all that talent and ability on the ground in Montréal coupled with insights and resources from the global network that we can leverage for our international business units. Their expertise, from brand strategy through to connections planning and integrated creative solutions, put them on top and won them the business.”

“We wanted this win more than anything. Our team is passionate about the brand and proud that Bombardier, a pioneer in its field, is a recognized global leader. Our agency’s longstanding heritage in Montréal and our access to experts and on-the-ground resources in the international markets where Bombardier operates, are the perfect complement to their business,” added McCann Montréal president Mylène Savoie. “We firmly believe that the intersection between global and local is a huge opportunity for our clients in Montréal. Brands now have access to the most innovative media, technologies, experiences and creativity from around the world through our increased access to the McCann Worldgroup network.”

The New York Police Department is seeking city approval to appoint Walton Isaacson to an assignment to help it diversify the city’s police force through recruitment, DNA Info reports this week.

The five-year recruitment outreach assignment is reportedly worth some $54 million.

“The NYPD has the intent to award the contract to Walton Isaacson, however, the contract award is not official until Comptroller registration,” a spokesperson for Walton Isaacson said in a statement. “The Public Hearing will be conducted on 8/17/17 to be held at 1 Centre Street, Mezzanine, at 10:00 AM.  The Public Hearing Notice was advertised in The City Record 8/4/17.”

The NYPD’s police force is reportedly around 50 percent white, while DNA Info cites that the  the city itself is 44 percent white, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. DNA Info adds that, according to NYPD statistics, “There are more than 9,980 Hispanic officers, 5,515 black officers, 2,692 Asian officers and 19 who are Native American.”

According to the request for proposal, the assignment to diversify the NYPD through recruitment practices specifically seeks black, Asian, Muslim, Jewish, female and LGBTQ + applicants.

Walton Isaacson has worked with brands including McDonald’s, Lexus, the Los Angeles Dodgers, Axe, Knob Creek, the Oscars, Basil Hayden’s, Cruzan Rum and Dove Hair. The agency was named creative agency of record for Spalding in November of 2015, following a review. Last year, Walton Isaacson welcomed Jeff Davidoff  as its first president and Christine Villanueva as senior vice president, head of strategy.

In March of 2016, the agency took on then-candidate Trump for immigrant rights organization CHIRLA Action Fund with “Turn Ignorance Around.”

Pic via