Hasta La Creative!

Toy giant Lego is in review mode.

This morning, Adweek reported on The Lego Group’s global media agency review. Several parties claimed that every major holding company with the exception of Omnicom is in the pitch, which has not yet advanced beyond the first round.

But it’s not just media—the company also recently launched a U.S. digital creative review.

Lego spokespeople have declined to officially confirm either development, stating that they regularly review all partners as a standard business procedure. But several parties have confirmed to us that the digital review is ongoing.

The company works with a variety of shops around the world and typically does not name an agency of record. Products like branded slippers and disabled figures tend to get more attention than traditional campaigns, and its most recent notable spot was this 2014 ad for girls by Union Made Creative.

The reasons for these reviews would appear to be twofold: new leadership and business challenges.

One might think, given the success of the recent Lego and Lego Batman movies, that the company would be riding high. In 2015, it sold 62 billion “elements,” or the equivalent of 102 bricks for every single person currently living in the world.

But the The Lego Group does not appear to profit directly from the movies, and sales in the U.S. (which is its biggest market) were flat last year despite a big marketing effort. Six months ago, former COO Bali Padda took over the chief executive role from Jørgen Vig Knudstorp, the current chairman who is widely credited with saving the traditionally family-run business during his decade-plus tenure.

It’s not clear at this time which agencies are pitching. According to Kantar Media, Lego spent around $85 million in the U.S. last year, and that total was nearly double its domestic marketing budget for 2015.

Denver-based fast casual chain (and Chipotle competitor) Qdoba is seeking a new agency partner and has launched a creative review, according to sources with direct knowledge of the matter.

Doner, Zambezi and Mistress are said to be among the agencies pitching for the account. It would appear that Pereira & O’Dell will not participate in the review and has parted ways with the brand as Qdoba is listed as a “Past Client” on the agency’s website.

Pereira & O’Dell had handled the creative account since being named lead creative agency in March of 2015, following a review. That October, Qdoba also turned to brand strategy and design agency Prophet for a rebranding, aimed at shaking Chipotle comparisons, that encompassed everything “from the logo to the chairs.”

We reached out to the agencies involved, as well as Qdoba, but have yet to receive a response. We will update the post if we receive any further information.

According to the most recent Kantar Media estimates, the chain is a relatively small spender, with around $6-7 million in paid media in 2014.

In case you missed it at the end of the day right before a long weekend, Japanese automaker Mitsubishi has ended its 7-year relationship with Omnicom’s 180LA.

Agency CEO Michael Allen gave Adweek the following statement:

“We are very proud of the work we have done with Mitsubishi over the last seven years, including the current ‘Re-model A’ TV program celebrating their 100-year anniversary. They just finished their most recent fiscal year, selling over 100,000 vehicles for the first time in 10 years. This is a 75 percent increase over the last four years, despite the introduction of very few new models. We wish them continued success. Our ambition moving forward remains the same—to do breakthrough work in the automotive category.”

The agency didn’t elaborate on this statement, and client representatives never got back to us—possibly because Mitsubishi recently fired its head of public relations.

Different parties described the split in different ways. One source said the agency refused to agree to client demands regarding  fees vs. workload, while another told us the automaker terminated the relationship of its own accord.

At any rate, Mitsubishi is going through a tumultuous period. A couple of months ago, Renault CEO and Nissan chairman Carlos Ghosn announced that he would effectively take over the company’s recovery efforts after last year’s scandal in which employees admitted that they had manipulated fuel economy ratings in an effort to fool Japanese regulators a la Volkswagen. The company lost more than $1.5 billion in 2016.

Given that the client did not discuss the status of its advertising business after more than a week of requests, it’s not yet clear whether a formal review has begun. But according to Kantar Media, Mitsubishi spent around $82 million on paid media in the U.S. in 2015 and increased that total to $95 million last year.

180LA has been actively pitching new business since losing the global ASICS account late last year, and the same parties who alerted us to the Mitsubishi change also noted that Al Moseley, president and CCO of the network’s Amsterdam office, has been in L.A. leading an unspecified pitch.

Last month, the agency confirmed that it would be moving into a new office in Playa Vista’s “Silicon Beach” after more than a decade in Santa Monica.

Classic women’s retail chain Talbots has chosen MullenLowe to handle a rebranding campaign set to launch this fall.

The IPG network’s Boston headquarters will handle strategy, creative development, media planning and PR for the integrated effort designed to re-establish Talbots’ position in the struggling retail market.

MullenLowe will use its “hyperbundled service offering” to grant its newest client “high levels of consumer engagement and an unfair share of attention in the marketplace.”

“Talbots has undergone an incredible transformation and achieved momentum throughout the last five years, and now we feel it is time to bring our creative expression and campaign strategy to the next level,” said svp of marketing Deborah Cavanagh, who added that MullenLowe’s “challenger mindset” facilitated “a strong understanding of our authentic brand mission and distinct brand voice.”

The company, established in Massachusetts in 1947, was acquired by private equity firm Sycamore Partners in 2012. That firm has been on a buying spree, picking up such retailers as Hot Topic, Belk, Coldwater Creek, The Limited and Nine West.

A recent Bloomberg feature characterized managing director Stefan Kaluzny as a Wall Street contrarian, calling Talbots his “most conspicuous deal” and highlighting the fact that the $193 million acquisition led to a sixfold return based largely on a decision to focus more exclusively on the chain’s target audience: older women with income to spare. It’s unclear whether Sycamore’s decision to go all in on a struggling industry will prove successful in the long run.

Talbots’ last agency review came 10 years ago, when it picked Publicis as AOR after a decade with Arnold. And the company is in comeback mode. According to the Kantar Media, Talbots spent just over $11 million on measured media in the U.S. last year; its 2015 marketing budget was a fraction of that total at less than $200,000.

The fall campaign will coincide with the client’s 70th anniversary and aim to present a new face of Talbots to the public.

“Our MullenLowe team is excited to be working with an amazing group of new leaders at Talbots who are driven to transform perceptions of the brand and to deliver an inspiring message to their audience,” said MullenLowe svp and group account director Rebekah Pagis. “We’re proud of the work we’ve developed together and sure that the market will be surprised by the spirit and confidence of the modern Talbots brand.”

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Have you ever heard of Embraer?

That’s OK, we hadn’t either. But CP+B just won the global business of what the press release calls “the world’s third-largest aircraft manufacturer.” The Travel Observers blog placed it fourth on that list more than a year ago, but we’re not quibbling.

Anyway, the Brazilian company picked CP+B as its new global AOR after a big review. The MDC Partners network’s Miami and São Paulo offices will handle the business across broadcast, social, and media buying/planning.

This makes sense because, in case you missed it, the Miami location is now under the purview of CP+B Brazil by way of CEO Vinicius Reis and CCOs Marcos Medeiros and Andre Kassu.

In his statement, Reis explained why this new partnership makes sense:

“As we cultivate this new creative corridor, what better partner than Embraer, a massive global brand based in Sao Paulo with a large footprint in Florida, and aspirations to raise its profile in the US as well as around the world.”

“Nearly 50 years after our first flight, Embraer is driven more than ever by our dreams and passion. So, we could never partner with an agency other than CP+B,” added the client’s head of global marketing and branding Allan Macintyre. “Like us, CP+B has this unshakable belief that there is always a better solution.”

The size of the account is unclear, as is the review lineup. But it’s not quite true that Embraer could never partner with another agency: the company has recently worked with Mintz+Hoke of Avon, Connecticut.

The company’s most recently featured video is less an ad than a product demo.

As first reported by Adweek yesterday, Airbnb has launched its first global creative review since 2014. This means the world’s second most value “startup” will part ways with TBWAChiatDay, which has handled the account since that September.

According to Kantar Media, Airbnb spend approximately $65 million on measured media domestically last year.

TBWAChiatDay’s work for Airbnb included a “Belong Anywhere” campaign in 2015, an OOH campaign that angered San Francisco residents, a tie-in with Disney’s live action/CGI Jungle Book and last year’s “Live There” campaign calling on viewers to stop traveling like tourists.

“We are proud of the marketing programs we have developed together with Chiat over the last three years, including the global Live There brand platform,” Airbnb CMO Jonathan Mildenhall told Adweek. “This platform helped Airbnb reach even more people and bring them into the Airbnb community.”

“As a global hospitality company at a pivotal moment in our trajectory, we are seeking a partner agency that takes us closer to unlocking the creativity of our community, in which content and product are inextricably linked,” he added. “We are engaged in a global pitch, inviting the participation of a handful of diverse agencies to identify this new partner that will help us achieve our next phase of phenomenal growth.”

Does that sound like crowdsourcing to you guys? Sounds like crowdsourcing to us.

Airbnb hinted at such an approach this past September, when it turned to content-sourcing company MoFilm for its “Airbnb Holiday Ideas Contest” soliciting concepts for a holiday campaign.

“Our partnership with Airbnb has been transformative,” a TBWA spokesperson said in a statement. “We’re proud of the body of work we’ve created over the past three years, especially the ‘Live There’ global campaign, adding another iconic brand platform to an illustrious list that includes Apple’s ‘Think Different,’ Gatorade’s ‘Win From Within,’ and Adidas’ ‘Impossible Is Nothing.’ We’re also proud to have helped drive Airbnb’s evolution from a remarkable challenger business to a leading global brand during our partnership. We wish them continued success.”

As you all know, Shea Moisture and its new AOR VaynerMedia ran into trouble this week when Black Twitter registered its disapproval of the first ad in the brand’s new campaign.

The issue, as blogger and marketer Marie Denee explained to Adweek, wasn’t that the new spot featured two white women. It was that the brand’s longtime customers—the vast majority of whom are African American—felt dismissed.

As Denee put it, an ideal campaign would have featured a variety of women in all the spots rather than creating one clearly aimed at a white audience. She specifically referenced Grey’s recent Pantene ad, which celebrated black women and said “the climate was very unfavorable” to release such a campaign at a time when both Shea Moisture and Carol’s Daughter have been accused of “whitewashing.”

The company has been playing defense, and now its marketing team has directly contacted some of the influencers who made their opinions clear on social media.

They’ve also been calling out VaynerMedia, which has yet to respond publicly to the controversy.

I cringed watching the @SheaMoisture commercial created by @vaynermedia, & I’m a black ADPR pro. @garyvee, do you have any POC on your team?

— Erica Smith (@MrsEricaSmith) April 25, 2017

Hey @garyvee why do you think #SheaMoisture recent FB campaign created with @VaynerMedia missed the mark with its core customer base?

— Manestream Beauty (@ManestreamBeaut) April 26, 2017

I certainly did not expect to read that @garyvee‘s @VaynerMedia helped @SheaMoisture create the ad. #Branding #Marketing #Advertising https://t.co/Dl5DJpxfnM

— Brian Laung Aoaeh (@brianlaungaoaeh) April 25, 2017

@garyvee the black delegation would like answers abt this @SheaMoisture ad. Was this a @VaynerMedia project? Your cookout invite is at risk. pic.twitter.com/GgoVfysx6h

— Arsha Jones (@arshajones) April 25, 2017

@garyvee Look, the black community loves you. But I’m having a hard time believing @VaynerMedia was behind this @SheaMoisture ad.

— Arsha Jones (@arshajones) April 25, 2017

Earlier this week, Richelieu Dennis, CEO of Shea Moisture parent company Sundial Brands, talked to Fast Company about what he’s learned from the experience.

He said:

“The people who are unhappy here aren’t necessarily saying they don’t like white women. What they are saying is, for decades they’ve been underserved and white women have plenty of products on the shelves and advertising aimed at them, and that we should keep our focus on our audience, and not lose that focus just because we’re broadening our audience.”

It’s very close to what the brand’s loyalists said. But according to several of the people who tweeted about the campaign, members of Shea Moisture’s marketing team have been reaching out to them directly to explain what happened.

The response has not been universally positive.

Shea Moistures DM to me.. where is the personal attack? why just message me? THE ENTIRE USA is confused by your ads and not just black folks pic.twitter.com/Ao34X07ypB

— Rachel Stewart (@RStewartJewelry) April 27, 2017

@RStewartJewelry @LifeByDesi They messaged me to. I wasn’t impressed. One of them thought that ad was fine and they need to be FIRED.

— Arsha Jones (@arshajones) April 27, 2017

@RStewartJewelry wow!!!! They DM’d me last year when I was speaking on this…they are not serious at all! pic.twitter.com/xN5Cf3YYUA

— UKafrolista (@UKafrolista) April 27, 2017

Despite continuing to be very active on Twitter, Gary Vaynerchuk has yet to respond to all these mentions.

.@SheaMoisture took all the heat for that commercial that they did w/ @VaynerMedia. I really hope it was a wake up call for both. care more.

— LOVEvanka ? (@LOVEvanka) April 26, 2017

One user went so far as to share a picture of the agency’s purported account team.

@SheaMoisture …and this is vaynermedia. The people hired for the media campaign project. pic.twitter.com/ui4o47USQX

— Winter (@wintermachelle) April 26, 2017

Shea’s PR firm also has not commented on the (still alleged) direct messaging efforts by its marketing department.

Mazda North American Operations (MNAO) appointed Dino Bernacchi to the newly-created position of chief marketing officer for U.S. operations, effective May 1.

In the role, Bernacchi will be based out of the company’s Irvine, California headquarters and report to MNAO president, CEO and global CMO Masahiro Moro. Bernacchi will be responsible for overseeing Mazda’s brand communications in the U.S., “examining every touch point that affects a customer’s interaction with Mazda, from the earliest discovery phase of new-car shopping, through the research and purchase, to ownership and ultimately through to repurchase, and developing an overarching strategy to deliver clear, precise, consistent messages that support the Mazda Premium brand vision,” according to a press release.

Vice president, marketing Russell Wager will continue overseeing external communications and report to Bernacchi.

“The need to hone our company’s focus as a provider of exceptional customer experiences at every touchpoint with our brand, through our communications, with our vehicles and handled by our network of Mazda dealerships, has never been more clear,” Moro said in a statement.

“As customer tastes and expectations change, and Mazda moves itself to a new, more premium, position in the industry, it is critical that Mazda be laser-focused in our approach to how we tell our proud brand story at every touchpoint in the customer’s journey with us,” he added. “Dino’s leadership experience in doing exactly that in the past is why he is perfectly suited for this role at Mazda.”

Bernacchi arrives at Mazda with over 23 years of marketing communications experience, most recently serving as director of U.S. marketing for Harley-Davidson Motor Company. His previous experience includes stints at General Motors and Campbell Ewald, where he helped manage the Chevy business.

WPP’s Garage Team Mazda has handled U.S. advertising duties for the brand since 2010. The agency recently welcomed Erich Funke as chief creative officer, following the departure of former CCO Harvey Marco, who led the unit since its 2010 inception, last fall.

FCB New York recently won a review to continue its relationship with The Food and Drug Administration Center for Tobacco Products.

This decision means another 5-year contract worth $625 million. The official winner was True North Communications, an IPG unit consisting of FCB, Initiative, Rescue and Society. All were incumbents on the business, though we don’t know which other agencies were involved in the review (which began with a December RFP).

Someone who may or may not be an IPG employee apparently leaked the news, which first appeared in PR Week last Friday.

“We’re honored and thrilled to be continuing—and deepening—our relationship with FDA,” said FCB New York CEO Karyn Rockwell in a statement. “Tobacco use is the leading, yet preventable, cause of death in the U.S., and we know that awareness and education play a key role in helping people to make the right decisions that will positively change and impact their behaviors.”

Since originally winning the business in 2012, FCB’s most notable work has been the “Real Cost” campaign, which the FDA’s own research claims has prevented some 350,000 11-18-year-old Americans from smoking. You may remember last month’s “Little Lungs” PSA.

As before, the agencies involved will work on an integrated campaign combining research, creative, social, media strategy, partnerships, etc. in efforts to reach the general market of young people in addition to targeted groups like multicultural teens, LGBT and “rural at-risk youth.”

“The FDA is investing in a number of public education campaigns, such as The Real Cost, Fresh Empire, and This Free Life to help educate the public—especially youth—about the dangers of tobacco products,” a client spokesperson told PRWeek.

I used to go fishing on fishing trips to Minnesota with my grandfather. It was a big deal to go away for a week, stay in the camper, and catch a mess of Walleye. I’ll also never forget looking deep down into the clean, clear blue lakes of the region. Given my upbringing and current […]

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