Pereira & O’Dell New York Gets a European Wax for the Summer

We’re not sure why PR kept pushing this one so aggressively (maybe they’ve seen our backs?) but Pereira & O’Dell New York has been appointed as creative agency of record for European Wax Center after a review.

Pereira & O’Dell New York will be tasked with leading the brand’s communications strategy, as well as creative leadership and execution across channels including broadcast, digital, print and in-store. The agency takes over for incumbent strawberryfrog in the role.

“We set out to find an agency that not only does groundbreaking brand storytelling, but does it with a team of smart, driven, and passionate people. And we found this with Pereira & O’Dell New York,” said European Wax Center president, marketing and product development Sherry Baker. “We are excited to partner with the award-winning team because, in the end, what matters most is working with people who share the same values and level of passion. We are thrilled.”

“There was an immediate connection with the team at EWC around our mutual belief that culture and people make companies great,” added Pereira & O’Dell New York managing director Cory Berger. “We’re excited to partner with them in realizing their vision of becoming an iconic beauty lifestyle brand.”

Pereira & O’Dell New York’s first work for European Wax Center will be for the 2016 holiday season and will focus on the brand’s new Strut 365 line.

Governor Cuomo Defends Start-Up New York’s ‘Generic’ Ads

Start Up NYGovernor Andrew Cuomo defended the “New York Open for Business” marketing initiative promoting his Start-Up New York project amid criticism from local government reps who claim that the advertising for the program is costly and ineffective.

The “New York Open for Business” marketing initiative with BBDO initially covered a series of Empire State Development campaigns, but its scope was widened in 2013 to include ads promoting the Start-Up New York program. New York spent some $251 million on the contract with BBDO before signing another $150 million contract with Campbell Ewald to continue “New York Open For Business” for two more years last fall.

In the wake of a report finding that Start-Up New York created just 408 jobs in its first two years, New York Senator Terrence Murphy called for the suspension of the advertising contract, saying, “The way to show we’re open for business is by reducing New York’s burdensome regulations and cutting taxes, not buying television commercials. I…never fully understood why New Yorkers were seeing ads about why they should come to New York…We have to put the brakes on these commercials until a system of accountability is in place, and if our targets cannot be met, we should scrap the whole thing.”

“It costs us nothing – zero – because all the program says is if you come here, we won’t charge you tax,” Cuomo explained to reporters in response to the criticism. “But they weren’t here to begin with, so it doesn’t cost us anything. It just saves them on the income tax.”

Cuomo characterized the “New York Open for Business” ads as “generic,” rather than specifically promoting Start-Up New York, adding, “‘Come to New York and we will help your business grow if you come to New York and New York is not the frightful place that you thought it was. We’re not a high tax state. We’ll eliminate taxes.’ So that’s what the advertising did.”

Another Brand Names a Celebrity As Its Creative Leader

“Chief Creative” is the new “celebrity spokesperson.” You already knew this, and the trend is hardly new. But it must be working (we think?) since more clients keep hopping on the bandwagon.

Bacardi appointed Kasseem Dean, better known by his stage name, Swizz Beatz, as “Global Chief Creative for Culture for Bacardi with oversight for the entire Bacardi portfolio of brands.”

The goal of the apppointment, according to a press release, “is to develop partnerships, activations and ideas that further incorporate the Bacardi brands into the worlds of music, art and film.” Dean will also represent Bacardi and its various brands at cultural activations in the U.S. and in developing markets as part of the deal. It’s almost like his celebrity led to the hire or something.

Bacardi worked with Swizz Beats last December on a three-day cultural experience at Art Basel 2015 in Miami, where he performed along with his wife, Alicia KeysDMX, Wiz Khalifa, DJ Khaled and others. Remember that Keys served in a similar creative director role for Blackberry a few years back. She may or may not have sent a promo tweet from an iPhone while holding the title; she claimed she was hacked, and a grand total of zero people believed her.

Anyway, here are the quotes.

“For Bacardi, having Swizz as a partner represents an opportunity to sell more than just bottles and cocktails. It represents a convergence of our brands in lifestyle and cultural experiences,” said Bacardi Limited CEO Mike Dolan. “Consumers are identifying with brands that fit their lifestyle in culturally relevant ways and Swizz is the perfect partner to identify and forge these new consumer connections.”

“Besides having amazing brand recognition, great-tasting products and leadership that pushes boundaries, Bacardi has a deep heritage in music, film, culture and the arts, so they’re a great partner to help bring my vision to life,” added Beatz, possibly while sipping on Cruzan. “Also, I wanted to partner with a company that, like Bacardi, has a long history of giving back to the community through its philanthropic activities. As the Bacardi Global Chief Creative for Culture, I will be involved in all aspects of the product—from brand marketing and advertising to innovation and selling platforms—areas to which I will bring a new, fresh perspective.”

Where will Beatz take his rum? Who can even guess?!

Craft Brewer Blasts Budweiser Rebrand as ‘Un-American’

Back in May, Budweiser announced it would be temporarily rebranding cans of its American style adjunct lager, with the word “America” replacing the name brand for a limited time this summer as part of its “America is in Your Hands” campaign. Like the rice-infused yellow swill itself, the decision left a bad taste in the mouths of a lot of beer drinkers.

After pondering the subject for weeks, Will McCameron, president and co-owner of Brewery 85 in South Carolina, decided to say something, penning a critical response for craft beer blog Brew Studs. “Frankly, Budweiser calling itself ‘America’ is the most un-American thing I’ve observed in quite a while,” he wrote. 

That’s because the brand’s parent company, A-B InBev, is a a Belgian-Brazilian multinational corporation headquartered in Belgium. So while a good portion of Budweiser is still brewed in various locations across the country — most notably St. Louis, Missouri — there’s an undeniable hypocrisy, he argued, in labeling your beverage “America” but refusing to pay a fair share of American taxes. One could easily argue, as well, that many of A-B InBev’s business practices in regards to distributors seem to reject the American idea of fair, open competition. After laying out an overview of his arguments, he tied the issue to economic ideas brought up by the current election cycle, concluding “…don’t come to me bitching about the state of the American economy with a can of Bud in your hand.”

He did concede, however, that those most effectively targeted by Budweiser’s “America” stunt are also those least likely to know or care about the brand’s open hypocrisy — in his words, those who “either don’t want to pay a premium price for beer, aren’t concerned with taste, or don’t care how and where their beer is made.”

Of course, this isn’t the first time in recent years that Budweiser has angered the craft beer community while its parent company continues to gobble up larger craft breweries and attempt to confuse less knowledgeable consumers with faux-craft brands like Shock Top.

The 2015 Anomaly Super Bowl spot “Brewed the Hard Way created by agency Anomaly, not- so-subtly mocked craft beer while Bud proclaimed itself “Proudly a macro beer.” It was met with expected vitriol from a community of brewers who actually do brew the hard way, some of whom released a video of their own parodying the ad. For this year’s Super Bowl, Anomaly and the brand released a slightly toned-down follow up.

McCameron’s piece highlights the downside to Budweiser’s effort. One could argue that not many people who actually care about the beer they’re drinking would reach for a Budweiser by any name. But then, is the change attracting a significant number of new customers?

It’s even more difficult to know whether there are drinkers in the middle ground who may have reached for the watery brew in a pinch or to save money this summer but instead will opt for something else after being turned off by the hypocritical appeal to blind patriotism.

Asurion Appoints The VIA Agency as AOR

Connected life services company Asurion appointed The VIA Agency as its agency of record, following a review conducted by Pile and Company.

“We’re about to unveil a new product that will redefine what it means to offer protection for connected devices making this is a critical point for our business,” Asurion director of marketing communications David Mirande said in a statement. “We are essentially the biggest company you’ve never heard of, due to the fact that our work is behind the scenes. Now, we want to change that and show how we can help anyone have a better experience with technology, and be the consumer’s operating system for life.”

One of The VIA Agency’s first assignments for the client will be introducing its new “high-touch, proactive solution to insure connected devices.” Multichannel work is expected from the agency as early as this quarter.

“We’re excited to help Asurion creatively showcase that they offer much more than just protection, they make technology blissful,” said VIA CEO Leeann Leahy, who joined the agency last September. “One thing we like about Asurion as a company is that like us, they aren’t afraid to reinvent the routine and that’s why we’re beyond thrilled for this partnership.”

IKEA Splits Global Media Business Between GroupM and Dentsu Aegis Following Review

In an unusual arrangement, IKEA has consolidated its global media account with two separate holding companies sharing the business.

Following a review led by ID Comms and MediaPath, IKEA’s media buying and planning business will be handled by WPP’s GroupM and Dentsu Aegis. Local marketers in IKEA groups will be able to select from either holding company’s operations, which could result in a six way pitch between GroupM and Dentsu Aegis agencies for specific markets.

We think it safe to say neither holding company will be completely satisfied with this news. Separate reviews for IKEA’s U.S. and U.K. media accounts are ongoing.

“As part of our commitment to the ongoing improvement of our media and marketing governance, IKEA periodically evaluates all marketing service suppliers to ensure we maintain the best working relationships with the best agency partners,” an IKEA representative said in a statement.

“IKEA started this current global review process in April 2016 with the help of our strategic media consultancy partners, ID Comms, and our media audit partner, MediaPath. After our search and having received four very strong strategic proposals, we are pleased to announce we will be working with both GroupM and Dentsu Aegis. We thank all the agency groups for participating and for all their hard work.”

Most IKEA groups are expected to select their respective WPP/Dentsu agencies by the end of the year, which should result in a bunch of mini-pitches pitting the holding companies against one another in local markets. Fun times for all!

Now Might Be the Time for Chipotle to Start Working with Creative Agencies Again

Chipotle needs a good, thorough rebranding. The chain’s problems clearly can’t be solved by hiring a new crisis communications firm or launching a new social media campaign or hiring some food influencers to bring attention back to the quality of its ingredients.

You guys have obviously seen the stories about CMO and former copywriter Mark Crumpacker, who was indicted on cocaine possession charges in a Manhattan drug bust last week and subsequently placed on administrative leave.

A momentarily fascinating follow-up in Bloomberg today reveals that Crumpacker’s coke purchases synced up with his employer’s biggest crisis moments over the past year or so, implying that he was “driven to drugs” by public fallout and falling revenues attached to the bacteria story.

This may or may not be true. But in January of this year, the chain definitely ended its relationship with PR firm Edelman, all but confirming that the world’s biggest reputation shop was not doing enough to repair its reputation. (This was after Edelman won some Cannes Lions for the “Scarecrow” campaign.)

Chipotle hired GSD&M to handle media/strategy in 2014 and then went with Dentsu’s Carrot for social media last year. But the company hasn’t had a creative AOR in some time after working with Mother New York, DeVito/Verdi, etc.

The reason given for that decision has been that traditional advertising doesn’t matter so much for a company like Chitpotle, which until recently relied on social media, PR/word of mouth and projects like the “Cultivating Thought” series in which various authors’ work appeared on company cups. It wasover advertising, really.

We also hear that this may not have been the most pleasant client in history, surprise surprise. But it’s no longer in that position of power, and we think now would be a good time for Chipotle to issue an RFP.

The company has admitted that it “cannot market its way out” of its current struggles, and the “free burrito” extravaganza didn’t quite work. But whenever it does decide to go all-in on the rebound campaign, it will need to have some distinctive and omnipresent work tied to that effort. This is something that PR and media agency partners, with all due respect to them, cannot provide.

Wouldn’t it be in Chipotle’s best interest to hire a new creative agency in an effort to get consumers to stop thinking about cocaine and E. Coli? The goal would be to refocus on one key point: this place still has better food than almost any other massive chain, Mexican or otherwise.

We almost want to believe in Chipotle’s ability to overcome these scandals, and that feels kind of weird.

It worked for Jack in the Box, remember?

Panama City Launches a Creative Agency Review

The Panama City Beach Convention and Visitors Bureau launched a creative review seeking an agency to help strengthen marketing, advertising, media buying and planning for year-round tourism as the destination hopes to rely less heavily on travel-focused periods such as spring break, AdAge reports today.

Visit Panama City Beach President and CEO Dan Rowe told the publication that Fahlgren Mortine, which has held the account since late 2009, plans to defend in the review. RFQ responses will be due by July 25, as the Panama City Beach Convention and Visitors Bureau intends to wrap up the review and bring on a new agency for the October 1 start to its new fiscal year, for which it has allotted a $5 million advertising budget. 

“Our organization has been focused really on increasing visitation 12 months out of the year and to really strengthen tourism on a year-round basis so we’re not as dependent on particular times,” Rowe said, adding that the goal is to have local businesses rely less on spring break specifically.

New laws place last summer included such drastic changes as forbidding alcohol on city beaches and ending the sale of alcoholic products two hours earlier each night. These laws have been directly tied to a 50-85 percent decrease in revenue at area businesses this March. They were enacted in response to a series of crimes that occurred the previous spring, when three men were charged with sexual assault and a shooting occurred at a house party. It’s not hard to see why the city is looking to move away from its association with the spring break “brand,” but now the destination faces another obstacle in the rise of Zika. Rowe said the tourism board is monitoring the issue but assured AdAge that no one is “panicked.”

The Panama City Beach Convention and Visitors Bureau is looking for a new agency partner that can micro-target audiences with specific digital and mobile content in an attempt to increase year-round tourism.

[Image via WTVY 4]

Red Robin Appoints KBS as AOR

Red Robin appointed KBS as its agency of record, following a review launched by the casual dining chain at the beginning of April. KBS takes over for San Diego-based incumbent (and fellow MDC Partners agency) Vitro, which the brand selected as its AOR back in January 2013. The scope of the assignment includes digital media planning and buying through KBS media agency The Media Kitchen, as well as brand strategy and creative.

“KBS demonstrated a whole new approach to our business and marketing strategy,” said Red Robin CMO Jonathan Muhtar, in a statement. “They challenged our way of thinking and showed us how we can leverage the currency of burger culture to guide our strategy. We’re confident that they’ll be the perfect partner as we look to engage existing customers and reach new burger aficionados.”

“Red Robin understands that modern companies need a strong and multi-faceted marketing platform to engage customers and to progress their business in today’s tech-driven society,” added KBS U.S. CEO Ed Brojerdi. “We’re excited to work with such an iconic brand and use the power of our network to bolster its reputation.”

The appointment follows a recent string of account wins for KBS which includes creative duties for Keds and Monster and, just last month, digital for Stanley Black & Decker.

Twitter Launches a Creative Agency Review

Earlier this month, we reported that Twitter had no upcoming projects scheduled with TBWAChiatDay L.A. and that the client and agency had effectively ended their somewhat brief relationship.

A source within the Twitter organization has now confirmed that the social network recently issued an RFP to several unnamed agencies. The RFP closed several days ago, the competing agencies have been chosen and the formal review has begun.

Jack Dorsey’s company first sought an agency partner late last year as part of a campaign promoting “Moments,” its latest attempt to increase user engagement in the interest of more effectively monetizing the service. Business Insider broke the news that TBWA had won the pitch, though no one officially confirmed this fact. Twitter also partnered with U.K.-based agency Lucky Generals last year according to our overseas contacts, but the agency does not appear to have created a full campaign for the company.

As noted in the BI post, TBWA was not officially named Twitter’s agency of record. We have heard from multiple sources that the shop won project-based work, and it is not clear at this time whether the current review concerns more of the same. Earlier this month an agency spokesperson said that Twitter remained one of TBWA’s clients, but that no longer appears to be the case.

The first campaign from TBWA launched last October, and it tied the new “Moments” feature to the Major League Baseball World Series. Approximately two months after that campaign went live, the agency parted ways with the creative director who led the Twitter account.

At this time, we do not know how many agencies are participating or which shops those might be. We have reached out to contacts at Twitter and TBWA but have yet to receive a response.

On an unrelated note, Dorsey and other parties also provided funding for the launch of San Francisco-based design/consulting firm West several years ago. After we posted on the arrival of new managing partner Joanna Rees, a PR contact from Dorsey’s other company, Square, reached out to clarify that he is no longer directly involved with the West organization.

McDonald’s Appoints Ogilvy Vet Colin Mitchell as Global Brand Vice President

Yesterday McDonald’s appointed Colin Mitchell as global vice president for the McDonald’s brand. In the new role, Mitchell will move to Chicago and take responsibility for communicating McDonald’s brand vision and positioning throughout the company’s global organization. He will report to McDonald’s global CMO Silvia Lagnado

The appointment comes amidst a creative review which McDonald’s launched in April in an effort to consolidate its U.S. ad business. WPP subsequently dropped out of the review last month, citing unusual financial demands and leaving Omnicom’s DDB and Publicis’ Leo Burnett as the remaining finalists.

The two agencies are completing the final stage of the pitch this week. In May, various sources told Adweek that McDonald’s had made “unheard of” demands of its potential agency partners, which must allegedly operate at cost for all future projects as part of a contract that forbids agencies to make a profit without meeting certain unnamed performance goals.

Mitchell arrives at McDonald’s from Ogilvy & Mather, where he has spent the past sixteen years. Most recently, Mitchell served as worldwide head of planning at the agency in a role he has held since February of 2008. While with Ogilvy & Mather, he has worked with brands including  IBM, Coca-Cola, BlackRock and Cisco. Mitchell is also a board member of the Advertising Educational Foundation and the Advertising Research Foundation, as well as a Fellow of the Partnership for New York City.

“Colin is widely respected as one of the brightest and most talented planners in the advertising industry and we are delighted to welcome him to McDonald’s at such an exciting and important time,” Lagnado said in a statement. “His invaluable experience working with major global companies and his passion for brand vision and strategy will have a lasting impact in our business.”

VML Wins PepsiCo’s Brisk Brand in a Review

PepsioCo appointed VML as creative agency of record for its Brisk brand (part of the Pepsi Lipton Tea Partnership joint venture with Unilever) following a review, AdAge reported yesterday.

Cheil Worldwide’s The Barbarian Group had formerly been creative AOR for the Brisk brand and released its “Kinda Out There” campaign for the brand last October.

The reason for this particular review is not clear at the moment. But back in May, The Barbarian Group went through an agency reorganization that resulted in a large round of executive departures. Those who left included CCO Edu Pou, who helped win the Brisk appointment during his time with the agency.

For VML, meanwhile, the assignment marks the third account win in the past four months. Back in March, the agency was named creative AOR for Wendy’s without a review (the agency had formerly been the brand’s digital AOR). Earlier this month H&R Block tapped the agency as its social AOR. In the wake of the Wendy’s AOR assignment, the agency announced a series of creative promotions and has expanded both its Chicago and west coast operations this year.

Chase Hires Auditors to Examine Its Relationship with ZenithOptimedia

In what Business Insider is calling “The first domino from the ANA ad agency rebate report,” JPMorgan’s U.S. consumer and commercial banking division Chase hired auditors to examine its relationship with Pubicis media agency ZenithOptimedia, which handles media buying for the brand.

Following the report released earlier this month, which alleged widespread non-transparent business practices by media buying companies, which was widely denounced (of course) by advertising holding companies, it’s perhaps unsurprising that a client would resort to such an approach. A Business Insider source told the publication the decision to bring in the auditors two weeks ago was “a direct response to the high-profile report,” although other sources contend the audit had been in the works for months. 

Of course, the fact that auditors was hired does not mean that there’s evidence of any wrongdoing or non-transparent business practices on ZenithOptimedia’s part, but it could potentially to a contract renegotiation or other action.

“We have launched an audit of Zenith, and have paused new work with them in the meantime. They’ve been cooperative, and we look forward to completing this quickly,” a spokesperson told Business Insider’s Lara O’Reilly.

A Zenith spokesperson followed: “We have a great relationship with JPMorgan Chase, with a strong partnership for more than a decade. Audits are a standard part of the business process. We look forward to a collaborative audit process and a continued relationship.”

Another source tells the publication that Chase is considering launching an in-house, programmatic unit for ad buying, bypassing the need for an outside media buying agency. It will be interesting to see Chase’s next move following the audit, and if other clients follow suit in the wake of the ANA report.

Chase has recently made some changes on the creative side of its agency roster, choosing VaynerMedia as its social media AOR in May.

Verizon Moves Its Retail Marketing Work to WPP’s SET

Verizon has expanded its relationship with the WPP organization by assigning the retail portion of its marketing account to brand experience agency SET.

The move effectively serves as a WPP consolidation. Like many of Verizon’s recent agency shifts, it occurred without a pitch or a formal review.

WPP acquired a majority interest in SET almost exactly one year ago. The Portland-based shop, which also has offices in New York, L.A. and London, started as a Nike agency and currently works with such clients as Google Glass, Red Bull, Uniqlo and Jordan.

AKQA continues to handle digital and interactive on the account, though Verizon did move to send a larger share of the digital work on certain portions of its business to R/GA earlier this year after choosing the two agencies to partner on digital after a review that ended just over 12 months ago. Moving forward, SET will lead the retail portion of the business while partnering with AKQA on creative. The latter shop’s relationship with the client will not change as its has long partnered with retail agencies, though it is not clear at this time which one handled the work in question before the client went with SET.

As we understand it, this move came about due to Verizon’s desire to add more digital and interactive elements to its retail marketing efforts. The two agencies will be meeting next week to determine how they will collaborate on the business.

Spokespeople for AKQA and SET declined to comment for this post.

Verizon’s most recent consolidation move involved shifting the entirety of its FiOS direct marketing account from MRM//McCann to indie agency Rauxa.

St. John & Partners Files Bid Protest Over Florida Lottery Contract

Last Friday, we wrote about Florida Lottery appointing Tampa-based agency PP+K as its general market agency of record following a review. We noted that a spokeswoman for the Florida Lottery declined to comment to Florida Politics prior to a “safe-harbor period” ending some time on Friday, which coincided with the deadline for losing bidders in the review to file an administrative protest over the decision. Now SaintPetersBlog reports that incumbent agency St. John & Partners has filed a 166-page bid protest.

St. John & Partners had held the account since 2009. Following the review which resulted in St. John & Partners winning the account, Zimmerman Advertising lodged a protest of its own, which held up the award for several weeks.

According to SaintPetersBlog, among the allegations in the bid protest are that Tallahassee consultant David Bishop failed to observe a law regarding a two-year ban on former agency officials lobbying their former employers. The bid protest claims Bishop, a former deputy secretary of the Florida Lottery, lobbied on behalf of PP+K just 15 months after leaving his former position. PP+K maintains that Bishop “never met with any Lottery official privately” and never otherwise “actively lobbied” on PP+K’s behalf. Other allegations include that Florida Lottery broke the state’s Sunshine Law by failing to provide a public hearing discussing “the relative merits of the vendors and arrive at a best value determination and award recommendation,” and that they also never requested a “best and final offer” from participating agencies.

In the bid protest, St. John & Partners asks that Florida Lottery suspends awarding the contract to PP+K, until the decision is resolved either by the court or “final agency action,” either scrapping the award and relaunching the review or awarding it to the incumbent.

Florida Lottery Appoints PP+K as its General Market Agency Following Controversial Review

The Florida Lottery tasked Tampa-based agency PP+K with the brand’s general market advertising duties, following a review.

A spokeswoman for the Florida Lottery declined to comment to Florida Politics prior to a “safe-harbor period” ending some time today. That timeframe coincides with the deadline for losing bidders in the review to file an administrative protest over the decision, communications director Connie Barnes clarified to the publication. Lobbyists including Slater BaylissNick Iarossi and Dan Russell have raised concerns with the governor’s office over the current decision. 

Such a bid protest resulted when Florida Lottery last awarded its account to St. John & Partners in 2009. Following that review, Zimmerman Advertising lodged a protest which held up the award for several weeks. 

According to Florida Politics the three other agencies involved in the review include incumbent St. John & Partners, Sapient and CommongroundMGS. There’s a little problem with that list, though. We know CommongroundMGS went out of business last December. We’ve yet to hear of the future agency project from Commonground founders, but MillerCoors reps have claimed that they will continue working with the agency principals.

The Richards Group Wins AOR Duties for Famous Footwear

Famous Footwear appointed The Richards Group as its new agency of record, following a review. The Dallas-based independent agency will be tasked with creative, brand strategy, digital and social strategy.

“The Richards Group checked off every item on our list in searching for an agency partner,” Famous Footwear CMO Will Smith said. “We were looking for complete cross-platform integration, outstanding creative chops, and strong strategic insights. The Richards Group delivers on all these elements. But one of the things we appreciated the most was their ability to listen. That told us they would be a highly collaborative partner as we move the business forward.”

Y&R Chicago had held creative duties since 2011, following Famous Footwear ending its relationship with Campbell Mithun after more than three years and subsequently launching a review. It is unclear if Y&R participated in the review. 

“We got to know their business as well as we could during the review process, and the briefing they provided us early on was invaluable as we approached the final assignment,” said The Richards Group principal Stephanie Vander Linden, who will lead the Famous Footwear business. “Working with Famous Footwear to find the heart of the brand showed us how well our teams would work together. If that wasn’t motivation enough, we look out the window every day and see a Famous Footwear store across the street. We want to be part of their success.”

The Richards Group’s first work for the brand is expected to run for back-to-school season later this summer. 

Adidas Golf Appoints Vitro as AOR

Adidas Golf recently named MDC Partners agency Vitro as its agency of record, The Drum reported yesterdayAdidas Golf spent around $45 million on measured media back in 2014, according to Kantar Media. 

The account had been with Venables Bell & Partners, who were appointed as AOR last July, taking over for incumbent Kastner & Partners in a review that included six finalists and ten agencies total. Back in April, VB&P launched a “Geared for More” campaign starring PGA pros (and Adidas athletes) Jason DaySergio Garcia and Dustin Johnson for the brand ahead of the Masters. 
“A lot of agencies will come in and really just think about creative,” Courtney McHugh, senior director, global brand marketing at Adidas Golf told The Drum. “Vitro came in from a business side. They really thought about our objectives. We gave them some numbers and some business objectives, but it wasn’t just about the creative. It wasn’t just about a marketing strategy. It really was about helping us obtain our business goals and thinking about it from true solutions.”
The appointment follows a lot of changes at Vitro in recent months. Last month, executive creative directors Kt Thayer and Oliver Duncan left the agency, with Thayer moving on to CP+B Boulder. A few months prior to that ASICS shifted its global creative business to 180 Amsterdam and 180LA from the agency, Red Robin (allegedly) launched a review and Wild Turkey  moved part of its marketing budget overseas. The agency also recently launched a new office in Austin, hiring GSD&M’s Jake Camozzi and Victor Camozzi to run its creative department. 
A larger campaign is expected from Vitro some time in 2017, with more small scale interim projects in the near future.

FCB’s Creative Leader Sets The Story Straight

Susan Credle, global chief creative officer at FCB, believes in the power of story to move people to buy and to believe. She’s not alone in this, although it pays to clearly make the argument over and over. In a guest piece written for The Wall Street Journal, Credle explains the great tradition that today’s […]

The post FCB’s Creative Leader Sets The Story Straight appeared first on AdPulp.

Electrolux North America Launches Review of Creative, Media and PR Agencies

Electrolux North America has launched a review of its North American marketing, creative and PR agencies, AdAge reported yesterday.

According to the publication, Electrolux sales last year reached $5.1 billion in North America. The review encompasses traditional and digital brand advertising, media, PR, in-store marketing and CRM for both the Electrolux and Frigidaire brands. (Electrolux also owns such brands as AEG, Castor, Eureka and many others.)

“As a company, Electrolux strives to be at the forefront of innovation and design,” Electrolux North America senior vice president of marketing John Weinstock said in a statement. “We intend for our full marketing approach to reflect our company’s vision, products and commitment to serving our consumers.”

DDB has handled creative on Electrolux’s North American major-appliances division for the past ten years after winning a 2006 review that saw the business move away from previous incumbent Lowe.

After the 2006 review, Lowe retained the international portion of the business, but that work also went to DDB’s European offices in 2012. The current review does not concern the global account.

It’s unclear at this time which agencies are participating in the pitch, and DDB has not yet responded to related queries.

Zenith Media has handled media duties for Electrolux since 2014, while Weber Shandwick has been the brand’s PR agency since 2004.