Hasta La Creative!

More than a month ago, AdWeek brought you news that national plush couch chain Ashley Furniture had launched a creative review.

Today we heard a couple of things from our sources about that review:

• Ft. Lauderdale’s Zimmerman, which served as the company’s AOR since 2009, is out

At least two parties remain standing:

• Atlanta-based 22squared
• Doner of Detroit

Since this isn’t a small account (Ashley is offering more than $50 million in yearly media spending), we expect to hear more on the review soon.

For context, in 2012 the chain chose Ryan Partnership as AOR for the launch of its spinoff chain, literally named “ZZZ’s by Ashley.”

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Since Black Friday fever is subsiding for a bit until the Christmas rush kicks back up, we can stop paying attention to Kmart’s Jingle Balls commercial and focus instead on brand philanthropy. Now that JCPenney signed a few free agents – Doner, EVB, Victors & Spoils – to take over their creative duties, the department store is headlining “Jingle Mingle” a collaborative musical project tied to USO holiday donations. It appears that EVB and Victors & Spoils took the reins on this one, and the Boulder-based team was led by Noah Clark and Steve Babcock.

There’s some vanilla exposition on the campaign’s site from country singer Blake Shelton, which is almost worth watching just to hear him say “Santa Pipes.” That’s not a phrase. But users can record their own versions of “Silent Night” before a big televised rendition on December 19 meant to raise the spirits of US troops. There’s also a monetary donation for each submission that’s ultimately capped at $100,000. It’s for a good cause. It lets people sing without bothering strangers with bah humbug looks on their faces. And nobody has to stand in a line at 3 AM for a new Xbox. Happy holidays and Santa Pipes to all.

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If there’s one thing that Detroit has going for it right now, it’s the Tigers. And if there’s one thing the Tigers always have going for them, it’s the super-dependable Miguel Cabrera, arguably the best hitter in baseball. So, if you’re a Detroit car company, just slap Miguel Cabrera in an ad and you’ve got a winner, right?

Doner (which will inevitably be mocked as “boner” in the comments section) has tapped Cabrera’s talents for their latest spot for Chrysler. Alternating between shots of Cabrera, aspiring young baseball players training, and the Chrysler Town & Country while talking about how there’s “one road to greatness” and there are “no shortcuts” whether “you’re trying to become the world’s greatest player or build the world’s greatest car” the spot pretty much sticks to a well-trodden formula. Ending with the irritatingly nonsensical “Imported From Detroit” tagline, and the better thought out #NoShortcuts hashtag, the spot certainly feels familiar.

There’s really nothing new about Doner’s approach, but as a baseball fan, the spot works for me. The background music sounds like it was taken from a “serious sports spot” stockpile somewhere and the “work hard to achieve greatness” message is certainly nothing new for Chrysler. But Miguel Cabrera isn’t just a great baseball player, he’s a seriously likable one, no matter what team you root for, with a truly photogenic swing. So despite the tired tropes of the spot, I can’t find it irritating (except for that tagline). The hometown appeal is obvious, but having people associate your product with Cabrera is a good thing, no matter where they’re from. But please Doner, work on a new tagline. Credits after the jump.

continued…

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In case you didn’t hear last week, Boca Raton-based ADT Security Services has put its creative, media and digital accounts into separate reviews. The first two portions have been handled by Doner since 1999 (this spot is still airing last time we checked), while BGT and Razorfish handled the last component in recent years. Well, we’ve received a statement from an ADT spokesperson that may clarify things a bit and it goes a little something like this:

“ADT is conducting a closed marketing agency review. The focus areas for agency support include: brand strategy, creative development, media planning and buying, and digital services. As a new public company, ADT is evaluating many aspects of its business, including new and innovative ways to engage with consumers on the benefits of home and small business security and automation solutions. All current agencies have been invited to participate in the review process.”

ADT, which currently counts 6.4 million customers and has over 200 locations across the U.S. and Canada, went public in October 2012 and is listed on the NYSE as, you guessed it, ADT.

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We hesitate to call this a recurring theme as it’s been a few months since we last reported on cuts at Doner, but by our count, this is the third time this year we’ve had to report on something like this regarding the MDC-owned agency. Anyhow, we’ve received confirmation that Doner has made staffing adjustments today. As is the norm, no specifics including approximate numbers are being divulged, but here’s a statement from an agency spokesperson that sheds a little light:

“Today, we implemented staffing changes across the agency which have impacted about two percent of our staff.  Affected employees were provided with severance and support for new employment opportunities.  While it’s never easy, we’re confident that this will enable us to best allocate our resources while continuing to effectively serve our clients and build our business.”

We’re hearing that the Detroit and Cleveland offices were those affected by the “staffing changes.”

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Via the tips line, we received what appears to be a memo from Doner top dog Rob Strasberg that goes a little something like this:

“Great news! We’ve landed a big, colorful fish from San Francisco – Chad Ackerly.
Not only a super talent but a super good guy, Chad comes to Doner with tons of experience doing great work for all types of clients – not to mention a stellar new biz track record.
I’m super pumped and stoked and jazzed (not really sure about jazzed – but my toes are tapping) for him to start at the start of June.

Check out some of his work and his bio.

http://cargocollective.com/chadackley/

http://cargocollective.com/chadackley/Bio
Rob

–

Rob Strasberg
Co-CEO/ Chief Creative Officer”

We’re trying to get official confirmation from the MDC-owned, Southfield, MI-based agency, but in the meantime, Strasberg might want to get the spelling of his new hire’s name right as it’s actually Chad Ackley (yeah, we know, calling the kettle black, blah blah). Anyhow, Ackley has spent the last decade at DDB San Francisco, where he primarily served as group creative director  on several campaigns for various Clorox Company brands such as Tilex, Pine-Sol and, yes, Clorox. Ackley started out as an art director at DDB SF but was soon elevated to one of the first creative director roles at the agency. Prior to his time at DDB, Ackley spent nearly a decade as well at Leo Burnett. We’ll update if and when we find out what his new title is. 

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.