Hasta La Creative!

Two weeks ago, we responded to a series of tips about Chrysler’s Jeep brand with a post noting that GlobalHue and its sister agency, A to Si, were in contract negotiations with their shared client.

Today, however, a source close to the account confirmed that A to Si lost the English-to-French translation business more than one month ago.

The same source tells us that the creative for Jeep may well remain with GlobalHue after current negotiations are resolved. But, as Car and Driver reported today, the client has yet to purchase a Super Bowl ad and may sit the game out — along with Ford, Audi, Hyundai, and Lincoln.

So no McConaughey musings or Dylan cameos in Super Bowl XLIX. Car and Driver wonders whether more auto brands have decided to let the cars sell themselves…or to let extended ruminations by the True Detective star rack up views online rather than during the commercial breaks on February 1st.

Updates when we receive them.

This was inevitable, unfortunately. We’ve received confirmation that GlobalHue has cut 20 staffers over the past couple of weeks. As you’d expect, sources tell us that the cuts were due in part to Verizon shifting its multicultural ad duties away from GH. As you recall, the telecom giant has now split its Hispanic and African-American work between Lopez Negrete and Common Ground, respectively. From what we’ve been told by sources with the matter, the GlobalHue cuts affect roughly “less than 10%” of the agency, which currently houses approximately 400 employees.

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It appears that Verizon’s nearly three-month multicultural review has drawn to a close as the telecom giant sent us the statement below late last Friday that basically sums things up:

“We are in an industry that’s changes rapidly and it is important that we stay competitive in every aspect of our business including our advertising.   Verizon Communications has been working with López Negrete Communications for more than two years and we are expanding their scope of work in order to help drive agency efficiencies across all our lines of business.”

Seeing as Verizon has expanded its relationship with Houston-based López Negrete, one wonders where this leaves GlobalHue, which has worked with the brand for years on its multicultural biz. What we do know as of know is that despite what tipsters have been telling us, GH will NOT be closing up its New York office “any time soon.” Sources in the know add that the agency has actually won two more AOR assignments that will be announced in the near future. We’ll keep you posted. Update: Just to clarify, Lopez Negrete will focus on Verizon’s Hispanic business while Chicago-based shop Common Ground will handle its African-American work.

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Well, calls to the agency have confirmed tips we’ve received over the last 24 hours that Maria Lopez-Knowles, who’s been with GlobalHue since 2010 and was promoted to president of the multicultural agency’s Latino division and New York hub last year, is leaving for a new gig in the West Coast.

All we know thus far from those in the Spy line is that it’s apparently a CMO job at a media company and her departure “shocked” some at the agency. Anyhow, from what we’re hearing, as of now, there are no immediate plans to replace Lopez-Knowles, who joined GlobalHue three years ago after spending six as an SVP at MRM with a focus on the Hispanic market.

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Well, this was news to us, but after spending the last three years at GlobalHue, Michael Jacobs has moved on, joining up as chief creative officer at New York-based marketing technology studio, iRGONOMIC, which seems to be focused on the CMO/CIO set according to its description.

As for Jacobs, the senior creative initially joined GlobalHue as digital ECD after spending several years at MRM, where he last served as executive creative director exclusively on the agency’s GM business. Just months after joining GlobalHue, Jacobs was bumped up to EVP/ECD and oversaw all creative out of the agency’s New York office as it was undergoing “realignment.” In subsequent years, the exec was elevated to chief digital officer and led the charge on Voyr, a concept spawned from the agency’s incubator, GHV, that essentially served as a content vehicle for Kanye West and hyped the artist’s “Watch the Throne” tour with Jay-Z.

From what we’ve been told, Jacobs left GlobalHue of his own volition.

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