Hasta La Creative!

Women earn 30 percent less than men for the same work. Some 64 percent of the world's illiterate people are women. Almost 800 women die every day from preventable complications during pregnancy and childbirth.

These are just some of the mind-boggling global injustices cited by UN Women on a new website, HeForShe.org, intended to motivate men to act against gender inequality and violence toward women. Created by Publicis Dallas, the campaign asks men to upload YouTube clips of themselves speaking out in support of women. For further inspiration, it includes a simple but powerful video of well-known men—including activist Archbishop Desmond Tutu, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, Matt Damon and Patrick Stewart—sharing their perspectives.

It's not a risk-free approach for UN Women, which had a global hit last year with its Google autocomplete campaign by Ogilvy Dubai. Some might think that focusing on men somehow implies their opinions are of greater value. But Publicis says the unusual strategy is the campaign's strength.

"He For She is a unique women's rights campaign in the simple fact that we don't approach the problem from a female perspective, and that's what makes it so powerful," Brad Roseberry, the agency's chief creative officer, said in a statement.

The cause is made all the more pressing by the fact that it's gone underaddressed for so long. (The ad industry, of course, has plenty to do in fixing its own deeply ingrained gender inequalities.) As the new campaign so clearly expresses, the power to solve it often remains concentrated in the hands of men.

Credits below.

CREDITS
Client: UN Women
Agency: Publicis Dallas
Executive Creative Director: Brad Roseberry
Creative Director: Natalie Lavery
Copywriter: Jacob Latchem
Art Directors: Alex Pierce, Joshua Tovar
Producers: Lori Wallace, Desiree Townsend
Web Developers: Alex Pierce, Eric Taylor, Dennis Covington, Jason Awbry
Designers: Alex Pierce, Joshua Tovar
Account Directors: Susan Scott, Whitney Sprague
Editing Company: Republic Edit
Editor: Andy McGee
Producer: Jacklyn Sandoval Roman

Publicis Kaplan Thaler created the first ever TV spot for car shopping destination Edmunds.com to receive a national release. The spot, “Edmunds Price Promise,” debuted on Christmas Day during NBA programming on ABC and ESPN and “will remain in regular rotation on several networks through at least the next three months.”

“Edmunds Price Promise” highlights the price promise Edmunds offers its customers, “an instant, locked-in price that the dealer will honor,” while positioning Edmunds employees as “car people” — quite literally. While the humor falls flat, the national campaign will likely bring the company newfound exposure and the Edmunds Price Promise should be a selling point with its audience.

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We can’t say that the term “mega region” is embedded in our lexicon, but that’s what they’re calling Publicis North America, the new entity that combines Publicis USA and Publicis Canada to create the largest Publicis Groupe region outside of the holding company’s hub in France.

Eleven-year Publicis vet and Publicis USA boss Susan Gianinno has now assumed the role of chairman of the newly expanded region, focusing on global/regional clients and “priority global initiatives” while working in tandem with recently appointed Publicis Worldwide CEO, Arthur Sadoun. Along with her new chairman role, Gianinno will also be heading to Harvard next for a one-year fellowship. Meanwhile, Andrew Bruce, who has spent the last 15 years at Publicis Canada, where he most recently served as president/CEO, will now take on the CEO post of the newly formed Publicis North America.

Regarding the new moves, Publicis Groupe chief Maurice Levy says in a statement, “This is a wonderful and very prestigious appointment for Susan and for us. I am personally very proud of her and expect that she will bring even more to our people and clients during, and after, this experience. I am sure that under this new team leadership, Susan and Andrew, this new mega region will generate great work for our clients and formidable growth.”

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Well, at least one-half of our post from last week has panned out as Publicis Groupe has officially announced the acquisition of Mumbai-based integrated agency, Beehive Communications. The new entity will be rebranded as, you guessed it, Publicis Beehive and will continue to operate under the director of Beehive founder/CEO Sanjit Shastri, who along with the rest of the leadership team will report to Nakul Chopra, CEO/South Asia for Publicis Worldwide.  In a statement, Publicis Groupe COO Jean-Yves Naouri says, “We are making significant strides toward achieving our goals in India. By adding Beehive to the Publicis network, we will be able to capitalise on a great pool of talent and market potential, as well as strengthen the unparalleled services we provide to our clients.”

The ten-year-old Beehive, which also has a presence in Delhi and Bangalore, houses over 130 employees and is focused on media, digital, reputation management, research and brand activation. Among the 50 or so clients that Beehive currently works with are General Motors, Korea Tourism and Malaysia Tourism. As for fellow Mumbai-based agency Law & Kenneth, which we heard is also being eyed by Publicis Groupe, there’s no word yet on any acquisition moves, but we’ll keep you posted.

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Well, while Publicis Kaplan Thaler appears to be keeping quiet on CEO Robin Koval‘s departure, the folks at Legacy, her new employer, were kind enough to send over their official announce of her joining the anti-smoking nonprofit org behind initiatives such at truth and EX. Koval joins Legacy as president/CEO and will replace Cheryl G. Healton, DrPH at the 14-year-old operation.

In a statement, the new chief exec says, “As a marketing leader, I have been a long-time admirer of Legacy and the behavior changing impact of the truth campaign. To be given the opportunity to evolve Legacy’s counter-marketing efforts for a new generation of youth in an environment of ever-increasing communication complexity is an honor and the opportunity of a lifetime. I see this as a natural and very purpose-driven extension of my many years working for healthcare brands and cause-related programs.”

Prior to joining Legacy, Koval, who’s also penned a handful of best-selling books, spent 16 years in all at what is now Publicis Kaplan Thaler. The exec served as president of Kaplan Thaler Group prior to the merger in summer 2012, which resulted in her being promoted to CEO of the new entity.

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In a quick shout-out to the motherland, a few sources have been telling us this week that Publicis Groupe is on the verge of announcing the acquisition of majority stakes in Beehive Communications and Law & Kenneth, which are both headquartered in Mumbai but have offices throughout India. Both Beehive and L&W have been operating for a decade give or take and are full-service agencies. From what we’ve been told by tipsters, this is part of Publicis Groupe’s “aggressive investment plan” in India. Perhaps they’re on to something.

Late last year, the holding company acquired digital agency iStrat and brand marketing consultancy MarketGate. Then this past April, Publicis bought up acquired ecommerce technology services provider Neev and launched Razorfish in India, creating a new entity called Neev Razorfish in the process. Are Beehive and L&W next? Well, we’ve been told an announcement could come at any time this week. We’ve put in inquiries to all parties (there is that time difference thing, you know) and are awaiting word. We’ll keep you posted.

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And so, the conversation continues between PSFK CEO Piers Fawkes, MEC’s Scott Schwartz and Huge creative director Ross Maupin, who follow up yesterday’s chat about the importance of Advertising Week by discussing the elephant in the room that is the Omnicom/Publicis Groupe merger. Is it good or bad for the industry? Does it make sense? Well, let’s let the lads weigh in. Note: The overall conversation between our participants actually lasted well over 30 minutes, but seeing as it’s all short attention span theater nowadays, we’re offering up quick soundbites for now. Who knows, maybe we’ll have extended versions to come as they had plenty to say, but for now, on with the show.

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For the last few weeks, all we ever think about during our waking hours is the Omnicom/Publicis merger and how lucky we are to be living in a time where something this momentous happens. Truly, we wake up now with a new sense of purpose and self-worth knowing that two giant holding companies merged to make the biggest holding company.

However, not everyone shares our enthusiasm, chief among them Atlanta-based indie shop Ames Scullin O’Haire. They made the above video to convince us that the merger wasn’t a good thing and doesn’t really benefit anyone beyond the rich people in charge of the agency networks who are now richer. “Bigger isn’t always better” says ASO, who is small and would totally say something like that to besmirch the good name of Publicis-Omnicom Groupe.

Will all of Atlanta’s biggest businesses pull their money from large agencies and invest in ASO after seeing this video? To be honest, yes. Definitely.

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Recently, British insurance comparison service Confused.com and Publicis in London launched ads featuring a new mascot, Brian the Robot, who seems to have a knack for creating uncomfortable situations. Specifically, in one of the spots, he appears to interrupt a couple in mid-blow job. The brand has since denied this interpretation, with the director of marketing telling British advertising site Campaign, "Admittedly, the woman is somewhat startled by Brian appearing in the car window, having been tying her shoelace." The shoelace argument doesn't quite match with Confused's own write-up about the ad, which describes the setting as "a romantic spot overlooking a city at sunset" where "we see Brian approach a lone parked car and tap on one of the closed windows, interrupting a couple looking slightly flustered." According to several YouTube commenters, a newer version of the ad now shows the couple kissing, likely due to dozens of complaints to Britain's Advertising Standards Authority that the original version was inappropriate for children. Check out more of Brian's odd interactions after the jump.

As one might imagine, the announcement (and Vine video) of the biggest merger in advertising history is causing quite a reaction from those in the industry. Above, Keith Hunt, managing partner of M&A consulting firm Results International, hypothesizes about the implications the newly formed Publicis Omnicom Group will have.

As Hunt notes, the merger means the company will be able to buy media very cheaply, leapfrogging WPP in the process. But, Hunt wonders, how far can you push down prices? At one point do vendors draw the line?

Also, Hunt says, there’s the issue of who’s in charge. Co-chief execs, John Wren (Omnicom) and Maurice Levy (Publicis)  are elder statesmen. Levy, the older of the two at 71, is now on the hot seat in terms of naming a successor, that is, if the balance of power between Publicis and Omnicom remains a priority. As WPP’s Martin Sorrell said in an interview today, “It’s a nil-premium merger — effectively a takeover of Publicis by Omnicom [without exchange of money].”

Finally, says Hunt, there’s the matter of positioning. It benefits the new company to frame the merger as one that hinges around new technologies and emerging markets, allowing Publicis Omnicom Group to compete against tech companies outside advertising agencies like Adobe. “Exciting times,” he adds before staring into the camera wistfully. It’s only the beginning.

Check out Wren and Levy bonding after the jump.

continued…

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