10022: Soapbox Standings.

The Advertising Age story spotlighting NYC Comptroller John Liu vs. Omnicom drew the stereotypical comments that always seem to surface during diversity discussions.

Lynn Klein from Sayville, New York wondered, “I’m sorry, how is any of this Liu’s business?”

Meanwhile, Mario McMillan from Devonport chipped in the expected rant:

“I thought advertising was meant to be creative, and its success lived or died on the ability to engage audiences. On merit. Isn’t that what made America great? Mandating how many of what kind of people your staff is composed of sounds like life under Stalin.

If agencies fail to connect with an increasingly diverse population, they will fail. That’s the market at work. You know, the underlying principle of American democracy?

It would therefore seem natural to employ at least some people from the groups you are trying to engage. But not necessarily. We’re talking about creativity here. Do I only like and respond to the creative output from people of my race, gender, age and culture?

People are not all the same, with the same ambitions, interests, skills and passions. The best creative people from one culture or race or gender might not be interested in the ad business to the extent of another. If you want to demand American ad firms have race or gender quotas, rather than their make-up be determined by market success or failure, go right ahead, Comrade.

Oh, and Sanford Moore: you can take your ravings about “countries who were colonial powers and where people of color are discriminated against in most areas of endeavor and participation” and shove ‘em. If that’s your attitude, why would anyone hire you?”

10021: Primping & Pimping For Omnicom.

Advertising Age reported on the action New York City Comptroller John C. Liu took against Omnicom, and the trade publication even coaxed Chief Diversity Officer Tiffany R. Warren to speak up. Here’s the relevant excerpt:

Tiffany Warren, chief diversity officer at Omnicom, spoke with Ad Age about the matter. She said that the holding company is making strides when it comes to recruiting and retaining multicultural talent, but that it simply doesn’t think it’s in Omnicom’s best interests to comply with the Comptroller’s request.

Ms. Warren said the company later this year will release a national report outlining some of its results in the diversity space. It will be the first time that the company, with help from Fleishman-Hillard, releases its diversity report independent of its report on corporate social responsibility.

“[Our report] is a national project, not local to New York City,” she said. It will “talk about how internal and external outreach has been” in addition to quantitative achievements regarding the agencies’ efforts in “bringing in and hiring, and also retaining diverse employees, as well as women.”

When asked why Omnicom doesn’t comply with the Comptroller’s latest request if it already plans on releasing some of its data, Ms. Warren referenced the company’s position on the matter which was included in its most recent proxy statement.

It said: “Data is neither informative nor is it a reliable measure of our commitment to equal opportunity employment. We do not believe that disclosing it will meaningfully further the goal of workplace diversity. To the contrary, this information, which is susceptible to misinterpretation, could be manipulated by those with interests adverse to Omnicom’s and harm the company.”

Gee, it’s a wonder Warren didn’t insert a plug for ADCOLOR® too. Can’t wait to catch the upcoming diversity report detailing how Omnicom is “bringing in and hiring, and also retaining diverse employees, as well as women.” Including women—which undoubtedly means White women—is probably the only way the holding company will be able to present positive figures. In deference to all of Warren’s groupies, MultiCultClassics will simply say her statements are appalling disappointing.

Meanwhile, the Ad Age piece drew a comment from Chief Pimp Exposer Sanford Moore:

As the individual who went to both Commissioner Gatling and Comptrollers Liu and Thompson regarding the historical discriminatory policies of the ad agency holding companies and their affiliates, I am not surprised by their refusal to comply with the Comptroller’s request. They have stonewalled on this issue since the first Human Rights Commission investigation in 1968. Only now, the Jim Crow policies of Mad Ave have been whitewashed by the success of “Mad Men.” Of the five major ad holding companies, three are owned by companies from countries who were colonial powers and where people of color are discriminated against in most areas of endeavor and participation. But now they are joined by the American-owned holding companies who pretend that they too are above the law, above equal treatment and opportunity for people of color. Only when these same consumers of color resist and affect the bottom lines of the agencies’ corporate clients and when the Comptroller liquidates the holdings by the NYC Pension Funds which contain monies from workers of color in the recalcitrant agencies will the arrogance of management be wiped from their collective faces. Maybe it’s time to stop asking and start bringing some financial pain to the holding companies and their enablers; the corporate clients who depend on the spending of consumers of color for their success in the American marketplace.

10014: Omnicom Shows Its True Color.

Read the MediaDailyNews article below. A MultiCultClassics commentary immediately follows.

NYC Pressures Omnicom For Workplace Diversity

By Steve McClellan

The battle over diversity in adland is heating up again in New York.

The city’s Office of the Comptroller has asked four holding companies — Omnicom, Interpublic Group, WPP and Publicis — to publicly disclose detailed submissions required by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to show just how diverse — or not — their workforces are.

According to a spokesman for the Comptroller’s office — which advises funds with investments in the ad companies — only Interpublic responded.

The Office of the Comptroller, headed by John Liu, is taking the fight directly to the shareholders of Omnicom with a shareholder proposal that would require the company to disclose the EEOC filings that annually report a comprehensive breakdown of the company’s workforce by race and gender across all employment categories. The shareholder proposal suggests that this data be presented either in Omnicom’s annual corporate social responsibility (CSR) or sustainability report, beginning this year.

In his letter to Omnicom chairman Bruce Crawford, Liu wrote: “I am deeply concerned by the underrepresentation of minorities, particularly African Americans, in the advertising industry. These disparities, which can negatively impact individual companies and their communities, persist despite the many diversity initiatives highlighted by the major advertising firms, including Omnicom Group.”

“I am writing to request that the board of directors adopt a policy requiring Omnicom Group to disclose annually the [EEOC report that] details the composition of the company’s U.S. workforce by race and gender across employment categories.” Liu said such disclosure would allow shareholders to “evaluate and benchmark the effectiveness of the company’s overall effort to recruit, retain and promote minorities and women.”

Liu cited a 2009 study that showed that the “racial disparity is 38% worse in the advertising industry than the overall U.S. labor market.” The same study, Liu noted, also found that black college graduates in the business earn 20% less than their “equally qualified white counterparts.”

Liu added that it “is incumbent upon Omnicom to vigorously promote a more diverse workplace. Disclosure is a critical step in this process that will encourage management to integrate diversity into the company’s culture and strengthen accountability to shareholders.”

When Omnicom did not respond to the letter, Liu’s office opted to submit a proposal to shareholders — which according to Omnicom’s proxy materials will be voted on at the upcoming annual meeting May 22 in San Francisco.

The company is urging shareholders to vote against the proposal.

In its proxy statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Omnicom argued that the EEO data does not account “for any company or industry specific factors. It is designed to yield generalized data across all categories of private employers rather than information specific to Omnicom or comparable companies in the advertising industry.”

As a result, Omnicom said, the EEO data “is neither informative nor is it a reliable measure of our commitment to equal opportunity employment. We do not believe that disclosing it will meaningfully further the goal of workplace diversity. To the contrary, this information, which is susceptible to misinterpretation, could be manipulated by those with interests adverse to Omnicom’s and harm the company.

The company also cited steps it has taken in recent years to promote diversity, including the formation in 2007 of The Omnicom Diversity Development Advisory Committee (“DDAC”) to enhance diversity at Omnicom. It also cited its hiring of a chief diversity officer and the formation in 2009 of the Omnicom Medgar Evers Associate Program, which provides financial support and has created numerous internships and other opportunities for students with diverse educational, socioeconomic, political and cultural backgrounds.

The company said it supports Adcolor, an industry coalition, which creates networks of diverse professionals and “champions” of diversity and inclusion. And its Diversity Initiatives Group meets monthly to “share best practices and develop tools to efficiently and effectively incorporate diversity and inclusion initiatives at Omnicom offices.”

It also cited its G23 group, a strategic insights organization founded in 2008 that focuses on the economic and social impact of women in the global economy.

A source at the Comptroller’s office said those efforts were commendable, but that “without some transparency and data, there’s no way to know if the efforts are effective or substantive.”

Meanwhile, “the door is open,” at IPG for a potential dialogue, the source added — but declined to elaborate on what IPG said in its response. IPG officials couldn’t be immediately reached for comment.

It was unclear how the city would approach WPP and Publicis — which, like Omnicom, did not respond to letters from Liu. But given that the companies are both based outside the U.S., the New York Comptroller’s Office does not have standing to offer shareholder proposals.

The Omnicom response and recommendation to its shareholders is nothing short of obscene.

“We do not believe that disclosing [the EEOC information] will meaningfully further the goal of workplace diversity. To the contrary, this information, which is susceptible to misinterpretation, could be manipulated by those with interests adverse to Omnicom’s and harm the company.” Leave it to adpeople to be concerned about someone manipulating the truth.

And what’s with the defense featuring all the patronizing smokescreens?

The holding company proudly created The Omnicom Diversity Development Advisory Committee. Um, what do the committee members have to say about concealing the EEOC information?

The holding company hired a Chief Diversity Officer. Um, what does Tiffany R. Warren have to say about concealing the EEOC information?

The holding company launched the Omnicom Medgar Evers Associate Program. Um, what do program participants have to say about concealing the EEOC information?

The holding company sends money to ADCOLOR®. Um, first of all, Omnicom hired the organization’s founder (Warren), so of course it’s going to fund the minority enterprise. But what do ADCOLOR® Award Winners have to say about concealing the EEOC information?

The holding company points to its Diversity Initiative Group. Um, what do the groupies have to say about concealing the EEOC information?

Hey, what does the diversity-loving PepsiCo client have to say about concealing the EEOC information?

Most importantly, what does concealing the EEOC information say about Omnicom?

10002: PepsiCo Hearts Omnicom.

Advertising Age reported PepsiCo consolidated its agency roster, dumping about 100 mostly smaller, non-Omnicom shops. Gee, what a shocker. Now all PepsiCo pitches—or more accurately, PepsiCo switches—will be staged between Omnicom agencies. In other words, don’t expect the food and beverage company to draw any interest from producers at The Pitch.

PepsiCo Completes Agency Reductions

Mostly Smaller, Non-Omnicom Shops Among Those Eliminated

By Natalie Zmuda

PepsiCo’s North America beverage division has completed the downsizing of its agency roster, eliminating many of the smaller shops.

A spokeswoman confirmed that the beverage group is working with about 50 agencies, after letting various contracts expire. She said the moves are intended to strengthen the company’s relationships with Omnicom Group, the ad-holding company with which Pepsi has long been aligned.

Various executives close to PepsiCo said the cuts were largely focused on weeding out smaller specialty shops that had been layered in over the years. Its move is counter to recent trends. Several large marketers, such as Kraft and Unilever, have increasingly entrusted smaller shops with bits and pieces of their brand portfolios.

Simon Lowden, chief marketing officer at PepsiCo’s Beverages, told Ad Age in February that the number of agencies the company works with had ballooned in the past two to three years.

“It’s grown because the agenda has gotten more complex and busier,” Mr. Lowden said at the time. But “when we look back on things, the vast majority of the work is still done by our core agencies.”

The spokeswoman identified those “core” agencies as Omnicom Group networks TBWA/Chiat/Day, BBDO and DDB, as well as Omnicom shop TracyLocke and Genesco, a sports-marketing agency with ties to TracyLocke. She added that an agency with a contract that was allowed to expire could be called on again down the road, if an opportunity arose where that agency was the right fit.

About 100 shops, or 65% of the division’s partner agencies, were removed. Interpublic Group of Cos.’ Huge, which did work related to the Refresh Project, for example, is no longer working with the brand. MDC Partners’ Anomaly, which had been slated to handle the relaunch of Pure Leaf, a premium tea brand, stopped working with PepsiCo months ago, according to an agency spokesman.

Independent Ruder Finn is no longer working with the beverage division, though a spokesman said it continues to handle a corporate recycling initiative. One Omnicom shop that’s not benefiting from the moves is Porter Novelli. The agency, which said it has handled projects for Pepsi’s nutrition group, no longer works with the beverage division.

But certain non-Omnicom shops, such as Dentsu’s Firstborn, WPP’s VML, Interpublic’s Weber Shandwick and independent Olson PR appear to have either retained or added to their PepsiCo business. PepsiCo declined to name any of the agencies that were cut.

Calling the approach “need-based, “Mr. Lowden said the roster hadn’t been pared based on a goal to have a certain number of agencies on each brand. Instead, various brand teams were told to focus on partnerships and programs aligned with business objectives.

The consolidation, announced at an investor meeting earlier this year, was billed as a bid to increase efficiency and shift into brand-building money allocated for things such as agency fees. The company has also said it would spend an extra $500 million to $600 million this year to advertise its brands, with a focus on North America.

Contributing: Alexandra Bruell, Kunur Patel

9944: Goodby, Silverstein & Partners & McCann.

Adweek reported Goodby, Silverstein & Partners and McCann have created a joint agency to handle the Chevrolet account. It’s bad enough that Omnicom manages to keep accounts under the global umbrella via Corporate Cultural Collusion, but this move shows the holding company will conspire with any White agency to seize billings. The new enterprise is called Commonwealth—which probably means that everyone with common skin color can expect to share the wealth.

Goodby and McCann Form New Agency to Handle Chevy in Global Creative Consolidation

Commonwealth is a 50/50 joint venture

By Noreen O’Leary

Agencies at two rival holding companies have become partners in a new company, Commonwealth, formed to work on Chevrolet’s global account. Omnicom’s Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, San Francisco, and Interpublic’s McCann Erickson Worldwide, N.Y., have signed on to the 50/50 joint venture after a creative review to consolidate the global business for the General Motors brand.

In the review launched last autumn, GM roster shops Omnicom, Interpublic, Publicis Groupe and Cheil Worldwide put forth proposals to the auto marketer.

Chevrolet, GM’s largest brand, previously worked with 70 global agencies. The creation of the new Detroit-based Commonwealth agency follows the recent selection of Carat as GM’s agency for media planning and buying.

“These agency consolidations are expected to create about $2 billion in savings over the next five years, with a portion used to take advantage of key global marketing opportunities and strengthen the focus on our global Chevrolet brand, and a portion hitting the bottom line,” GM global cmo Joel Ewanick said in a statement.

GS&P has been since 2010 the lead creative agency on Chevrolet in the U.S.—the brand’s largest market—and is behind the “Chevy Runs Deep” strategy. McCann Worldwide has overseen the brand in many global markets including Mexico, Canada, Brazil, India, Japan, China and Latin America (Brazil and China are just behind the U.S. as Chevy’s largest markets). Commonwealth will now handle creative in most global regions except for China, India and Uzbekistan, where marketing efforts will continue to be handled by agencies that have been working on the brand in those countries.

Commonwealth will be managed by an eight-person global advisory board, with assignments handled through global hubs in Detroit, Milan, Mumbai and Sao Paulo. The agency’s board includes GS&P co-founder Jeff Goodby who is Commonwealth’s creative chairman; Linus Karlsson, McCann’s chairman, chief creative officer of N.Y. and London; Washington Olivetto, chairman at WMcCann Brazil and CCO McCann Worldgroup Latin America; and Prasoon Joshi, president, McCann Worldgroup South Asia.

9939: The Hypocrisy Of Diversity.

Kraft is committed to building a culture where talented individuals can contribute their best. Kraft’s agencies have an individual culture—White.


PepsiCo is committed to diversity in everything we do. Provided everything comes from Omnicom.


Sprint believes in inclusion. Team Sprint, not so much.

9908: C’MON WHITE MAN! Episode 18.

(MultiCultClassics credits ESPN’s C’MON MAN! for sparking this semi-regular blog series.)

4A’s Agency Thought Leader Compensation Summit allowed a bunch of industry honchos to ponder payment plans between clients and agencies. The headline whiner was TBWA\Worldwide Global Director of Media Arts Lee Clow, who declared, “Unfortunately, in our business, we get paid like we’re doing our clients’ laundry. We haven’t figured out that the ideas that we create can become a very powerful asset to the brands we work for. Many of the ideas—whether they be slogans or advertising forms and styles or a voice that we create for brands—could be listed on the balance sheet of our clients as an asset with millions and millions of dollars in value.”

Gee, it’s always fun to watch a speech about being underpaid delivered by a multimillionaire.

If Clow is truly clueless about the compensation schemes fueling our business, he ought to call Omnicom CEO and President John Wren. Maybe Wren will explain how contracts, cronyism and Corporate Cultural Collusion stifle competition and ultimately turn advertising agencies into generic commodities. Why, just peep PepsiCo and Quaker Oats to realize Omnicom has effectively established that Goodby, Silverstein and Partners and TBWA\Chiat\Day are parity with Juniper Park and Fathom Communications. Plus, it’s a safe bet that Clow received stupid money when his shop was sold to the global holding company. Perhaps “we haven’t figured out that the ideas that we create can become a very powerful asset to the brands we work for” because folks such as Clow were too busy collecting their cuts from corporate mergers and buyouts.

But wait, there’s more. While the iconic White advertising agencies are paid like they’re doing their clients’ laundry, the minority shops are stuck fighting over the lint in the dryer filters. And that’s no ancient Chinese secret, Mr. Lee Clow.

C’MON WHITE MAN!

9894: Quaker Oats Man On The Move.

Advertising Age reported PepsiCo shifted its Quaker Oats business to a new agency sans review. It’s actually another example of Corporate Cultural Collusion perpetrated by Omnicom. Give the holding company credit for apparently having locked PepsiCo into a long-term contract, as evidenced by the Quaker Oats Man’s migration from Element 79 to Goodby, Silverstein & Partners to Juniper Park to Energy BBDO—all shops within the Omnicom stable. It’s only a matter of time before the brand goes to Fathom Communications.

PepsiCo Shifts Quaker Creative to Energy BBDO

Move Comes Under New Quaker CMO Justin Lambeth

By Maureen Morrison

PepsiCo has shifted creative duties for its Quaker portfolio of foods and snacks to Omnicom Group’s EnergyBBDO, Ad Age has learned.

The move, which came without a review, will shift the business handled by BBDO sibling Juniper Park in Toronto to Energy BBDO, the Chicago office of the BBDO global network.

Asked what was behind the agency change, Quaker spokeswoman Candace Mueller said, “As part of PepsiCo’s strategic investment and productivity initiatives, Quaker Foods & Snacks North America is moving to one global creative agency, Chicago-based Energy BBDO. Based on Energy BBDO‘s expertise for setting global strategy and developing breakthrough creative thinking, we believe they are the right agency to help Quaker accelerate our brand positioning worldwide. We sincerely appreciate the work that Juniper Park has done for the Quaker business and thank them for all of their efforts.”

The news comes on the heels of Quaker’s hiring a new top marketer. In January it named Justin Lambeth—a former Frito-Lay VP who led marketing for brands such as Lay’s, Tostitos and Sun Chips—CMO.

The move is a blow to Juniper Park, once a darling among Pepsi ‘s agency roster. Losing the Quaker business is another piece of bad news for the shop, which just a few months ago also lost PepsiCo’s Frito-Lay Sun Chips and Lay’s brands to Energy BBDO.

At that time, the agency still had Quaker as well as work for PepsiCo’s global nutrition group. But with the Quaker shift, Ms. Mueller said that “Energy BBDO will be responsible for setting Quaker’s global strategy and developing a global ad campaign in partnership with the Global Nutrition Group.”

It’s unclear whether Juniper Park will do any additional work for the global nutrition group. Frito-Lay was a founding client when Juniper Park opened its doors in 2007, and the agency picked up Quaker in October 2009.

PepsiCo last year spent about $53.6 million on measured media for Quaker, according to Kantar. It spent about $56 million in 2010, a sharp drop from that $80.5 million it spent in 2009.

The PepsiCo business on the whole probably accounted for most of Juniper Park’s business. Its other clients include Virgin Mobile, Delta Hotels and Canadian media company Corus Entertainment. Asked about the shop’s viability, a BBDO spokesman said that the Juniper Park “continues to operate in Canada as part of the BBDO Worldwide network.”

Energy BBDO has benefited from its sibling’s losses and has picked up activity on the new-business circuit. Last year, Energy BBDO picked up a sizable portion of the global SC Johnson account that was formerly at DraftFCB.

PepsiCo, which has a relationship with Omnicom Group, is known to play musical chairs with agencies in the Omnicom family, regularly shifting business from one shop to another. Quaker, for example, has shifted hands many times in the past five years. In 2008, PepsiCo handed Goodby Silverstein & Partners the Quaker account after it had been at Element, an Omnicom agency formed primarily to handle PepsiCo’s business. Then in 2009, PepsiCo moved the Quaker account to Juniper Park, and now it’s parked at a new agency once again.

PepsiCo has been trimming its roster of agencies. Last month, it said on the beverage side of its business that it would cut ties with more than 100 agencies.

9870: GSD&M + eHarmony = Odd Couple.

Advertising Age reported eHarmony hired GSD&M as its new creative AOR. Look for the first promotion from the Austin, Texas-based shop to seek suitors for Annie the Chicken Queen.

EHarmony Hires GSD&M to Handle Creative Duties

Omnicom Group Shop Will Lead Repositioning of Dating Site

By Rupal Parekh

EHarmony has made a match with Austin, Texas-based GSD&M as its North American creative agency of record. GSD&M replaces the online-dating site’s agency of 10 years, Los Angeles-based DW&H.

The creative review followed a media review eHarmony launched in 2010, at the end of which it chose Omnicom Group’s OMD as its media agency of record. The selection of sibling GSD&M means that most of eHarmony’s advertising is now centralized within Omnicom Group.

“We really looked at GSD&M as a partner that has a track record for working with companies with a deep-rooted mission and purpose. … We felt they would make a really good partner for us,” Julie Fields, eHarmony’s VP-brand marketing, told Ad Age. “This agency has a heart, and that’s something that is important to us as we continue to build our future.”

Duff Stewart, president-CEO of GSD&M, said it was especially fulfilling to pick up the account because when the process began in October it seemed that the agency’s headquarters location in Austin might put the shop at a disadvantage. “But we said, ‘Let us come visit you and … get to know you,’ and it has been great since then,” Mr. Stewart said. “They were used to having someone nearby, but we were able to demonstrate that we can build brands that have a purpose.”

The timing is right for GSD&M to pick up a new account, given that its client of nearly 30 years, Southwest, last month began a review looking to give a new creative agency a piece of its $250 million business.

According to Kantar, for the past few years eHarmony has spent about $80 million in domestic measured media.

EHarmony, based in Santa Monica, Calif., was founded in 2000. It operates in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Australia and Brazil, as well as in 11 countries across continental Europe through its affiliation with eDarling. The company claims that an average of 542 eHarmony members in the U.S. marry every day as a result of being matched up on the site.

Ms. Fields said eHarmony will introduce a new creative campaign later this year. Broadcast will remain a key component of the mix, and the focus will most likely be on modernizing the site to have it perceived as being not only about meeting people but about building lasting relationships.

9802: Propelling Shit On TV.

Last May, MultiCultClassics noted a clear case of Corporate Cultural Collusion involving Omnicom and PepsiCo, whereby the Propel Zero account shifted from one sister agency to another under the guise of formal reviews. The incumbent agency—Goodby, Silverstein & Partners—was ultimately replaced by the virtually unknown Fathom. This Propel Zero commercial from the new AOR is awful, and hardly on the caliber of what one might expect from GS&P. In fact, it appears to be a poor adman’s version of a campaign created years ago for the brand by another Omnicom agency.

9742: Is TBWA Director Of Talent Biased?

Admittedly did not closely read the lengthy Advertising Age ageism story, and missed the following gem:

“The job market is pretty rotten,” said Nancee Martin, director-talent at Omnicom Group’s TBWA Worldwide. “Opportunities are limited. Agencies aren’t doing the same kind of hiring they were five years ago, and there’s no denying that those closer to 55 are going to have a harder time,” she said, particularly creatives vs. those in sales or strategic planning.

Ms. Martin then spoke bluntly. “For a creative, pardon my French, but good fucking luck. There’s a commonly held conception that to be a creative, you need to know what’s hot, what music is cool, what website is all the rage—and [with age] you become less aware of those things by and large.”

Wow. That is pure, unadulterated, blatant ignorance straight from the mouth of an executive charged with hiring talent on Madison Avenue. Plus, the moron misused conception for perception. What’s next? Blacks aren’t smart enough to handle the intellectual challenges of life in an advertising agency? Latinos are too lazy to work alongside the privileged White people? Asians can’t… oh, wait a minute. Those Asian folks are really good with computers—and most of them are awesome designers. Somebody call Omnicom Chief Diversity Officer Tiffany R. Warren pronto. Or Cyrus Mehri. It sounds like Martin openly and literally admitted that older candidates are fucked when applying at TBWA. As elder adman Dan Wieden might say, “Now that’s fucked up.”

9708: More Walgreens News And Comedy.

As MultiCultClassics predicted, the Walgreens saga is producing comedy already. While Adweek reported the creative portion of the account is up for grabs, Advertising Age claims the drugstore chain is simply fishing for more ideas. According to Ad Age, “It’s possible that the marketer might retain [incumbent agency] Downtown Partners and be looking for additional creative help. The review does not include multicultural or media services, or digital-media planning or buying.” Of course the multicultural players aren’t included in the review. It’s also a safe bet that the minorities will not be allowed to participate in the competition. And once a White agency has been selected, look for the owning network to pitch its resident colored agencies to handle the multicultural duties—probably without a formal review. BTW, the Walgreens website boasts a deep commitment to diversity.

9706: Walgreens Review Is Rx For Comedy.

Adweek reported the creative portion of the Walgreens account is going into review. Can’t help but believe the upcoming competition will provide comedy galore. For starters, the incumbent agency, Downtown Partners, is an Omnicom unit. And everyone knows Omnicom is masterful at keeping unhappy clients in the network by serving up sister agencies as replacements. Second, Walgreens’ digital agency is Publicis Groupe’s Digitas, which recently “won” the Sprint account via old-fashioned cronyism. It all sounds like a prescription for Corporate Cultural Collusion.

Walgreens Reviews Creative Business

Annual media spend approaches $200 million

By Andrew McMains

Add Walgreens to the list of restless retailers.

The drugstore chain, which has more than 8,200 locations, has contacted agencies about its creative business via a request for information that’s due back next week.

The document asks agencies about their experience in retail, healthcare and with Fortune 500 companies. The RFI also identifies potential conflicts, listing Walmart, Target, CVS, Rite Aid and Amazon as direct competitors.

Walgreens spent more than $192 million in media in 2010 and about $164 million in the first 10 months of 2011, according to Nielsen. Those figures don’t include online spending.

The chain’s lead creative agency is Downtown Partners in Chicago, a unit of Omnicom Group. Publicis Groupe’s Digitas handles digital creative efforts. Calls to each agency and Walgreens were not immediately returned.

Not in play, according to the RFI, are media planning and buying (both traditional and digital), search engine marketing/optimization and multicultural efforts.

Other retailers who have reviewed or shifted creative business in the past three months include Radio Shack, JCPenney, Staples and Dick’s Sporting Goods.

Retail, of course, is among the business sectors hardest hit by the economic downturn, so the restlessness is understandable. As consumer confidence (and buying power) wanes, so do sales at many retailers. What’s more, many stores offer the same merchandise, which puts the onus on marketing to develop brand distinctions beyond the price points.

Last year, Walgreens developed its first national campaign for its namesake line of health and wellness products. The effort included TV spots, online videos, Web banner ads and blogging.

Walgreens posted a 6 percent increase in sales in 2011 to $73.1 billion. In December alone, sales grew nearly 3 percent to $6.98 billion, according to the Deerfield, Ill.-based company.

9697: Illinois Lottery Account Is Rigged.

Advertising Age reported the Illinois Lottery named new agencies to handle branding and digital duties. However, the new agencies and the ex-agency are all within the Omnicom network. So it looks like Corporate Cultural Collusion is the winning ticket.

Critical Mass, Downtown Partners Set to Win Illinois Lottery

Account Previously Handled by Energy BBDO

By Maureen Morrison

Omnicom siblings Critical Mass and Downtown Partners are set to pick up advertising duties for the Illinois Lottery.

The account was previously handled by Energy BBDO, which had originally won the Lottery account in 2009. It was put into review in November, less than six months after a private consortium, the Northstar Lottery Group (which included Energy BBDO), took over day-to-day marketing and management as part of a 10-year state contract. The lottery was previously run by the Illinois Department of Revenue, but the state put the management contract up for bid in 2010.

The unexpected move to conduct a review happened about a month after Michael Jones was named superintendent of the Illinois Lottery, the agency that oversees Northstar. Mr. Jones is not new to the Lottery, having run it in the 1980s.

Since Downtown Partners and Critical Mass are also owned by Omnicom, the account essentially stays within the same company. A number of Illinois agencies had been invited to participate in the review, with five making the cut for the second round of the review: Downtown Partners (which partnered with Critical Mass), sibling agencies DDB, Chicago, and Element 79; Interpublic’s DraftFCB; and WPP’s Y&R , Chicago, which opted out of the review. According to Northstar’s website, the decision came down to Downtown Partners and DDB. The Lottery is expected to keep Omnicom’s OMD on for media services. Energy BBDO did not participate.

“The caliber of work and strategic thinking we received during this selection process was off the charts impressive,” said Jessica Powell, VP-Northstar Lottery Group, in a statement. “We challenged agencies to radically redefine our brand and they delivered.”

Mr. Jones said in a statement that the Lottery “looks forward for ways to work closely with Critical Mass/Downtown Partners to maximize revenue to the state in an ethical and socially responsible manner.”

Downtown Partners did not return calls, Critical Mass could not be immediately reached and DDB did not comment.

According to the request for proposal, the Lottery typically spends “between 1.0%-1.2% of sales in advertising, production and related agency fees. The aggregate amount has ranged from $20M-$35M per year with the highest level during [fiscal year] 2012.” A person familiar with the business said the agency fee was an estimated $4 million a year.

Downtown Partners counts Walgreens among its largest clients. It also works with the Chicago Convention and Tourism Bureau. Critical Mass clients include Nissan and AT&T .