9952: ADCOLOR® To Honor Popeyes’ Annie.

The 2012 ADCOLOR® Awards and Industry Conference plans to honor Popeyes spokeswoman Annie the Chicken Queen with the prestigious All-Star Award. The gala event is scheduled for October 18-20, 2012, at The Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas.

“Annie symbolizes everything our 501(c)(6) trade association stands for,” explained ADCOLOR® Founder Tiffany R. Warren. “We’re pleased to add her to our illustrious honorees, representing true diversity champions who work together to further diversity and inclusion efforts in the advertising, marketing and media industries.”

Everyone at our agency is thrilled to be a part of this recognition,” gushed GSD&M CEO Roy Spence, one of the originators of the popular campaign character. “Annie has always been committed to giving back—as well as giving hearty helpings of Popeyes Bonafide® Chicken, Popcorn Shrimp and Catfish Meals.”

“I cannot begin to express my sincere gratitude for this award,” said Annie the ADCOLOR® Honoree. “I haven’t been this excited since Popeyes beat KFC in a national taste test. I’m dancing, honey!”

2011 ADCOLOR® Catalyst Honoree Dan Wieden added, “I’ve always respected Annie for her courageous refusal to move to the back of the bus on that fateful day—December 1, 1955—in Montgomery, Alabama. Oh, wait a minute. That was Rosa Parks. My bad. But hey, Annie’s cool too.”

Awarding a coveted trophy to Annie the Chicken Queen also drew criticism. “I deserved to win over Annie,” huffed Diane Amos, The Pine-Sol® Lady. “That’s the power of cronyism, baby!”

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.

9671: Animated Annie The Chicken Queen.

Popeyes and advertising agency GSD&M seem to prohibit posting videos of Annie the Chicken Queen. But that didn’t stop someone from creating this animated Popeyes Chicken Commercial parody co-starring Uncle Ben and other stereotypical characters.

9648: Agency Diversity Statement 24.

Reviewing the new-and-improved mcgarrybowen diversity statement inspired MultiCultClassics to take another peek at the other agencies without such statements. Sure enough, GSD&M has made revisions to its website. There is a section devoted to Vendor Diversity—featuring the agency’s Vendor Partner Diversity Manager. Oddly enough, while GSD&M boasts a commitment to connecting with diverse vendors, there appears to be no public dedication to embracing diversity among its staff.