- Gregory Solman

LOS ANGELES Harvey Marco, who has helmed creative development on the flagship Toyota account at Publicis Groupe's Saatchi & Saatchi in Torrance, Calif., is leaving the agency for an undisclosed opportunity, the shop confirmed late Wednesday. Marco declined comment.

"I'm so pleased for Harvey," said Kurt Ritter, chairman of Saatchi's West Coast operations. "This is a validation of all the innovative work we've been doing. He's been a true partner. Harvey has contributed a great deal to our business and our culture. We wish him all the best."

Sources said the new opportunity for Marco is outside California.

Marco, 43, joined Saatchi in July 2003 from Publicis' Fallon in Minneapolis, with an impressive creative reputation based on his work for the Lee brand, among others. (Marco was a contributor to the well-remembered "Buddy Lee" campaign.) He rose to ecd at Saatchi a year after his arrival, eventually taking over the department from chief creative officer Steve Rabosky when the latter departed in 2005. Marco retained the ecd title.

In his five years at the agency, Marco led many of Toyota's most elaborate and crucial vehicle intros, including the launch of the automaker's first full-size truck, the Tundra.

With an estimated $300 million in media spending in 2007, per Nielsen Monitor-Plus, that launch was the largest campaign in the company's history. Though it fell shy of Toyota's ambitious internal sales goal of 200,000, according to sources, the Tundra sold more than 197,000 units, per Car Concepts.

Under Marco, Saatchi won a gold Effie for the Tundra launch campaign, as well as gold and bronze Lions at Cannes for two different Toyota Tacoma efforts.