Hotlinenewswire

$700 Mil. Kraft Biz in Play; FCB Wins Jell-0 DutiesLOS ANGELES—Kraft has invited three of its six roster shops to participate in a consolidation review of its $700 million-plus media buying account, sources said. Starcom MediaVest Group in Chicago, MindShare and TN Media, both in New York, have been invited to participate in the competition. Roster shops The Media Edge, MediaCom and The Lord Group, all based in New York, did not make the cut of the Glenview, Ill.-based client. No timetable was announced for the search, and it was unclear whether planning would be involved in the assignment. Separately, Kraft has awarded FCB Worldwide North American creative advertising duties for its Jell-O brand, including puddings and other desserts. The ac-count, estimated by sources at $50 million, was awarded without a review after 75 years at Young & Rubicam. FCB, which has been on Kraft's roster for 46 years, will split the work between its New York and Chicago offices. Jell-O's most recent campaign from Y&R was tagged, "I could go for something Jell-O."Fortune Consolidates With MullenBOSTON—Mullen has added the estimated low-seven-figure consolidated account of Fortune magazine without a formal review. Fallon in New York had been Fortune's lead agency. Mullen had been working on projects for the client, including the launch of FSB: Fortune Small Business, since September 1999. During that time, the agency renamed the publication (it had been titled, Your Company) and created the tagline, "Small business. Big money." Actors Protest in New York; JPC Reports FiguresNEW YORK—Dozens of celebrity actors rallied in Times Square in New York to show the union's support for commercial actors last week. Speakers included Richard Dreyfuss, Harry Belafonte and New York state comptroller H. Carl McCall, who last week released a letter urging AT&T to stop filming non-union commercials during the ongoing labor dispute. SAG/AFTRA members and the Joint Policy Committee, which represents the advertisers, meet Wednesday with federal mediators. Negotiations are expected to continue through Sept. 17, with a possible final meeting on Sept. 18, if discussions go well. Meanwhile, the JPC last week released data suggesting that the industry is robust despite the strike, reporting that 2,010 new commercials were shot in August 2000, a 16 percent increase over July 2000. It went on to say that SAG session fees for July and August 2000 totaled $301,911, compared to $9,313,025 in session fees during July and August last year, representing a 97 percent drop. Non-union session fees during the same period last year totaled $444,335, compared to $7,427,305 this year—a 1,572 percent increase, according to the JPC. SAG president William Daniels disputed the figures. "The advertisers are not buying time for their TV commercials," he said. "Production is down. I don't know why they're putting out the numbers they are. They can play with the numbers all they want." McMahon Joins Publicis in New YorkNEW YORK—Douglas McMahon has been named chairman and CEO of Publicis in New York, effective Oct. 2. He reports to Bob Bloom, chairman and CEO of Publicis in the United States. McMahon joins from cable station CNBC, where he was senior vice president of marketing and research, and is credited with defining the CNBC brand around business-day programming. McMahon will be responsible for elevating the profile of Publicis' flagship New York office, one of its three U.S. centers. McMahon, 35, graduated from Georgetown University and has worked at Grey Worldwide and J. Walter Thompson. McMahon replaces Bob Kantor, who left the agency in 1998.Matt Ryan to Helm E-Services Co.NEW YORK—Change Technology Partners and MARC USA have formed an investment commitment in excess of $20 million in cash and stock to launch eHotHouse, an e-services firm focusing on e-commerce strategy, application-systems integration and marketing services. Matt Ryan, 39, founder of Ryan Drossman/MARC USA, a national advertising agency, will leave his role at the shop to become the CEO of both Change Technology Partners and eHotHouse.DDB Breaks $200 Mil. Ad Effort for J.C. PenneyDALLAS—J.C. Penney unveiled a new brand positioning during the broadcast of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences' Emmy awards yesterday, with spots from new agency DDB Worldwide. The $200 million effort from the Chicago agency features the revised tagline, "It's all inside." Three spots show a couple preparing for the arrival of an adopted daughter; a woman playing fetch with a dog and a pile of shoes; and a woman whose outfits change instantly with her moods. Newswire RoundupBank of America Corp. said it will begin a yearlong, $100 million TV, radio and print advertising campaign on Sept. 15, with the first commercials scheduled to air during the opening ceremony of the Olympics. The campaign is the bank's largest marketing effort and one of the most expensive ever by any banking company. … Scudder Kemper, a proposed online arm of two well-respected capital-venture firms, has launched a review for its estimated $12 million account. Several California shops in the Bay Area are expected to pitch the business this week. Several agency sources said the firm is a joint venture between Scudder Kemper Investors and Thomas Weisel and Partners, two investment bank/venture firms known for their technology work. Sources said the firms want to build an investment Web site to compete with E*Trade.

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