Marti, Flores, Prieto & Wachtel Lands Miller's Hispanic Account By Steve Krajewski and Jim Kir

MILWAUKEE - Long-standing ties to Philip Morris subsidiary Kraft General Foods may have helped Marti, flores, Prieto &

The agency, based in suburban Chicago, is a division of the MFP&W Group headquartered in Puerto Rico, and has handled Hispanic advertising for KGF for the past 20 years. MFP&W was apparently a late entrant in the review for the business. San Antonio, Texas-based shop Inventia, and New York contenders The Bravo Group and Font & Vaamonde came up short in the pitch.
MFP&W’s ties to Miller Brewing Co. parent Philip Morris may have helped the agency get into the pitch, insiders say. The office, in the process of establishing itself in Chicago, is being run by former Kraft USA vp/advertising Steve Rutledge.
The agency had not previously surfaced as a contender, but Miller’s desire for an already-networked Hispanic shop was likely a determining factor in MFP&W’s selection. Also, the agency is a subsidiary of J. Walter Thompson, which already has a foot in Miller’s door – it currently handles general market advertising for Miller’s Lowenbrau.
Sources claimed that Bravo had been given an assignment three weeks ago with the understanding that the account was its to lose. But Miller officials declined to comment on specifics, and Bravo president/ceo Daisy Exposito was unavailable for comment last week.
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