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Ford to Bring Lincoln Mercury Back to MichiganDETROIT—Ford Motor Co. will return its Lincoln Mercury division to Dearborn, Mich., from Irvine, Calif., next summer, the automaker said. About 90 Ford employees work in Irvine for Lincoln Mercury. It is expected that Young & Rubicam, which relocated dozens of employees from Dearborn to Irvine in 1998 when the automaker moved to California, will follow the client back to Michigan. General Mills Shifts D'Arcy Business to SaatchiCHICAGO—General Mills confirmed the shift of $175 million of business to Publicis Groupe's Saatchi & Saatchi in New York from the soon-to-be-shuttered D'Arcy Masius Benton & Bowles. Media planning for General Mills' $450 million business and Pillsbury's $120 million account goes to ZenithGPE, which will include both Zenith and Saatchi planners. Media planning for General Mills had been at Saatchi New York; Pillsbury planning was at Starlink. Media buying for both was already handled by Zenith. Saatchi continues to handle creative for many General Mills brands, including Wheaties and Yoplait. The move of additional business to Saatchi had been expected since D'Arcy's acquisition by Publicis in September. McDonald's New England Dumps Leo for ArnoldBOSTON—McDonald's franchise groups in New England consolidated an estimated $15-20 million in creative media business at Havas' Arnold and Arnold MPG. Most of the work comes from the Boston-area co-op, which previously used Publicis Groupe's Leo Burnett and Starcom, both Chicago. Arnold, Boston, and its New York media arm bested those agencies in a review. Young & Rubicam Wins Ford Credit BusinessDETROIT—Young & Rubicam was awarded the estimated $3 million Ford Credit account following a review that included incumbent J. Walter Thompson and Ogilvy & Mather, both Detroit, and The Shop, Toronto. The assignment includes advertising, promotions, collateral and direct. Veteran Exec Clark Joins JWT as Senior PartnerCHICAGO—Erin Clark, formerly group account director at Publicis in Mid America, joined J. Walter Thompson, Chicago, last week as senior partner, group management director. Publicis has closed its office here and moved to New York, and Clark declined an offer to go along, sources said. Clark takes over some of the duties held by Tim Mauery, who left JWT to join Euro RSCG Tatham, Chicago, to work on the Red Lobster account. C-K's Wild Reduces Management ResponsibilitiesCHICAGO—Scott Wild has been shifted to a creative director's position at Cramer-Krasselt, with the intent he spend more time on creative work and less managing staff, said executive creative director Marshall Ross. Wild joined the Chicago shop last December from TBWA\Chiat\Day as the sole group creative director, with a mandate to add verve to the agency's product. His tenure has been marked by clashes with staff, sources said. Ross said the agency remains committed to Wild and has put him in a better position to succeed. Wild acknowledged management is not his strong suit and that his new role is more in line with the job he wanted at the agency. Chrysler Teams With Celine Dion, SonyDETROIT—The Chrysler Group is partnering with Celine Dion and Sony Music Entertainment in a multi-year deal that aunches early next year with a Chrysler brand TV spot featuring the singer. An original song created specifically for the ad campaign is a key feature of the partnership. Other elements include personal appearances by Dion, special consumer promotions, dealer tie-ins, interactive communications, owner communications, retail initiatives, television programming and recording tie-ins. Financial details were undisclosed. The project is being developed by BBDO, Troy, Mich., and the Arnell Group, New York.

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