NEW YORK Gibson Guitar has hired Omnicom Group's DDB to handle creative duties on its account, five months after splitting with Interpublic Group's Carmichael Lynch.
The creative will consist of broadcast and interactive ads, DDB said. Billings were not disclosed. The company spent nearly $3 million in major measured media last year and almost $4 million through the first eight months of 2006, according to Nielsen Monitor-Plus.
Carmichael Lynch in Minneapolis had handled the brand since 2000. In the spring, the shop attributed the split with Gibson to "creative and strategic differences." [Adweek Online, May 17].
Gibson's most recent TV spot depicted an opulent Indian celebration at which an empress tries to impress her husband with luxurious gifts. The husband reacts with boredom until he spots a Gibson Les Paul in the hands of a musician playing for the ceremony. His wife then commandeers the instrument as the perfect gift. The tagline is, "Only a Gibson is good enough."
DDB's New York office will service the Nashville, Tenn.-based client, whose portfolio of brands includes Dobro, Kramer, Slingerland, Baldwin and Wurlitzer.
"Gibson Guitar is an icon in rock n' roll history and we are excited to partner with them in taking this legendary brand into the future," said Lee Garfinkel, the office's chairman, CCO and a longtime Gibson guitar player.