Newswire U.S. Senate Rejects Alcohol Advertising Tax Bill

NEW YORK-The U.S. Senate resoundingly opposed an alcohol advertising tax deductibility bill that was introduced by Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.) last week. Ad and alcohol lobbyists were surprised by the bill, learning of it the morning of the vote. "We got to every senator that day," said one lobbyist. The vote was 86-12. Family advocates warned, however, that the alcohol ad debate is far from over. Alberto-Culver Talks to Shops About St. Ives NEW YORK-Alberto-Culver, Melrose, Ill., is meeting with several agencies about its St. Ives account, an A-C representative confirmed. Among the likely candidates for the business are A-C shops Lois/EJL in Chicago and Partners & Shevack here, sources said. BBDO Breaks First TV Work for V02 Max NEW YORK-BBDO here breaks its first television advertising this week for Mars' V02 Max, an energy bar. The campaign includes a spot featuring mountain biker Marla Streb, who is shown preparing for a race. The tagline: "Are you serious?" Grey Ventures Acquires Technology Agency NEW YORK-Grey Ventures, an independent venture capital outfit of Grey Advertising, has acquired a significant equity stake in Winkler Advertising, a San Francisco shop specializing in technology companies. Agency founder and chief executive officer Agnieszka Winkler will continue to lead the agency. Winkler will operate as an independent unit within Grey. Doremus Advertising Wins Financial Times NEW YORK-Doremus Advertising here has been selected to launch Financial Times in the Americas. KDM, the media arm of the Omnicom Group shop, handles media planning and buying for the $3-6 million account. Bozell, Jacobs, Kenyon & Eckhardt in London competed for the business and will continue to handle global image assignments. Contenders Emerge in Liz Claiborne Review NEW YORK-Contenders have emerged in the $4 million creative-only review for the Liz Claiborne fragrance Curve. Avrett, Free & Ginsberg, Balet and Albert, The Gale Group, Grybauskas Beatrice, Mad Dogs & Englishmen and Mezzina/Brown, all in New York, as well as an undisclosed shop, have made presentations to the New York-based client, sources said. A decision is expected in August. Ammirati to Launch New Imodium Advanced NEW YORK-Ammirati Puris Lintas here, which handles ad duties for McNeil Consumer Product Co.'s Imodium A-D, has been tapped to handle the launch of the new Imodium Advanced product later this year, said officials at the Fort Washington, Pa., company. Reebok Confirms Hiring Bismark Corp. BOSTON-A representative for Reebok International confirmed that Bismark Corp. in Dennis, Mass., was retained as a consultant in Reebok's search for an agency to handle its $100 million media buying account. Bismark principal Bill Weilbacher is said to be acting as an advisor to Brenda Goodell, Reebok's vice president of U.S. marketing communications. MasterCard Chooses 2 Agency Finalists NEW YORK-MasterCard International has cut the list of agencies pitching the creative portion of its estimated $85-90 million U.S. account to McCann-Erickson Worldwide and Messner Vetere Berger McNamee Schmetterer/Euro RSCG, both in New York. Creative work presented by both shops will be tested. A decision is expected by summer's end. Incumbent Ammirati Puris Lintas declined to defend. Agencies eliminated were GSD&M, Austin, Texas; Leo Burnett, Chicago; and Grey Advertising, New York. Court Protects Free Speech on the Internet WASHINGTON, D.C.-The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in two First Amendment cases regarding commercial speech last week. It was determined that Congress violated free speech when it passed the Communications Decency Act, legislation that forbids indecent material on the Internet. The protection of free speech on the Internet was seen as an important victory for advertisers. New media will now be scrutinized under current obscenity laws and will not carry the heavier burden of interpreting what is decent. The court also ruled it is not a free speech violation for members of an industry to have to pay for generic advertising. The decision upholds a federal program that requires federal fruit growers to pay for ads that some growers say benefit competitors. The decision means that a state can mandate advertising in any industry. Shops Respond to MSG Network Questionnaire NEW YORK-Agencies have begun responding to the recent request for proposal of the Advertising Agency Register here on behalf of New York-based MSG Network, sources said [Adweek, June 23]. Among the respondents were: Deutsch; Jordan, McGrath, Case & Taylor; N.W. Ayer & Partners; Publicis/Bloom; DiMassimo; Ryan Drossman & Partners; Christy, MacDougall, Mitchell; Adler Boschetto Peebles & Partners; and Dweck & Campbell, all in New York, sources said. The client plans to spend $2-5 million on a branding campaign. Schering-Plough Meets With Hispanic Agencies NEW YORK-Schering-Plough in Madison, N.J., is talking with Hispanic agencies in New York and Los Angeles for its Latino advertising account recently resigned by Siboney USA, New York. Schering-Plough has met with Castor Advertising and Vidal, Reynardus & Moya, both in New York, and La Agencia de Orci & Asociados in Los Angeles, sources said. Schering-Plough officials could not be reached at press time. DMB&B Shuffles Cadillac Team DETROIT-D'Arcy Masius Benton & Bowles, Troy, Mich., is restructuring its Cadillac account team. Robin Carr assumes a new dual role of account director for the Cadillac division, as well as director of marketing services on Cadillac. Michael Oxman joins DMB&B as vice president and brand director on Catera. He had been a management supervisor at W.B. Doner & Co. in Southfield, Mich. The Cadillac and Catera account director roles previously were filled by John Johnson, who has relocated to Tokyo as senior vice president and account director for GM Asia-Pacific heading up Cadillac business, a new position and a recent business win for DMB&B. FTD Selects W.B. Doner DETROIT-Florists' Transworld Delivery in Downers Grove, Ill., selected W.B. Doner & Co., Southfield, Mich., as its agency of record. Its duties will include creative chores and media planning and buying. The agency's first campaign is expected by the end of summer, sources said. FTD spent about $16 million on advertising in 1996, according to Competitive Media Reporting. Grey Advertising, New York, resigned the account earlier this month. Other shops considered for the business included DiNoto Lee in New York; Foote, Cone & Belding in Chicago; Cleveland agency Meldrum & Fewsmith Advertising; D'Arcy Masius Benton & Bowles, Troy, Mich.; and J. Walter Thompson in Detroit. Olds Adds Intrigue to Theaters DETROIT-General Motors' Oldsmobile division-in partnership with ScreenVision and Cineplex Odeon-breaks its national campaign for the new Intrigue model on July 4. A 60-second spot, titled "Train," will run in 6,000 theaters across the country. It and two other 60-second spots, all from Leo Burnett in Chicago, begin airing on network TV July 28. Spots are themed "A Sophisticated Twist on a Sports Sedan" and were directed by film veteran Tony Scott. Mason Teams With New York Shop BOSTON-Mason & Madison Advertising & Public Relations in New Haven, Conn., has affiliated with Lois Geller Co., a direct marketing agency in New York. The terms of the arrangement were not disclosed. The new Madison Avenue agency is called Mason & Geller. At present, it has no clients and a staff of three: Lois Geller, creative director Michael McCormack and Pepper Huff, Geller's assistant. Geller and Mason & Madison's Charles Mason and Harry Viens are principals in the entity. Kobrand Weighs Separate Reviews BOSTON-Kobrand may conduct separate agency reviews for its premium brands, Tattinger champagne and Louis Jadot burgundy, and one for its more mass-market brands-Fortant wine and Alize cognac, according to the client. Under consideration are: Pagano Schenck & Kay in Boston, Earle Palmer Brown, Mad Dogs & Englishmen and In-Sync, all in New York. Billings are estimated at $2 million. Puma and Thomas Dooley Shake Hands BOSTON-Puma in Brockton, Mass., announced that pro soccer player Thomas Dooley has signed a career-long contract with the sporting goods marketer. Dooley, a member of the U.S. national soccer team, will be featured in a national advertising campaign to run later this year. Gyro in Philadelphia is Puma's agency. Alan May Joins Anderson & Lembke SAN FRANCISCO-Anderson & Lembke here has added Alan May as its media director. May was formerly the group media director at GSD&M in Austin, Texas. As A&L's media director, May will oversee all media planning and buying for the agency's San Francisco office and will report to president Mike Windsor. May was hired to replace David Yoder, who was recently promoted to executive media director at A&L. Sawtooth Gets Cirque Corp. NEW YORK-The Sawtooth Group, Woodbridge, N.J., has been appointed to handle the estimated $8 million creative and media buying account of Salt Lake City-based Cirque Corp., the agency confirmed last week. A print campaign is scheduled to break in September. Helm to Lead New Achenbaum Unit NEW YORK-The marketing consulting firm Achenbaum Bogda Associates has developed a new agency consulting unit that will specialize in performance evaluations, searches, contract assessments and more. The division will be based here and managed by DeWitt Helm, the former president of the Association of National Advertisers. Helm, most recently the managing partner of search consultancy The Advertising Partnership, acted as consultant for the Smith Corona ad account review. Earlier this year, Achenbaum acted as consultant for the GTE Corp. and American Movie Classics reviews. Newswire Roundup Bozell Worldwide appointed Didier Stora to the new post of deputy chairman of Groupe Bozell France, Bozell Worldwide's French network. Stora was previously general manager of Bozell Paris and will oversee the network, which includes Bozell Paris, Bozell Terre Lune and BJK&E Media Mack Trucks in Allentown, Pa., is considering undisclosed agencies in New York and the mid-Atlantic region for its estimated $1-3 million account. Mack agency Carmichael Lynch, Minneapolis, resigned the account to take on the $2-4 million account of Volvo GM Heavy Truck Corp. in Greensboro, N.C. That assignment was moved to CL without a review from Rockett, Burkhead, Lewis & Winslow in Raleigh, N.C. True North Communications, Chicago, named Donald Seeley executive vice president and chief financial officer. Previously president and chief executive officer of The Alexander Consulting Group in New York, Seeley succeeds Terry Ashwill, who left TN in March.

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Newswire U.S. Senate Rejects Alcohol Advertising Tax Bill

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