The biggest news coming out of GSD&M has nothing to do with Tony Rogers reneging on his agreement to leave Wal-Mart and come to Austin-based GSD&M Idea City (apparently, he likes retail too much to leave it behind…and by retail, we mean lots of money).
Anyway, the scoop is that an unnamed creative director was apparently fired last Friday after he allegedly created a Gmail account in the name of the agency’s ECD Mark Taylor. We hear he/she sent out an e-mail (at least one, we’re told) to other CDs in which he/she asked their opinions about the work, salary and other issues pertaining to other creative department employees.
We’d love to see that e-mail. AgencySpy@mediabistro.com. More details on the unfolding drama, after the jump.
Again, it’s unclear exactly who or what was mentioned specifically, but the e-mail was enough to get GSD&M higher-ups in an undie-bunching-mood. Our spy notes that the CD in question was insurmountably stupid for taking such a risk — then again, how was he to know the agency would go so far as to get a federal warrant to track down his/her IP?
That’s right — it’s rumored that Roy Spence, GSD&M’s president and founder (and the dude that walked 3,000 miles across America to “reconnect” with ‘families, schools and rural festivals’) “called in a political favor and got a warrant through the local U.S. Attorney’s office.” Remind me not to apply to work at GSD&M.
Well, that may be a bit harsh, because it turns out that the e-mail allegedly contained “proprietary financial info.” What’s more, it turns out that when you pretend to be someone you’re not, it’s called fraud.
So a few phone calls later (we presume), the agency got the go ahead to track the phony ECD’s e-mail. That investigative smoke lead GSD&M directly to the fire, which was burning on the guilty CD’s doorstep. Again, this is not yet confirmed (although we’re working diligently to do so).
Now, there’s a photo of said CD at the front desk of GSD&M, and he is no longer allowed into the building. Ouch. Lips over there are sealed tight, except of course for our spies, who continue to provide us with the info that keeps you all in the know. One last comment from our spy:
“It was a dumbass [sic] idea, to say the least, and nobody
knows why the guy/gal did it — what he/she was trying to find
out. Maybe he/she thought he was underpaid. More likely,
he/she felt like his/her job was one the lone. He/she’d been on
the chopping block before but was rescued by one of
the founders.”