Hotline

Burnett Drops Out of Budget Review
CHICAGO–Leo Burnett here has withdrawn from Budget Rent A Car’s review, citing possible conflicts with General Motors. Other contenders for creative duties on the $40 million account are incumbent Publicis & Hal Riney, Chicago; Fallon McElligott, Minneapolis; Cliff
Freeman & Partners and Deutsch, both New York; and GSD&M, Austin, Texas. Budget’s media buying will continue to be handled by Burnett’s Starcom unit.
Jordan, Third Degree Make ODC Finals
DALLAS–Incumbent Jordan Associates and Third Degree Advertising, both Oklahoma City, were named finalists for the estimated $1 million annual marketing contract of the Oklahoma Department of Commerce (ODC) last week. The economic development agency chose the two shops for May 27 presentations over six other in-state contenders: Bledsoe Norick McAuliffe and Beals Cunningham, both Oklahoma City; Marcom Inc. of Edmond; and Littlefield Marketing and Advertising, Waller Associates and HKH Advertising, all Tulsa. ODC’s one-year contract has two renewal options.
WarrenCordes+ Adds New Partner
DALLAS–Austin, Texas-based agency WarrenCordes+ has welcomed a new partner and changed its name to reflect the addition. The agency brought in Michael McCullar as senior public relations counsel and renamed the operation WarrenCordes+McCullar. The advertising and public relations shop primarily serves clients in the high-tech, financial services, healthcare and entertainment fields.
Philip Johnson Opens in San Francisco
BOSTON–Philip Johnson Associates, a $27 million technology shop in Cambridge, Mass., has opened a six-person branch in San Francisco. The new office is headed by Erik Petersen, who had been at Austin, Texas-based GSD&M’s now shuttered San Francisco location. Philip Johnson’s main client in the West is Perkin-Elmer’s PE Biosystems unit. The account may be worth more than $10 million in billings.
Whole Wheat, Davis Win Bassett Furniture
DALLAS–Whole Wheat Creative in Houston and The Davis Group of Austin, Texas, have won Bassett Furniture Direct’s Southwest regional account. Whole Wheat will handle creative and marketing for stores in Houston, Austin, San Antonio and a planned unit in Las Vegas. Davis will place media for the account. The work does not include assignments for the Dallas-area stores of Bassett, which are handled under a different licensee, according to client officials in Houston. Bassett formerly worked with The Cohen Group in Houston and The Beaird Agency in Dallas.
For the Record
Frank Lowe, chairman of the The Lowe Group, was misidentified in a caption accompanying his photo in the National News section [Adweek May 3].