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Digitas to Repurchase $20 Mil. in StockBOSTON—Digitas' board of directors has approved a $20 million stock repurchase program under which the company is authorized to buy shares of its common stock in the open market or in private transactions during the next 18 months. "It's a financial tool to enhance shareholder value," said Digitas chief financial officer Jeff Cote. "It does that by showing we're confident in where we are as a business." Digitas stock has traded on the Nasdaq in the $3 range of late. Its 52-week high is $6.80, and 52-week low is 88 cents. At its current rate, the Boston-based relationship-marketing agency could buy more than 5.5 million shares under the stock repurchase plan, or about a third of the 18 million shares trading on the Nasdaq, Cote said. Modernista! Hires Cannon as CopywriterBOSTON—Josh Cannon has joined Modernista! as a copywriter and partner to art director Shannon McGlothin. The pair will work on a variety of the Boston shop's accounts, which include Avon, Converse, Roxio, Veryfine and General Motors' Hummer. Prior to Modernista!, Cannon spent three years as a copywriter at Pyro in Dallas, where he worked on both Converse and Hummer. Adams & Knight Breaks GHO TV SpotsBOSTON—Adams & Knight is airing a TV campaign promoting this week's 51st Canon Greater Hartford Open golf tournament. The Avon, Conn., agency produced three spots featuring an elderly man who prepares courses for the event. "Most people see grass, trees, sand," he says in one spot. "I see stories. Stories of triumph. Stories of heartbreak. Stories of redemption. Yes, we've made a lot of history here, but something tells me we've come to make some more." The idea, the agency said, is to market the tournament as a world-class event for all sports fans, not just golf fans. A&K also created radio, print, banner and outdoor ads. The GHO starts today and runs in Cromwell, Conn., through June 23. A&K picked up chores for the GHO last fall; the account previously had been with KGA Advertising, Middletown, Conn., which closed last summer. Mintz & Hoke Continues 'Gladys' Push for AmesBOSTON—Mintz & Hoke has launched another TV spot in its Ames Department Stores campaign using the familiar "Gladys" spokeswoman. Spending is in the $10 million range. A TV spot ran last week promoting the chain's two-day sale Friday and Saturday. Targeting women seeking bargains for their families, the 30-second ad shows Gladys pushing a shopping cart through the stores as she talks of Ames being "packed to the rafters" with bargains for the family. "Sounds like a good idea for Father's Day, huh, Gladys Jr.?" she asks as the camera pans to a fully grown, pigtail-sporting version of herself sitting in the cart. The Rocky Hill, Conn.-based client, which operates about 330 stores in the Northeast, spent more than $30 million on advertising in 2001. Aigner Associates Gains New ClientsBOSTON— Aigner Associates Strategic Marketing & Public Relations has added several new clients to its roster: The Pinehills, Plymouth, Mass.; iParty, Boston; Allied Domecq Co., Randolph, Mass.; Pink Ribbon Collection, Boston; Sitter City.com, Brookline, Mass; and FreeGoCard.com, New York.

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