Hotlines

Saatchi Sues Mike Burns After IPG Hires the 17 DefectorsNEW YORK Hours after IPG confirmed that it had hired the so-called "Saatchi 17," Saatchi & Saatchi said Friday afternoon that it had sued Mike Burns, its former worldwide account director on General Mills and onetime supervisor of the 17 employees who walked out of the Publicis agency last month. The suit, filed in state Supreme Court in New York, seeks at least $3 million in damages on claims of breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty and breach of the duty of loyalty. Saatchi and Burns declined comment. Burns split with Saatchi on Feb. 11, three days before the 17 creative and account execs left en masse—a development that created the impression that Burns had orchestrated the walkout with the expectation that General Mills business would follow. Most of the execs IPG hired will be part of a stand-alone unit that will pitch brands related to youth, family and wellness, IPG said. 6 Agencies Await Decision in $100 Mil. Jaguar Creative PitchNEW YORK Six agencies are waiting for a decision in the $100 million-plus review of creative duties on Ford Motor Co.'s Jaguar, following final pitches at the client's London offices last week. Three shops pitched Thursday: WPP's JWT in New York, followed by Havas' Euro RSCG in New York and independent M&C Saatchi in London; three more pitched Friday: independent Leagas Delaney in London, followed by WPP's Berlin Cameron/Red Cell in New York and MDC's Kirshenbaum Bond + Partners in New York, said sources. The incumbent, WPP's Young & Rubicam, was eliminated last month. The review is being managed by Roth Associates in New York and Agency Assessments International in London. 2 Bow Out of Radio Shack's $250 Mil. Review Dallas Radio Shack said it will name two to four finalists this week in its $250 million review. Sources said two of the six semifinalists dropped out. Publicis in New York withdrew due to a potential conflict with T-Mobile, while MDC's Crispin Porter + Bogusky in Miami bowed out due to workload, sources said. Remaining are Omnicom's TBWA\Chiat\Day in Playa del Rey, Calif.; IPG's Deutsch/LA in Marina del Rey, Calif., and Mullen of Wenham, Mass.; and an unidentified agency. L'Oréal to Start $1.5 Bil. Global Media Roster Contest Los Angeles L'Oréal will hold meetings this month and next with its two lead global media shops, IPG's Universal McCann and Publicis' ZenithOptimedia, as it begins a shootout for its estimated $1.5 billion-plus account, sources said. L'Oréal, in which Nestlé has a major stake, was motivated at least in part by Nestlé's $1.5 billion global media review, which eliminated UM from its roster and split the business between fellow incumbents ZenithOptimedia and WPP's MindShare, sources said. A client rep said the $675 million U.S. media business handled by UM would not be affected and declined further comment. IPG Team to Make More Than $35 Mil. on Intel AccountNEW YORK IPG's team led by McCann WorldGroup will make more than $35 million in revenue on the $300 million global Intel account it won last week, sources said. On the winning team were McCann Erickson, MRM, Universal McCann and R/GA. The IPG team beat out an Omnicom team led by DDB and a WPP team led by Berlin Cameron/Red Cell and Young & Rubicam. The client confirmed the award Thursday. The IPG team was considered the front-runner throughout the process, managed by Select Resources International in Santa Monica, Calif., for its "TechLove" and "People love technology" strategy, sources said. R/GA Ventures Beyond N.Y. For First Time in 4 Years NEW YORK R/GA is opening an office in London, the IPG company said, marking its first foray outside New York since it closed its Stockholm office in 2001. The interactive creative shop has not yet signed a lease or picked an executive to head the office, a company rep said. R/GA expects to initially share space with an IPG sister agency. It plans to have 20-30 employees in London within a year, the rep said, and the office will service global accounts such as Nokia and possibly Intel.

Brand Marketing

Hotlines

Noreen O'Leary

About

Subscriptions

Events

Publications

WORK SMARTER - LEARN, GROW AND BE INSPIRED.

Subscribe today!

Noreen O'Leary