In the world of advertising pitches, it’s not unusual for agencies to try and get a leg up on the competition by finding executives who might tout a strong relationship with someone at the potential client.
But when it comes to a government account, things get a little sticky.
Right now, some agencies in the $20 million Illinois Lottery review are concerned that two creative directors who have boasted of their close ties to Lottery officials may give one agency an unfair advantage in a pitch that is mandated by law to be fair.
Andy Madorsky and Jeff Long, who had until recently worked on the Lottery account for Ogilvy & Mather, have now been hired by Lottery finalist J. Walter Thompson, Chicago. But the pair had also tried to get hired at the other three finalist agencies, saying their ties to lottery marketing officials could help land business, more than one agency source said.
O&M let the creatives go as part of an agency downsizing late last year, sources say.
Sources say all four agencies, JWT, Leo Burnett, DDB Chicago, and Euro RSCG Tatham Partners, took a pass on hiring the team on the first go-around. But then JWT decided to hire them on a freelance basis.
Hiring consultants and even lobbyists to help guide an agency in a state pitch is nothing new, sources said. But some executives question whether there should be stringent guidelines preventing any chance for bias during the pitch.
JWT declined comment and referred calls to Lottery officials.
Sources say that JWT executive creative director Jeff York is leading the creative pitch on the business, and it was probable that he and creative chief Rick Kemp would not include the pair in the pitch to the Lottery next week.
A Lottery spokeswoman said the freelancers would not affect the review. “Each one of these [reviews] is done with a lot of hard work and a lot of precision. The Lottery takes great pains to make sure everyone has the same chance,” said Anne Plohr Rayhill.
More Top Picks Wrench Set
Each agency is graded individually by a handful of Lottery officials, including Lottery chief Lori Montana and marketing director Cathy Beres.
Whether that’s enough to ease concern on the part of the other agencies is not yet clear. Lottery executives have said they plan to have a new agency in place by July.
Burnett bolsters creative ranks: Leo Burnett USA, which continues to upgrade its creative department under deputy creative chief Mark Tutssel, made two big strides in that area Thursday. The agency plucked Jeff Labbe, currently creative director/art director at TBWA/Chiat/Day, San Francisco and Kash Sree, a copywriter at Wieden & Kennedy, Portland, Ore., to be senior vice president/creative directors at Burnett. The move is a creative coup on the part of the agency, which has been looking to bring in award-winning creatives. Labbe is known for spots including Nike “Beautiful,” which won a Gold Lion at Cannes in 2000, and Levi’s “Badger” and “Bellybutton” while at Chiat/Day. Sree most recently served as copywriter on several Nike campaigns. The two were paired briefly at Wieden in the late 1990s.
Last week, the agency hired Josh Denberg and Paul Hirsch, a pair of creative directors at Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, San Francisco.
Global realignment: Alberto-Culver named Carol L. Bernick, president of the company’s North American packaged goods operation, to lead a new consumer products worldwide unit. She also remains a director and vice chairman of the parent firm. Reporting to Bernick will be two new positions. James Marino, group vice president, assumes the post of president, Alberto Personal Care Worldwide, with responsibility for the company’s global hair care and skin care consumer brands. James Chickarello was named president, Culver Business Units Worldwide. He will oversee the Pro-Line International ethnic hair care products unit and Culver Specialty Brands.
Frankel adds clients: In the wake of its restructuring late last year, Publicis Groupe-owned Frankel made consumer insights a priority when talking to new business prospects. The change appears to be paying off. The agency has landed several new clients in recent months, including assignments from Kohl’s, Allstate, Clorox, Symantec, Luminarc, ConAgra, CVS and Ralston Purina.