Hollinger International Inc.’s board of directors should learn Friday whether former Chief Executive Conrad Black intends to miss a deadline to begin repaying $7.2 million in unauthorized fees he received while CEO of the company that owns the Chicago Sun-Times.
Though it is widely believed that Black wants another extension on the Sunday deadline from a special board committee investigating unauthorized payments to top executives, he so far has not told the board anything, several Hollinger sources said Thursday.
Black, who was supposed to make the $850,000 payment Dec. 31, refused to do so, saying through a lawyer that he was re-examining the payments. His lawyer suggested Black may have done nothing wrong in accepting the money.
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The board agreed to an extension until Sunday. In return, Black pledged not to sell a stake in Hollinger Inc., the parent company through which he controls Hollinger International.
Now, with another extension possibly in the works, board members are expected again to insist that Black not sell his stake before he makes the first of several payments.
Sources say Black has quietly held talks recently with Triarc Companies Inc. CEO Nelson Peltz, again about buying a stake in Hollinger Inc.
Company sources say Black has had trouble finding a buyer because it is not clear whether the special committee has uncovered more problems at the company.
A spokesman for Black wouldn’t comment, and Peltz didn’t return a phone call seeking comment.
Black, who has put up for sale his expensive home in London and an estate in Palm Beach, Fla., is under pressure to raise cash. Hollinger Inc. also must pay $7.4 million in interest by March 1 or face defaulting on $120 million in bonds–a move that would erase Black’s overwhelming supervoting power of Hollinger International.
Kind stumps for On-Cor: For more than a decade, Al Molinaro, known as “Al” on the 1970s series “Happy Days,” has played the overanxious grocer who invites his family over to customers’ houses to help finish off huge On-Cor Frozen Food dinners.
The quirky advertising wouldn’t make an all-star creative highlight film, but the “For taste and more it’s On-Cor” is one of those successful lines, like Empire Carpeting’s jingle “588-2300, Empire,” that stays stuck in our heads. For On-Cor, its jingle has helped make the brand a quiet powerhouse in the freezer case, taking on giants Tyson and Banquet.
Now, a new advertising agency is counting on a new spokesman to sustain On-Cor’s position as the frozen meal of choice for large families.
Former “Spin City” and Second City alum Richard Kind picks up where “Al” left off in a new campaign breaking this week from Northbrook-based Blue Chip Marketing.
The setting of the advertising is still the freezer case, but Kind isn’t the all-knowing grocer. Instead, the comedic actor is sort of an answer man for all things On-Cor. And in keeping with tradition, invites his family over for dinner when the customer complains that the 2-pound entrees are too big.
“We wanted to keep the same equities, but update it,” said Stanton Kawer, chairman of Blue Chip. “He’s not the grocer. He’s the brand ambassador.” The campaign carries a secondary tagline: “Two full pounds. One full family.”
As part of the launch of the new campaign, the family-owned operation updated packaging and added new product lines. But the company continues to focus on its core large entrees.
Northwestern’s Kellogg taps Burnett: With at least 50 percent of its executive education program made up of students from outside the U.S., Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management believes it needs to be aggressive to continue to reach non-U.S. students. To do that, the school is turning to Leo Burnett Co.’s global network for help in what is becoming a fiercer battle for students. Burnett won a shootout for the business and will develop advertising and marketing to better brand Kellogg internationally.
Media note: WTTW-Ch. 11 on Saturday broadcasts the second of 10 Chicago Public League games when Bogan takes on Hyde Park. The games, produced by Paragon Marketing Group, are hosted by Channel 11’s Mike Leiderman and former Bulls general manager Jerry Krause.
Account action: Chicago-based Ebel Signorelli Welke landed the advertising assignment for Providence Hospital, serving the Detroit and southeastern Michigan areas.