Ted Bates Advertising/New York and its sister agency William Esty Co., of New York, took it on the chin Tuesday.
Bates lost Warner-Lambert Co., a client for 30 years, and Esty`s 53-year relationship with RJR Nabisco Inc. was terminated.
By some coincidence, Warner-Lambert, with headquarters in Morris Plains, N.J., and RJR Nabisco, based in Winston-Salem, N.C., announced within hours of each other major changes in advertising responsibilities for a number of their brands.
These two firms, both prominent advertisers, more or less cited the same reasons for the realignment: an opportunity to strengthen business
relationships with certain agencies, the need for consolidation and the economies that might result.
But in some instances, conflicts–corporate and product–that arose from recent agency mega mergers, including Saatchi & Saatchi`s takeover of Ted Bates Worldwide, played a part in the changes.
Indications are that Bates and Esty lost $130 million in billings.
As a result of the reshuffling, Young & Rubicam in New York came out a big winner, picking up more than $80 million in billings, advertising responsibility for More and Now cigarettes (marketed by the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco unit of RJR Nabisco) and Warner-Lambert`s Rolaids, Efferdent, Remegel and Mediquell. Y&R, a W-L agency since 1976, has been working on Certs and Dentyne.
Y&R now has its first domestic cigarette account since Liggett & Myers in the late 1960s.
Bates, which had all of the previously mentioned W-L products, also lost other brands belonging to the client–including Trident and Bubblicious gums, Halls cough tablets and Listermint–to J. Walter Thompson USA in New York.
JWT, a W-L agency since 1961, whose major responsibility for the client has been Listerine, may be picking up $30 million to $40 million in business in its assignment.
FCB/Leber Katz Partners in New York, an agency formed by the recent acquisition of Leber, Katz & Partners by Foote, Cone & Belding Communications, picked up an estimated $60 million in billings in its assignment for Salem cigarettes and Milk Bone Biscuits, previously handled by Esty; and Royal Desserts and a variety of Nabisco cereals, formerly with Doyle Dane Bernbach in New York. But the gain was offset by the reassignment to Y&R of More and Now cigarettes.
Doyle Dane still has Fleischmann`s and Blue Bonnet margarines and Egg Beaters. But those products will be reassigned, leaving DDB will without any Nabisco assignments.
Other changes involving RJR Nabisco agencies:
— Tatham-Laird & Kudner in Chicago picked up an estimated $12 million in billings with its appointment to Del Monte`s Hawaiian Punch with DYR (the Y&R- Dentsu joint venture) in Los Angeles. TLK also works on Century and Sterling cigarettes and Ortega Mexican foods, all part of the RJR Nabisco stable, which also includes Del Monte.
— DFS Dorland in New York is getting such Nabisco cookies as Honey Grahams, Newtons, Nilla and Oreo, with total billings estimated in the $20 billion to $30 million range. Esty was assigned to these products.
— Bozell, Jacobs, Kenyon & Eckhardt/New York was assigned an estimated $2 million in billings for various Nabisco confections, including Junior Mints. Bozell has been working on several Nabisco candies.
— McCann-Erickson in New York won Nabisco`s Premium and Ritz crackers, a $10 million account formerly with Esty.
INTERPUBLIC-OHLMEYER DEAL
Interpublic Group of Companies Inc. reached an agreement in principle to acquire Ohlmeyer Advertising from Ohlmeyer Communications. This Ohlmeyer unit with billings of $30 million, including the Nabisco cracker product Wheat Thins, will be merged into Interpublic`s McCann agency. Ohlmeyer`s RJR Nabisco Broadcast operation, a media buying service, is not affected by the purchase. — WPWR-TV (Channel 60) ended its relationship with Manheim Advertising, a Cleveland agency. WPWR plans to discuss its account with a selected list of Chicago agencies. Gustafson/Shields Advertising will handle Channel 60 on a project basis until an agency is selected.
On the move: Pam Radke promoted to a creative director at Foote, Cone & Belding/Chicago. . . . Donald Neri appointed director of marketing for Whittaker Health Servces of Illinois. . . . Andrew Baron named creative director of new product development at Enesco Imports Corp., Elk Grove Village.
Strictly Personal: Birthday greetings to Ralph Steinbarth, A.G. Atwater, Jan Norton, Don Gwaltney, Lou Beres, Kathryn Darrell and Arnie Matanky.
On tap: Tom Collinger, VP and general manager of the Chicago office of Ogilvy & Mather Direct, is the speaker at Thursday`s luncheon of the Women`s Direct Response Group at the Art Institute of Chicago. For information, contact Mary Shanley at 736-3600.
