Tuesday, January 31, 2012

9740: Tecate Mimics General Motors…?


Advertising Age reported Heineken’s Tecate consolidated its U.S. advertising account with an agency in Mexico. ¡Ay Caramba! Last week, General Motors consolidated its $3 billion media and planning duties with a U.K. firm. Now Tecate has pulled a similar move. It’s outrageous! Scandalous! Oh, wait a minute. Tecate yanked its billings from a faux Latino shop backed by a White agency in New York City? Um, never mind.

Tecate Consolidates U.S. Advertising With Mexican Agency

Cost-Cutting Move Follows Other Global Consolidation Efforts

By E.J. Schultz

In a cost-cutting move, Heineken’s Tecate beer brand is moving U.S. advertising from Kirshenbaum Bond Senecal & Partners’ U.S. Hispanic unit Ramona to its longtime Mexican agency, Olabuenaga Chemistri, the brewer told Ad Age.

The consolidation means all Tecate and Tecate Light U.S. advertising—including digital—will be run from south of the border, an unusual arrangement for a brand sold in the U.S. Tecate, a Mexican import, was already an oddity among advertisers for focusing its entire U.S. account on the Hispanic market, particularly Mexican immigrants and Mexican-Americans. However, the brand lately had been testing a limited number of English-language ads.

It is the loss of a key account or Ramona. The agency did not return a call for comment this afternoon. Olabuenaga Chemistri, on the other hand, gains its first foothold in the U.S. market. The agency, based in Mexico City, has experience with several high-profile accounts, including work in Mexico for Bacardi and General Motors, as well as Mexican milk brand Leche Lala.

While Heineken’s push for global synergies drove the move, Tecate considered the creative consequences, said Tecate VP-Marketing Felix Palau. “If we found out there was any risk in switching to a single creative approach coming from Mexico, we [were] not going to conduct [the] move,” Mr. Palau said. “But that was not the case.”

Indeed, Heineken reviewed new proposals from both Olabuenaga Chemistri and Ramona before making the switch, he said. Under the new arrangement, the same Spanish-language ads will air in Mexico and the U.S. But Olabuenaga Chemistri will also create English language ads to air in several U.S. markets in the Southwest.

Tecate is the fourth-largest U.S. import behind Corona Extra, Heineken and Modelo Especial, according to 2010 rankings from Beer Marketer’s Insights, the latest available. But the brand has been slipping, with grocery-store sales down 8.38% in the year ending Dec. 25, according to SymphonyIRI, which excludes Walmart Stores and liquor stores. Heineken USA spent $17 million in measured media on Tecate and Tecate Light in the U.S. in 2010, according to Kantar Media.

Ramona has had Tecate since 2007, when it was called Adrenalina and partly owned by MDC Partners. The agency was formed specifically for the Tecate pitch and all three partners at the time had worked with Eduardo Casas, the then-Heineken USA executive leading the review. In 2010, the agency was absorbed by MDC Partners sibling Kirshenbaum Bond Senecal & Partners following the departure of the last of Adrenalina’s three founders, Manuel Wernicky. Adrenalina was renamed Ramona in 2010 when Sandra Alfaro, a management partner and director of account management at Vidal Partnership, was hired as general manager.

Under Ramona, Tecate last year sought to expand from its traditional base of new U.S. immigrants to more acculturated Hispanics by adding humor to its ads.

Going forward, Tecate will keep its “con caracter” tagline, which positions it as the drink for men “with character,” Mr. Palau said. But ads will be tweaked to ensure they work in Mexico and the U.S. For instance, U.S. ads now tend to overtly play up Hispanic notions of character that Mr. Palau said even border on U.S. stereotypes of Hispanic men. “This new campaign and this new creative approach doesn’t necessarily talk about the difference between a Hispanic manifestation of character and a more universal manifestation of character. Now we are talking to a broader base of Hispanics [so] it’s less relevant to say ‘I’m Hispanic.’ The fact that Tecate is a Mexican beer and they will see Hispanic talent in the ads, that’s more than enough.”
The agency switch follows other maneuvers by Amsterdam-based Heineken to seek synergies. In November, the brewer launched a review to consolidate its global media planning and buying under one shop, pitting roster shops Starcom MediaVest of Publicis Groupe and WPP’s Mindshare against each other. Heineken has also streamlined procurement. And last year it appointed independent shop Wieden & Kennedy as global creative agency for its flagship Heineken brand.

Olabuenaga Chemistri is co-owned by Ana Maria Olabuenaga and Jorge Cuchi, who is the chief creative officer. The agency has a partnership with Publicis Groupe that gives it access to some of the company’s resources, including agencies such as Leo Burnett Hispanic shop Lapiz, which is based in Chicago. Olabuenaga Chemistri is said to be considering hiring people from Ramona to help service the account, and might keep some presence in New York.

9739: Old Advice From TBWA.


As a companion piece to its ageism story, Advertising Age also published patronizing helpful advice from TBWA Worldwide Director of Talent Nancee Martin titled, “Six Tips for Older Job Hunters.” The keen instructions stressed things like “include your cell number in all communications.” Gee, wonder how many new hires at TBWA would fall into the category of “older” employees.

9738: Jim Edwards Is Alive.


MultiCultClassics had wondered whatever happened to Jim Edwards, last seen posting advertising columns for BNET. Well, Edwards resurfaced last November as a senior editor for Business Insider. Check out Edwards’ perspective on the Advertising Age ageism story—appearing alongside a banner for new bareMinerals® Active Cell Renewal Night Serum to make you look younger.

9737: Ida Chacon Says Adios To P&G.


From Advertising Age…

P&G Multicultural Exec Ida Chacon Joins Latinum

As VP-Marketing at Hispanic Business Network, She’ll Help Marketers Grow in Latino Market

By Laurel Wentz

A well-known Procter & Gamble multicultural executive, Ida Chacon, is joining the Latinum Network in the newly created role of VP-marketing and commercial solutions. Ms. Chacon was P&G’s multicultural marketing capabilities manager, working with the marketer to develop its ethnic strategy, manage relationships with U.S. Hispanic agencies, and consult on Hispanic efforts for individual brands.

Latinum is a business network that helps marketing executives understand and take advantage of the U.S. Hispanic market through research, analysis and collaboration. About 85 companies, including P&G, have joined so far.

“Ida will be responsible for three things,” said David Wellisch, Latinum’s founder. “We generate a lot of insights and strategies, and then work individually with our [member] companies to make sure they get incremental ROI. That’s not that different from what she was doing at P&G.”

Ms. Chacon will also help facilitate member companies’ sharing best practices, Mr. Wellisch said. In addition, she’ll assist companies in finding the right partners for commercial collaborations, in which two marketers team up on an initiative in order to “decrease costs and increase ROI,” he said.

Ms. Chacon spent 13 years at Procter & Gamble, the biggest U.S. Hispanic advertiser. The marketer used to have a separate U.S. Hispanic business unit, based in Puerto Rico, but made a major shift a few years ago to disband the unit and put more of the responsibility for Hispanic marketing at the individual brand level, with advice and guidance from a Center of Expertise.

Because P&G invests so much money in so many brands in the U.S. Hispanic market, its multicultural executives are highly regarded. Graciela Eleta, who headed P&G’s U.S. Hispanic efforts for many years and left the company in 2007, was snapped up by Univision Communications. Ms. Eleta has been Univision’s SVP-brand solutions for four years, helping the Spanish-language media group to attract more advertisers to the U.S. Hispanic market.

P&G’s multicultural efforts are led by Alexandra “Alita” Vegas, director of multicultural business development for North America since December 2009. Ms. Vegas joined P&G in her native Venezuela in 1994. Before taking the U.S. Hispanic role two years ago, she was managing director-hair care in Greater China.

9736: Tuesday With Taraji P. Henson.













Monday, January 30, 2012

9735: Ovaltine Campaign Comes Up Short.


Not sure what Y&R in Vietnam was thinking with this campaign—especially since 5’5” is the average height for Vietnamese men.


From Ads of the World.

9734: Oh, Man! Draftfcb Is Fucked.


Advertising Age reported Miller Lite is tapping Saatchi & Saatchi to “assist” Draftfcb on a new campaign. Man up, Draftfcb!

Miller Lite Looks Beyond DraftFCB

Saatchi & Saatchi Will Work Alongside Draft on MillerCoors Brand

By E.J. Schultz

MillerCoors is bringing in roster agency Saatchi & Saatchi to assist DraftFCB on a new campaign for the struggling Miller Lite brand, Ad Age has learned. DraftFCB has been the brand’s lead creative agency since 2009.

The move is a boost for Saatchi, which has other MillerCoors brands including Keystone, Miller High Life and MGD 64, now known as Miller 64. For DraftFCB, the roster expansion is another setback following a tough 2011 in which it lost one of its largest global accounts, SC Johnson, after nearly 58 years. On the positive side, the decision secures DraftFCB’s place on Miller Lite’s roster through the summer, squashing speculation that it was in danger of losing the account. DraftFCB remains the lead agency for Coors Light, which is enjoying a solid run that recently propelled it past Budweiser as the nation’s second best-selling beer. Lite ranks No. 4.

Saatchi & Saatchi, New York, and DraftFCB, Chicago, are working separately on different ads that will be part of the same Miller Lite campaign expected to debut in the spring. The new ads are expected to replace DraftFCB’s “Man Up” campaign that mocks men who choose other brands. The ads have not been finalized, but have been through consumer testing and will be shown in March to MillerCoors distributors at the brewer’s annual spring convention, the brewer said.

“We are excited about the consumer reaction to new Miller Lite creative from both DraftFCB and Saatchi, and they are in the process of producing complimentary work from both agencies that we will first share with our distributor system in March,” MillerCoors spokesman Pete Marino told Ad Age. “We said we would leave no stone unturned to develop the best Miller Lite creative. We broadened the tent a bit and offered Saatchi, who is already a roster agency, a chance to participate in this Miller Lite creative assignment.”

A DraftFCB spokesman said: “Our ongoing commitment to MillerCoors couldn’t be stronger, and we’re happy to have helped make Coors Light the No. 2 beer in the USA. We’re also really proud of our latest work for Miller Lite and eager to show it at the upcoming convention in March.”

Saatchi declined comment, referring calls to MillerCoors.

Like most big beer brands, Miller Lite has struggled in the face of less spending by blue-collar drinkers and more competition from spirits and smaller craft beers. Lite’s drop has been pronounced and particularly concerning for MillerCoors, which has made reversing the slide a top priority. Shipments fell by 4.3% in 2011, while market share dropped from 7.4% to 7.2%, according to Beer Marketer’s Insights.

The brewer did not reveal specifics of the new campaign. But Miller Lite is expected to continue to seek differentiation from other light beers by pushing a message that emphasizes quality taste.

9733: Digital Is Cool; Ad Age, Not So Much.


This banner hyping Advertising Age’s upcoming digital issue must be the handiwork of a non-digital hack.



9732: Is Ageism Getting Old?


Advertising Age published a lengthy piece titled, “Aging in Adland: The Gray-Hair Phobia That’s Hindering Older Execs.” The piece spotlights the trials and tribulations of 56-year-old adman Dave Shea, essentially hinting at the ageism rampant on Madison Avenue. It’s an old story that increasingly gains media attention with the graying of Mad Men. And of course, these tales inspire comment threads featuring lots of anger and frustration.

Can’t help but think Shea is hurting his cause by posing with a copy of Ogilvy On Advertising, surrounded by classic campaign paraphernalia. He may as well have been clutching James Webb Young’s How To Become An Advertising Man while clacking away on a Corona Sterling typewriter and humming jingle concepts.

Back in 2008, MultiCultClassics presented a series titled, “Until The Boomers Die.” Ironically, the effort was short-lived, with only two entries here and here. Yet the goal was to examine the generational-rooted issues that are snowballing in an industry purporting to be on the cutting edge of culture. Like it or not, Madison Avenue isn’t just a Boy’s Club—it’s a Young Boy’s Club. Hell, add “White” to the list of adjectives too.

One stereotypical comment left at the Ad Age story reads, “…[Ageism] is code for discrimination. People who shudder at sexism or racism are often quite comfortable with ageism. Why?”

Well, mostly because the overwhelming majority of alleged ageism victims comprise the primary source of our industry’s sexism and racism—as well as the full spectrum of isms that have stifled progress for several decades. The proverbial shoe is on the other foot, turnabout is fair play, what goes around comes around, etc. Although the new casualties prefer to label it reverse discrimination.

Cultural cluelessness can lead to flawed reasoning and peculiar terminology.

9731: You Say Potato, I Say Bullshit.


Mickey D’s spent a ton of money hyping its suppliers via documentary-style videos. But how did “the best potatoes in the world” get approved by the McLegal Department?

Sunday, January 29, 2012

9730: Robitussin Monkeying Around.


If PETA and Anjelica Huston are going after CareerBuilder for the advertiser’s use of live chimps, what would they think about Robitussin depicting an orangutan selling drugs? Oh, wait a minute, PETA already weighed in on the matter.

9729: Depend On Diversity.


The only time that “Color is in” and “White is out” in the advertising industry is when discussing adult incontinence underwear.

9728: Herman Cain Endorses Fellow Adulterer.


Hey, look! Herman Cain is back and endorsing Newt Gingrich.

“I hereby officially and enthusiastically endorse Newt Gingrich,” declared Cain. “There are several reasons as to why I have reached this public decision. One of the biggest reasons is the fact that I know Speaker Gingrich is a patriot, Speaker Gingrich is not afraid of bold ideas.”

Plus, Cain and Gingrich share a lot of the same positions on women and marriage.

9727: The Latest Oily BP Spot.


Guess this tourism commercial serves as an official apology from BP.






Look! The birdies are no longer soaked in oil!

Saturday, January 28, 2012

9726: King-Sized Overconsumption.


There’s something disturbing about this Burger King commercial touting the new thick-cut fries—especially the shot of the dude choking down a handful. Talk about promoting gluttony fit for a king.


9725: Sundancing With Zoe Saldana.






9724: Greenpeace Is Cold.


Leave it to Greenpeace to present a message on climate change with the subtlety of a sledgehammer. But did anyone else initially think the polar bears might have suffered death from drinking too much Coca-Cola?


From Ads of the World.

9723: Just For Bearded Babies.


Just For Men tries to be creative with its advertising. Fails.