Heinz has pulled the above U.K. spot that shows two men kissing, after British viewers complained the ad was "inappropriate".

The spot was created by Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO. According the Adage, viewers contacted the Advertising Standards Authority watchdog and complained that it is "inappropriate to see two men kissing" and that the ad was "unsuitable to be seen by children."

Turns out the spot would have probably gotten pulled anyway since it carried some nutrition-related restrictions. The rule in the UK is that it "could not be shown in or around children's programming because of the levels of fat, salt and sugar in the product".

This was the first spot produced by these guys since they won Heinz's $20 million U.K. business last year. Um, way to come out swinging guys? Wonder who is gonna take the heat on this one. The way things are going, I'm sure you'll see AgencySpy posting about layoffs tomorrow.

This may come as a surprise to some BBDO employees (people I reached out to this morning hadn't even heard the news yet). But, BBDO has lost Mitsubishi. That's the third account this month alone. Early in the month they lost the Golf Association, as well as KFC in Malaysia. We also hear that BBDO West is pulling all their creatives out of the shop.

That's a pretty rough month, especially considering that they were listed as the "most awarded agency network across every media discipline - television, radio, press, poster, digital and direct" as according to The Big Won. BBDO was also awarded "Network of the Year" at the International Advertising Festival in Cannes last year.

I'm sure there will be a scramble to bring new accounts on to compensate for such big blows all at once.

"Regarding the AdWeek article earlier this week, BBDO West Los Angeles is not closing. If it were, it would be a surprise to the creatives working (t)here. The creative focus has always been in San Francisco since that's where Jim Lesser, ECD, calls home. There is life after Mitsubishi — a good life."

I've had more than one person tell me that there is a klepto or two at BBDO NY. Apparently the unattended Ipod cord, stapler or refrigerated lunch is considered fair game. So much so, that some employees lock their drawers to go to the bathroom. Is it really that bad people? I know it's been awhile since you guys have won a big account, but are the old clients not paying their bills either? Stealing a pen is one thing, but a half eaten egg salad sandwich?! Damn, Damn, Damn...

Capital One in the UK has changed agencies for its advertising account -- dropping one Omnicom agency (DDB London) for another one (AMV BBDO) (ed note: isn't it a little like dropping one girl to take up with her sister?)

Anyway, the account is worth about $80m (£40m) -- and the reason is that there are new features that Capital One wants to pimp out and they want "a new creative strategy" to do so.

My favorite part:

"Stephen Woodford, DDB's UK chief executive, said: "We've had a successful relationship with Capital One and together we have recognised it is time for a fresh perspective on the brand. We wish them every success with AMV BBDO"."

In other words, "I'm fucking shattered that AMV is taking one of our biggest, highest profile accounts and we are left holding the bag -- hopefully Volkswagen & Phillips don't leave next -- prepare the axe to chop some underlings who were in no way responsible for the loss of the account so I can maintain my year-end bonus."

Good times all around...

Levi Strauss & Co (home of generic, but comfortable, jeans and khakis -- the excitement of DOCKERS!!!) is due to transfer its media and creative business back to BBDO Korea in June, ending an 18-month sentence with TBWA.

The pitch also included Lee DDB. While the reason for the review has not been confirmed, Levi’s’ brand leader in Korea So Hee Kim commented that the Omnicom agency had demonstrated a sound understanding of the fashion industry and of the brand’s target consumer group (what else did you expect him to say?)

BBDO held Levi’s Korean account for four years before the brand appointed TBWA as its agency of record.

Tom Sebok, Managing Director of BBDO New York, has taken flight for Y&R pastures. He'll be leading the shop's North American operations as CEO. Nice fricking jump, dude.

With Mitsubishi Motors North America gone from BBDO coffers, the agency has had to take some action. The shop laid off 10-15 employees that included a SVP title or two from its New York and Los Angeles offices. Good luck to those folks who are now on the hunt.

But... the overall BBDO picture ain't so bad. The firm just won
the Global Imaging and Printing Group assignment from HP ($200
million). Meanwhile, the San Francisco office picked up $50 million from their Harrah's Resort & Casino, Comcast, NBC Universal accounts.

BBDO also just opened new in-house design and production service capabilities to expand client services, so all is not lost.

Tribble points us to a new scandal for the downtrodden GSD&M. Seems the agency is getting sued. The Austin Statesman, spends quite a bit of time following the turmoils of the shop and from their pages, it seems:

"The lawsuit stems from a national advertising campaign that depicts a man waiting to check in for a flight who is asked by attendants to spin a wheel for a prize: a seat on a large plane. A song similar to the theme from "The Price Is Right" plays."

Agencies and brands are always getting sued. With their army of lawyers, you'd think they could secure this kind of stuff out of the gate. For example - take the Addams Family themed spots created by BBDO for Mars' brand M&M. The agency and brand cleared only some of the rights with the "Addam's Family Foundation," failing to clear incidentals on the usage rights for likeness of the characters portrayed in the print and TV spots. Mars is now being sued, though BBDO stays in the clear. Ryan Bowling, a spokesperson for Mars, said that it was the company's policy not to comment on pending litigation. C'est la vie.

More piling into India seems to be in Omnicom's future. The company's TBWA division is getting ready to strengthen its presence in India by launching five new divisions or um, buying them. The major focus would be on areas such as lead generation, events, promotions, direct marketing, retail channel development and management, activation and audience development. The first shop to land their will most certainly be Agency.com.

“We are looking at possible acquisitions for retail activation and event management to start with,” Keith Smith, president (international), TBWA Group told Business Standard.

Meanwhile, Omnicom shop BBDO has selected two new CDs for the shop: Sandipan Bhattacharya and Manoj Deb as executive creative directors. Both men worked at Grey Delhi before joining the team. The move is expected to be followed a placement for a CEO.