DraftFCB

As with any major account loss, you could tell that this was coming. After losing longtime client MillerCoors just a few weeks ago, Draftfcb Chicago has begun cutting staff this morning according to sources familiar with the matter. From what we’ve been told, the agency is “surprised and disappointed by MillerCoors’ decision to move their business elsewhere” and as a result, had “to say good-bye to some very good people.”

Our sources say that roughly five percent of the Chicago office, or one percent of Draft’s U.S. network, has been affected across “a variety of functions and levels.” Tipsters, though, are giving us higher numbers (as usual), but our sources familiar with the matter that the number is around 40. We’ll keep you posted as things develop.

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Time for some good news on the DFCB NY front. After a review, the amusement park brand known as Sea World (here’s to you, Shamu) has picked said agency as its new creative AOR. DFCB NY takes over for Momentum on the Orlando-based company’s account and is expected to roll our work for Sea World next year. In a statement, company president/CEO Jim Atchison says, “We’re excited to tap into the creative and strategic firepower at Draftfcb, as well as their in-depth knowledge of moms and families, to expand recognition of our parks as must-see destinations. We are investing in an extraordinary level of capital expansion and, together with Draftfcb, will cultivate a new level of global consumer awareness for our company.”

From what we hear from sources, Doner might have also been in the mix for Sea World, which has spent about $50 million in measured media.

 

After a six-and-a-half year stint that dates back to the FCBi days, Tim Queenan is parting ways with Draftfcb New York. The agency confirms what tipsters were telling us, that Queenan is leaving for a gig at Google. The Draft folks wouldn’t comment on what position Queenan is exactly taking at the Mountain View, CA-based giant, but from what we hear, he’s joining up with its Creative Lab as an in-house planner.

Queenan, whose last day at Draftfcb is actually today according to sources, spent the last few years as SVP, executive director, digital experience planning (phew) at the agency’s Big Apple branch and before that, served as VP, management director of digital business strategy when it was FCBi. His departure follows those of fellow Draft NY vets Auge Reichenberg and Nanci Silverman, who just recently left for positions at Rosetta and Grey, respectively.

Update: Queenan confirms that he’s actually joining as director of strategy within Google Creative Lab.

Sources familiar with the matter confirm that Draftfcb New York EVP/group creative director Augé Reichenberg is leaving the agency after a 15-year run. We’ve been told that Reichenberg (pictured) is joining up with New Jersey-based Publicis Groupe agency Rosetta, will be running creative for its healthcare unit and, in the process, will be reuniting with former partner and current CCO Gary Scheiner. Prior to Draftfcb, Reichenberg enjoyed a nine-year run at McCann.

In addition to the aforementioned senior creative’s departure, Draftfcb has also lost Nanci Silverman, who spent the last five years at Draft, to Grey, which she officially joined on May 1 and now serves as EVP/group account director on the WPP agency’s Darden portfolio including Olive Garden, Red Lobster and Longhorn Steakhouses. Silverman replaces Michele Kay, who is “taking early retirement” according to Grey.

We’ve been told the parting was amicable, the pair is moving on to “greater opportunities” and to second that emotion, here’s a statement from Draftfcb NY CEO Dana Maiman, who says, ““We are so happy for both of them as are our clients. We wish them tremendous luck.”

A new series of TV spots from DraftFCB Chicago is marketing Miller Lite’s latest innovation in beer-chugging apparatus accoutrements, the “Punch Top Can.”

Now, it’s only been two years since the brand unveiled the “Vortex Bottle,” a seemingly useless and unnecessary bottle design feature that has somehow lasted 23 months longer than anyone expected. Undoubtedly, the success of the swirly bottle neck has influenced the powers that be at Miller Lite to carry over their brand of “science” to cans. I can only imagine what the supporting market research looks like: “In our study, seven out of 10 brospondants said that when they shotgun cans of cheap beer to the amusement and horror of their friends, they opt for Miller Lite. Of those that answered positively, four out of five said that they have been wounded by the jagged aluminum the occurs in the wake of puncturing the can with their car keys, which reportedly ‘hurts like a bitch.’”

DraftFCB’s spots depict a horde of 20-somethings in a variety of environments using any and every poking object in their immediate vicinity to punch the new aluminum flap on the top of the can. Yes, you can use just about anything, be it a drumstick, an audio cable, or that douchey arrowhead necklace your burnout buddy has been wearing since he was in middle school. Sure, the “Punch Top Can” will make chugging a little easier, but isn’t most of the fun of shotgunning beer derived from the associated theatrics? If you’re not spraying everyone within three-foot radius upon stabbing the side of a can, how can a game of truth or dare adequately segue into an impromptu foam party?

Just over month after Draftfcb brought on legal action against Digitas for alleged recruiting violations regarding two former employees, the parties have decided to lay down their arms. Here’s a quick statement from the agencies below:

“Both Draftfcb and Digitas have a tremendous amount of respect for each other, and our recent legal dispute was unfortunate. As a result of the agreements made between the parties, legal actions have been dropped. Digitas will continue to ensure that the non-solicitation obligations of its employees are strictly enforced. Both agencies are fully committed to reinforcing Chicago as a great marketing and advertising community, sometimes in competition, and sometimes in cooperation with one another.”

The agencies will not comment further on the matter, but we guess it’s nice that the Windy City operations decided to make nice.

Our friend (we think?) George Parker, who is perhaps the biggest fan of Draftfcb, turned us on to this intern recruitment tool for the agency’s Chicago hub that begs the question, “Does this look like the agency you’ve always wanted to work for?” Before you answer immediately, take a gander at the clip first and get a snapshot into its culture. Apparently, guitars, drums, but maybe not cowbell are a welcome addition to the paid internship, which will run from June 4-August 10. Click here if interested.

So, this publicity stunt and resulting viral video from Nivea and DraftFCB Paris isn’t exactly a “flash mob,” we guess. Instead, we’re told it’s a combination “flashmob, street theatre, block-party, fairytale.” Add “bachelorette party” to the mix, and that pretty much covers it.

Yes, a little dab of Nivea lotion to your wrist and face can attract a bevy of male strippers in an instant. As Nivea puts in at the end of the video, ““Wake up your wow factor with Nivea Q10.” We can only assume she didn’t jump on the horse for liability reasons. Comments are currently disabled on the YouTube video (which garnered over 60,000 views in two weeks), but feel free to dispel your two Euros below.

Crain’s Chicago Business confirms tips that we received about 10 days ago (and which we wish we were able to verify at the agency’s SXSWi party) that a little recruiting violation has compelled Draftfcb to sue Digitas and two former employees, Brooke Skinner and Kevin Drew Davis. Here was the tip we got, verbatim, in the AM on Monday, March 5:

“DRAFTFCB Chicago may file a lawsuit against DIGITAS Chicago.

New head of account planning at Digitas, Brooke Skinner, came from Draft, and has interviewed and made offers to planners at Draft.

As if the non-compete wasn’t obvious, Digitas new HR recruiter, Maureen Murray, just came from Draft, where she used to recruit for account planning.”

While Murray wasn’t mentioned in the Chicago Business report, the trade does state that the Draft complaint indeed stems from the agency’s belief that Skinner and Drew Davis wrongly recruited former colleagues after joining Digitas. Let the Windy City riff-raff commence. We’re trying to get some sort of comment from DFCB if possible, but in the meantime, read the Crain pub’s full report here.

Update: Well, Draftfcb’s statement to us is the same one they gave Chicago Business. In case you didn’t have the patience to scroll down to the bottom of that piece, here you go: “It is against company policy to discuss specifics around any pending litigation. We will say that if former employees violate non-solicitation agreements that they had willfully signed we will take the necessary steps to enforce those agreements.”

During today’s SXSW Interactive, we not only caught Jimmy Fallon as we mentioned before, but hit up Draftfcb’s event at the same venue as last year, the Molotov off of 6th street in Austin. Once again, the rooftop desk played host to the agency’s annual soiree, which brought in a majority of Chicago hub folks mixed in with some network folks for good measure.

Above, you can see us with Bruce Fougere, SVP, director of innovation at DFCB Chi who joined from the Martin Agency (where he spent four years as VP/CD) a few months back. We can’t complain about rooftop decks and 80-degree weather, as well as conversation about the background and digital landscape as we know it. We will try to reveal more once the week progresses, and here’s a couple of other snapshots from the two-level building below. The main purpose of the Draftfcb party was to promote “White Space,” which promoted “open minds,” “open bar” and “open air.” Here’s DJ Trentino, who served as DJ for the three-hour event.