According to Campaign, HSBC has finally made its decision on who will handle its approximately $650 million global ad account and it’s sizable enough so that it will be not one, but three of the five agencies that were shortlisted last year (McCann dropped out in November and BBDO was the other). The financial institution has chosen incumbent JWT, Grey London and Saatchi  Saatchi, with the first two taking on lead agency duties while the third will service HSBC’s  premier and wealth business globally.

Regarding the five-month process to get to this point, HSBC group GM/global head of marketing Chris Clark,  tells Campaign, among other things, “This has been an exhaustive and thorough review, with input from our four global businesses and five regions, and we’re extremely grateful for the contributions and professionalism of all the agencies involved.”

Check out the full story here.

Update: We’ve received a memo from sources that went out globally to staff today from JWT Europe/London CEO, Toby Hoare, who has been with the agency since 2005. Peep it after the jump.

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Here is what appears to be a note from Grey Group CEO/chairman Jim Heekin to staff. Waiting for verification on this, but in the meantime, We got the great news (and a cake!) this morning telling us we have won the global Pringles account from its new owner, Kellogg’s, a sensational blue-chip client that we’re proud to add to our roster.

“There aren’t many second acts in our business.  While we helped Procter & Gamble build Pringles into a global brand starting in 1997, we knew our chances of keeping it were slim to none.  Kellogg’s was clear that it was easier for them to put the business with their primary partner, Leo Burnett.  Particularly because they are committed to a one agency model.

Yet, our new team in N.Y. took on this uphill fight with everything they had and simply bucked all the odds.  The team developed a brilliant campaign and won Kellogg’s trust.  In the end, our new client said it was a unanimous decision for Grey.

Congratulations to everyone who gave it their all.  Your ‘Famously Effective’ winning spirit can’t be denied.”

If  you recall, parent company Kellogg called off its deal to sell off its chips brand to Diamond Foods last year. Updated: Sources close to the review have confirmed that Grey has taken over.

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“We wanted to share the tremendous news with you that Grey New York has won the Radio Shack account after a hard-fought competition that began five months ago.  Radio Shack spent nearly $210 million last year, making this win one of the largest in our history and one of the largest reviews in our industry this year.

We will lead creative strategy and execution for Radio Shack’s entire marketing ecosystem: in stores, television, online, social media, mobile media, digital media, print, outdoor and other categories including Hispanic communications across all channels.

Radio Shack is one of America’s leading national retailers of mobile/technology products with 34,000 employees and over 7,000 locations.

Congratulations and thanks to Suresh Nair, Rick Cusato, Alex Lubar, Deb Freeman, Claudia Strauss (Alliance), Doug Livingston, Jeff Odiorne, Andrew Speyer (Wing) and everyone who gave their all to this incredible effort.  We are going to hit the ground running and we’ll need every ounce of your creativity and commitment going forward.

Our new client said “Grey ranks among the most respected, innovative and creative agencies in the advertising landscape.  We are thrilled for the opportunity to collaborate with this team as we continue transforming our brand.”  We couldn’t say it better ourselves or be more proud of you.

Enjoy your holiday weekend.

Cheers,
Jim, Tor and Michael”

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From Grey London and Hungry Man UK comes the above PSA for the British Heart Foundation. Fans of violent action movies will immediately recognize the spot’s star as Vinnie Jones, the former Welsh soccer star (and sultry lounge singer) perhaps best known to Americans for his portrayal of “Bullet Tooth Tony” in the 2000 Guy Ritchie film Snatch. The man is an enforcer on the field and on the silver screen.

Perhaps more important than Vinnie Jones’ awesome personal history is how he’s helping save lives in “No Kissing.” Apparently, new breakthroughs in medical science or something have proven that mouth-to-mouth is no longer a necessary component of proper CPR administration. That’s right, easily manipulated lifeguards of the world. You no longer have to engage lip locks to save lives. All you need is some Bee Gees on a boombox, your own two hands, and the silly British version of emergency medical services to ensure your breathless subject stays alive. Listen to Vinnie, it’s “not as hard as it looks.” Credits after the jump.

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Well, here’s a nifty way to unveil a new brand identity. Just over two months after WPP announced that Grey and Ogilvy were planning to launch a new joint operation in Sweden, the Stockholm offices of both shops have finally revealed the name of the newly merged outfit: Ingo.

How they went about it was rather interesting, in that Grey and Ogilvy solicited Facebook profile pictures on a vague site that featured the headline, “Only You Can Show Us Our New Name.” It took just four hours and nearly 3,000 faces to help create a mosaic that eventually pulled the curtain off of Ingo, which will house approximately 70 staffers with nearly half working directly on creative delivery.

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As for his pedigree, Myhren joined Grey as CCO in 2007 from Leo Burnett Detroit, where he was ECD on the GM business. Prior to that, Myhren was a CD at TBWA\Chiat\Day LA and was a founding member of Wongdoody. During his tenure at Grey, though, Myhren has led work on the DirecTV business and Lindsay Lohan‘s fave campaign, the Super Bowl E*Trade baby spot, along with helping the agency win clients such as the NFL and Red Lobster in the process.

Myhren will continue reporting to Grey Group’s chief exec, Jim Heekin, who says in a statement regarding Myhren’s bump up, “This well-deserved promotion, coming as we close the best year in Grey New York’s history, recognizes the pivotal role Tor has played in our successful revitalization and opens a new chapter in our emergence as an industry leader.”

It seems to have taken a little while for Grey’s NYC operation to find an official new president. If you remember, Steve Hardwick left Grey in early 2009.

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According to Jezebel:

“Jagodzinska’s biggest pending payments are $60,000 that she’s owed by H&M, $35,000 from the creative agency Laird & Partners, which produces ads for a variety of luxury companies (Jagodzinska was in a Bottega Veneta campaign and a Donna Karan campaign around the time of the job, November 2009, both of which were Laird & Partners ads), and a whopping $172,500 from Grey Paris, another production house. Presumably that is for another campaign.”

That’s a pretty “whopping” sum indeed, but since this is dated April 23, 2010, perhaps the agencies involved have already paid up. Regardless, we’re checking if Grey Paris has any comment. The biggest takeaway from all of this, though, is that the Vogue folks are cheap bastards.

Update: Grey Paris tells us that they did in fact pay up (and yes, as a commenter pointed out, it is Next that’s the target of the suit here). Here are the elements courtesy of Grey:

-          Contract established by Platinium Rye Entertainment

-          Purchase order sent to Next

-          Invoice received from Next

-          Payment made via Bank transfer to Next on April 2010 the 30 th for a campaign beginning on May 2010 the 1 st

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This DIRECTV spot from Grey NYC aired during the World Series, and I’ve gotta say, I actually dig it. Granted, if commercials were real, I’d totally sue if shit was flying through my walls. However, if this technology worked for my porn channels, I wouldn’t mind if stuff erm, ya, nevermind.

TiVo already uses this technology, but I guess by giving it an acronym like “MRV” (Multi-Room Viewing), the satellite brand thinks that they’re doing something first. Whatever. The commercial’s cool, so I kinda don’t care.

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Before Matheson Gerds, the new MD spent six years as director, account services at  BaylessCronin in the ATL. During his 25-year career, Gerds also held senior account management positions at McFarland & Drier, Hal Riney & Partners and FCB, Santa Ana and worked with clients ranging from Pizza Hut to Ford. As for Grey itself, the agency is expected to appoint a new CD at their San Francisco office in the near future.

More: “Red Lobster Biz Goes to Grey NY“

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Josh Golden has joined Grey NY as its first CDO and will oversee all digital communications and “set and implement the agency’s digital vision.” Golden joins Grey’s flagship office from Euro RSCG New York, where he was managing director, digital for the past three years. Prior to that, he served as group director, digital marketing at NBCU and had a five-year stint at Y&R’s Big Apple branch, where he helped launch the agency’s interactive group.

More: “Grey NY Welcomes New Chief Strategy Officer”

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It took a week, but Red Lobster has finally made a decision and the Darden-owned seafood chain has chosen Grey New York over Saatchi & Saatchi as its AOR. According to the Grey camp, there was a staff meeting this morning to confirm the news. Estimated billings for Red Lobster are said to be in excess of $115 million.

Grey, though, is no stranger to Darden as it’s served as the holding company’s AOR for Olive Garden since 1987 and LongHorn Steakhouse since 2008. In a statement, Red Lobster’s EVP, marketing Salli Setta says, “Grey demonstrated superb creativity, strategic thinking, integrated capabilities and a deep understanding of the casual dining marketplace. We look forward to working with this great team to leverage the growth and success of Red Lobster in the years ahead.”

More: “Red Lobster Visited Grey, Saatchi Today…and Still No Answer”

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Since we’re on the Cannes theme, we’ll have to give it up to Grey Denmark, which we found out last year was behind a popular viral ad for Visit Denmark, for going against its former client and entering the clip into this year’s Cannes festival even after the agency was told to sod off.

Much like the Downfall meme, a client proves once again that it doesn’t get “viral” as the video–where mom Karen sends a shout-out looking for her baby daddy–garnered 2,578,961 views across 466 websites in 266 countries before Visit Denmark admitted it was a hoax and pulled it from YouTube.

But Grey tells the The Wall UK that the client approved the ad “at every step,” but “fell at the first hurdle.” According to a statement from Grey Group’s vice chairman and worldwide CD Tim Mellors, “The documentary style proved incredibly convincing and peaked people’s curiosity about life in Denmark.” Time will tell if the agency’s defiance pays off.

More: “Glasses-Tattooed-on-Face Vid was Ray-Ban’s Doing”

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Grey Group CEO/chairman Jim Heekin announced that current Grey West MD Brad Fogel has been promoted to president of the group’s San Francisco and LA offices while also taking on management oversight of Grey Atlanta. During his tenure, Fogel–who joined Grey West as CMO in 2007 and then later replaced Betsy Sperry as MD in November 2008–was “instrumental” in helping Grey West win new business like the BMW of North America $80 million U.S. regional ad account and the $30 million Reliant Energy business according to a statement from Heekin.

Prior to joining Grey, Fogel has two stints at Publicis & Hal Riney in SF and held senior management posts at Hill Holiday, FCB, Y&R and Saatchi & Saatchi during this three-decade advertising career. In addition to Fogel, Grey also promoted seven-year agency vet Sam Hosokawa to MD of the Atlanta office.

More: “Grey’s Alliance Unit Has a New President”

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Amy Tunick has been promoted from VP of client development at Grey’s entertainment marketing agency Alliance to president of said unit.

Tunick, who joined Grey in 2003 after spending a handful of years at William Morris Agency, has led new business efforts, strategic planning and account management in her most recent VP post. Along the way, she’s built up her portfolio that includes work with celebs like Rihanna and strategic partnerships with clients including Universal Music Group and Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week. Tunick replaces John Eckel, who’s left the agency after 2 1/2 years.

More: “Grey NY Welcomes New Chief Strategy Officer”

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