An agency spy sent us a tip this morning concerning DDB Seattle. As per usual, the rumor was part truth, part fiction. Here's the reality of the situation, addies, in the words of agency reps.

"Chris Lloyd has resigned as President of DDB in Seattle. Ultimately, the direction that Chris desired to take the company was inconsistent with the needs and expectations of DDB.

We at DDB have valued his hard work, his commitment and his friendship. There are few people with greater integrity or higher principles. We will always be grateful to him for all that he gave to DDB.

A search for a replacement is underway.

Ron Elgin continues in his role as Chairman & CEO of the Seattle office."

More after the jump.

continued...

DDB Worldwide's, VP-director of Business Development Worldwide, Cleve Langton is leaving after nearly 20 years in the business.

According to Adage Langton, "launched his career on the client side at General Foods Corp. and then moved to the agency side, helming national business development at DMB&B, then spearheading global business development at DDB -- a first in the ad industry at the time."

After writing his recent book "New Business Lessons From Madison Avenue", seems like Langton is being called in a different direction. Mr. Langton is in talks with several universities to expand the content in the book into courses or a series of seminars. A DDB spokesperson says that, "Cleve had some intriguing opportunities arise as a result of his book. We will miss him, but fully understand his desire to pursue those opportunities."

Smart move getting out while he's still on top.

Just a bit of Friday fun from our homies at DDB Amsterdam, who always know how to have a good time because, well they're Dutch.

We got a tip late last week that mentioned that DDB Seattle had just let 20 more staffers go at the time. Apparently it is the fourth or fifth layoff of staff in a series over the past few months as business dwindles int he region.

Looks like the on-going struggles of DDB have expanded beyond just the Chicago operation and are affecting other offices as well...

DDB and Tribal, both out of London, have produced a TV campaign with a twist (think "The Crying Game") for a new Philips razor for women.

The ad for the Satinelle Ice Epilator features an LA-based transvestite dancer, Karis, using the shaver -- and it will be shown across Western Europe.

The TV spot is backed by print, outdoor and online ads.

The comments have been blazing with folks for or against and the truth is caught between about six players at Tribal and DDB, both. Ah, everyone has their own idea of "truth" and here's the other side of the Ginsberg/January/Shave Everywhere debacle.

Ginsberg and Vernon worked for DDB NY for two years. Creativity got it wrong. Hey, it happens. However, the pair concepted, wrote, cast, filmed, designed, and edited everything from the site to the posters to the 13-inch promotional rulers – all with another team from Tribal: Brook Lundy, Daniel Modell and big deal ECD Steve Nesle.

In this version of events, credit for the project was fought over between Tribal (Nesle) and DDB (Garfinkle). Apparently, politics is nasty no matter where you play it. The supposed compromise was to call it a Tribal DDB NY project, but include Vernon and Ginsberg. Credits for the work vary from including the duo to omitting them.

I have a feeling that there is more to come on this story.

So... who do you believe?

Rumor has it that DDB Chicago is going through some lay offs today, which just sucks. Layoffs always just suck. Not sure how many or from what departments. Wonder if the next "Thought From Bob Scarpelli " email will cover this, but... what do you even say?

The lay off thing is especially tricky, because the industry (unless you are on the interactive) is slow in regards to hiring these days. Plus, you know that those over 40 with the most experience, the highest paychecks and the greatest risk (retirement, kids, etc.) see the swing of the axe first. In ten years or so, that could be you or me or it's you right now. Best of luck to everyone who got caught out today.

I posted an email last week from DDB's Big Bob from his series titled, “Here’s a thought from Bob Scarpelli." So, what prompts a CEO or an ECD to start directly communicating with staffers? According to Bob, the staffers themselves. From his very first missive:

'As I travel around our DDB world, many of you have told me that you’d like to hear from me on a more regular basis. And I realized that I haven’t communicated with “all of us” as much as I have with "some of us." So, I plan to send out a note every other Monday under the heading, “Here’s a Thought.” And that’s just what these notes will be.'

Direct communication from your boss is a good thing. I'm just wondering if staffers can respond, write back and dialogue. Anyone ever click that reply button?

This isn't a new thing. Many big dawgs communicate with their entire roster of employees. Does your boss?

DDB's, Bob Scarpelli, has been started to send bi-weekly emails to the staff on various topics with the title, "Here's A Thought From Bob Scarpelli." This week’s email is below.

"Here’s a thought from Bob Scarpelli

Like many of you, I have been lucky enough to be able to work with one of my heroes, Keith Reinhard, our Chairman Emeritus. In my case, I’ve worked with Keith for over 30 years, beginning when I was a copywriter at what was then Needham Harper & Steers in Chicago. Keith was our Creative Director. How many nights did we sit outside his office clutching our storyboards, seeking his direction and hoping for his approval?
Keith is one of the giants of our industry. Over the years, he’s set an example that everyone inside or outside DDB can look up to. It’s nearly impossible to recount his accomplishments as “a working creative man” as he puts it, Creative Director, agency leader and industry leader.

Simply put, DDB would not be who we are without him. Neither would our industry. And next week, the advertising industry in the United States is recognizing Keith’s impact and influence by inducting him into the Advertising Hall of Fame. Who deserves it more? Keith’s dream was to revive the legacy of his hero, Bill Bernbach, and build a network of like-minded individuals who shared Bill’s beliefs and standards. Along the way, Keith helped create a little entity called Omnicom. Today, the bedrock of DDB Worldwide is still the culture and values Keith spread throughout our world. Those values are Creativity and Humanity. Those are Keith’s values. And I feel they are the reason why just over 13,000 of us believe in DDB.

As a person and as a leader, Keith has always had more intellectual curiosity, more energy and more passion for our business and our clients’ business than any other 20 people combined. There is no one else like him. I know you’ll want to join me in congratulating Keith on this extremely well-deserved honor. We should all be very proud. You can congratulate Keith at xxxxx@ddb.com.

(And just to make all of us jealous of what he’s done in his career, I’ve attached his “official” biography).
Thanks.

Bob Scarpelli
Chairman, Chief Creative Officer"

Bob's got a point about Keith. The man is a legend. For heaven's sake, he created The Hamburglar, as well as the slogan that made it into girl's slapsies games nationwide: "You deserve a break today, so get up this morning and start your day with McDonald's." Sick. In 1984 Keith was named the first ever American president of the jury at the International Advertising Festival in Cannes, and in 1999 became the first person ever to serve as president of the Cannes jury twice. Concurrent with the creation of Omnicom, Keith accomplished the merger of Doyle Dane Bernbach and Needham Harper Worldwide, first known as DDB Needham Worldwide and now DDB Worldwide. Advertising Age has referred to Keith Reinhard as the advertising industry’s “soft-spoken visionary” and in 1999 named him one of the top 100 industry influentials in advertising history. In 2004 Keith founded the much needed Business for Diplomatic Action, Inc., a not-for-profit private sector effort to enlist the U.S. business community in actions aimed at improving the standing of America in the world. Keith is a past Chairman of the American Association of Advertising Agencies and remains a member of its Advisory Council.

There's more, but you get the idea.

AdPulp broke the news that Paul Tilley of DDB Chicago jumped from the roof of the Fairmount Hotel yesterday. Our sources confirm and Adweak has the larger story.

Our heartfelt and true condolences go out to his family and friends.

AS

Addendum:

A note to our readers - bloggers from AdPulp to folks on Twitter have been linking to one of our posts about Paul Tilley. The post is live on our Wordpress site (the comments are there) and on the MB home site.

I received the news at 2:00 am. via another blogger. I was horrified. Not because the blog has posted questioning commentary about Paul in the past, but because in this case, the means of his death are so shocking. I originally moved the post into draft with trembling fingers. My thought was, this man has killed himself and those in cyberspace are linking to Agency Spy, as if my blog commentary and its associated scathing or lauding comments have killed this father and husband.

I do not give myself enough credit to think that a blog posting can cause a lucid, intelligent man to jump from a building. I am a blogger. My words may sting. They may also applaud, but a blog post about an agency's new mantra does not cause an individual to step into the unknown. A blog posting about one's work, an editorial, a movie review... these things have been done before. There is scathing and often personal editorial about the founder of Mediabistro, written by Gawker, that is cemented in digital history. David Denby of the New Yorker has eviscerated filmmakers in print time and again. Martin Sorrell was recently taken to task for his blog postings on Davos. Maureen Dowd of the Times spent years putting pins in Clinton, etc. My (as well my readers) comments and criticisms, as pointed as they were, can not possibly be blamed for so tragic a death. I have been attacked in my own life by a business partner who told personal tales, intimate details (far beyond attacking my work) to clients, to friends, to my enemies. I know the pain of exposure, of things most cherished coming to light far beyond anything I have written about Paul Tilley and Maurice Levy or Marian Salzman, et al.

I see in the comments of this post that many will point fingers at this blog for Mr. Tilley's death. That is unacceptable. A man who has been described on this blog from many angles, died. He killed himself and for this, I am mournful. It is heart breaking to hear of anyone in our industry and beyond suffering in such pain. It is an unbearable thought - suicide. I did not know Paul, but one must think that there were many other issues plaguing his soul. It is not for me to say what sadnesses or complexities in his life led to his own taking of it. Selves can be bruised in ways far beyond the reach of a blog. It is hubristic to think that a blog made a man leave his family behind. It belittles Paul and what his life was actually about.

My sympathies and true condolences I extend again to his family, friends and co-workers.