Oglivy

George Parker is reporting on his blog, AdScam/TheHorror that there could be massive layoffs at Ogilvy New York after the new year.

An agency representative declined to comment on Parker's assertion, but noted Holly Sanders' story in the NY Post today, which stated,

"Ad executives and recruiters expect agencies, which have been cutting in dribs and drabs, to hand out a flurry of pink slips early next year as the ad downturn worsens.

The talk in industry circles is that the major agency holding companies — Interpublic, Omnicom and WPP — are planning deeper cuts to ring in the New Year."

Parker: "Strong rumors out of Ogilvy, New York that management is looking at letting 200 — 250 staffers go right after Christmas. Suggested timing for this wonderful event will be around the 8th or the 15th of January."

Ogilvy is a WPP agency.

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Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide has named Tham Khai Meng as its Worldwide Creative Director and Chairman of its World Wide Creative Council. Meng is a big ass baller with awards and juries snug beneath his belt.

Khai has been running Ogilvy Asia Pacific since 1999. Shelly Lazarus, Chairman and CEO of Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide, said,
"Khai's record speaks for itself. He gets results. He believes in great work that works. And above all, he is an Ogilvy 'gentleman with brains' to his bones."

How poetic. Still, what the hell is an Ogilvy gentleman? Is he opening doors for the ladies of the office? Serving stiff brandies to potential clients? Simply, not following the Dentsu mold of client services? What? What does that mean?

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Oh snap. Delivery company DHL has announced that it will cut 9,500 U.S. jobs and close its domestic ground hubs from 412 stations to 103.
DHL will keep a couple of thousand bodies in the US to service its international customers. This new shift in focus follows a 5,400 job reduction earlier in the year.

Ogilvy has been their on/off AOR, since 2004 and really, they've been doing a darn good job with CD Mike Lescarbeau leading up the team in the US. In 2007, DHL's spend was estimated at $50 million annually in major measured media, according to Nielsen Monitor-Plus. That's a lot of cash to lose.

Addendum: Our bad. We didn't realize that Mike Lescarbeau lasted only six months at the shop before bailing. Ogilvy is a tough nut to crack.

More: Ogilvy Makes Voting A Win/Lose Situation For Staffers

How ironic and depressing that Ogilvy is punishing staffers for this year's enormous voter turnout. Despite CEO-at-large, Shelly Lazarus's, voter video and Ogilvy's aggressive encouragement for staffers to be civic minded (emails, registration drive, installation in the lobby) they are also penalizing staffers for following through. Hunh?

In a final email to Ogilvy staff, management said that they would be
"flexible" on voting day. If staffers need to come late or leave a little early, well, that was okay. Except that, all employees needed to "account" for the "minimum required hours." If they needed more time? Employees were asked to use personal or vacation time.

There is no such thing as taking too long to exercise one's right to vote, especially considering that the polling stations are backlogged to the max. My polling place had a line that began two blocks away. One Ogilvy staffer said: "I live in Brooklyn and the line was 3 hours long! This is so fucked!"

So, really really? You guys are going to dock an hour or two from someone's personal time? Everyone knows that Ogilvy's very competent staff is worked to the bone, so you'd think management would cut them some slack. Especially, since Ogilvy has been pushing the vote or die agenda. Totes. Ridic.

As Joe Dempsey, an advertising agency owner in Arkansas recently said, "What early voting has done is make it more convenient, especially being able to vote on Saturday for people who work during the week. It's expanded the opportunity for people to vote." Except that early voting was NOT available in New York.

Meanwhile, BBDO New York has closed the office for the day. That's right. No propaganda. They just did it. Oh Ogilvy... Well, you guys have a PR arm. Better put it into crisis mode hasta pronto. Your staffers? They're righteously pissed and damn it, they should be.

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Shelly Lazarus wants her staffers to know that they need to vote. Yes, voting is a good thing, but internal PSA's? Not such a good thing. You know all the employees at Ogilvy are going to vote and be out of the office for the entire afternoon. "Sorry! The voting line was like, so super long." I can hear it now and good for them. Ogilvy works their employees to the bare bone.

On a side note, why oh why isn't election day on a weekend? It should be held on a weekend. Sometimes, America is just back-asswards.

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We can't wait for the explanation behind this "ballad for David" from Ogilvy Athens. Jesus! Can someone explain the Beyonce wanna-be and the whole "lord of the rings" and hymn-like chorus thing? Mind boggling.

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It's getting exhausting to constantly be the bearer of bad news on the layoff front. We all know it's happening, everywhere, and so in that way it's not really new — except that we do need to hear about it. Why? Because you're the only ones who can stop it.

Many of you are influential members of your respective teams. You've built agencies, brands and a respectable corner in which to dwell. Isn't there something you can do, if you work together man!?

I'd rather be riffing about some great new initiative than telling you that TBWA/Chiat/Day New York apparently laid off like, 20 people more than a week ago, and that Ogilvy is apparently doing the same. Alas, there's no saving grace to speak of. Please inform me if I am wrong. If you're a part of a small shop that has an innovative way around laying people off e-mail us at matT@agencyspy dot com. Let's talk about something positive.

Oh, and apparently Goodby laid off 20 people last week too. And now I want to sleep. Deeply.

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It's getting exhausting to constantly be the bearer of bad news on the layoff front. We all know it's happening, everywhere, and so in that way it's not really new — except that we do need to hear about it. Why? Because you're the only ones who can stop it.

Many of you are influential members of your respective teams. You've built agencies, brands and a respectable corner in which to dwell. Isn't there something you can do, if you work together man!?

I'd rather be riffing about some great new initiative than telling you that TBWA/Chiat/Day New York apparently laid off like, 20 people more than a week ago, and that Ogilvy is apparently doing the same. Alas, there's no saving grace to speak of. Please inform me if I am wrong. If you're a part of a small shop that has an innovative way around laying people off e-mail us at matT@agencyspy dot com. Let's talk about something positive.

Oh, and apparently Goodby laid off 20 people last week too. And now I want to sleep. Deeply.

More: "Finally Some Good News: Guns N' Roses Needs an Agency"

Creative duties on Outback Steakhouse are in play. According to Adweek, the five agencies attempting to rustle it up are McKinney in Durham, Chicago's Ogilvy & Mather, Young & Rubicam, Lowe New York and the incumbent, The Kaplan Thaler Group. Carat holds media duties.

We all know that Kaplan ain't gonna take this home. Bets anyone?
My money is on McKinney.

I wonder who is responsible for Outback's recent integrated media buy on The Office? An episode's last line, as the whole staff gobbles some Outback Steakhouse: "Keep those ribs coming!" Very smooth. Yeah.

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We started rolling through our e-mails today before drinking enough coffee to feel alive, which is probably why when we saw the above ad, we didn't jump out of our chairs when we realized Ogilvy's latest Duracell ad employs...a pink bunny...again.

OK, so maybe our ideas tend to fly in the face of branding — but can't we get away from the effing rabbit already? We're not convinced that somewhere there exists some fluffy pink robot that rocks Parkour harder than David Belle.

Nonetheless, the dudes at Aardman Animations did a killer job putting this work together. Blame Ogilvy Paris for a completely uncreative take on what's been done time after time. Yeah, we know, the client makes the decision. But just think about what Don Draper or The Richards Group would do in such a situation...

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