After working with various companies on a project basis for its advertising efforts, home/personal audio brand Denon decided to hold a review and has now found its first creative agency of record in BBDO New York. Call it kismet or just a little ass-kissing (hey, couldn’t hurt), but Denon apparently has a major presence in the BBDO NY offices according to a statement from agency president/CEO John Osborn, who says, “Denon is awesome.  We have more Denon equipment in our newly renovated space than anything else, so maybe it was fate.  The stage is set to take this brand up a notch to an 11!”

How will BBDO realize its Spinal Tap reference? Well, first order of business for the winning agency (others who participated in the Denon review were not disclosed) is an integrated marketing communications program to support the global launch of a new lifestyle-oriented lineup of Denon headphones. Advertising is expected to break this summer.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

The state of New York and Governor Andrew Cuomo tapped BBDO NY for the above TV spot, “The New New York, a Whole New Approach to Business.” And, before you pushed play, you could probably guess what celeb they got to narrate the spot, who they got to direct it, and what pop song they selected for its soundtrack.

Yes, Robert DeNiro, Spike Lee and Jay-Z are definitely the most New Yorkiest New Yorkers in all of New York-dom. Now, I’m not criticizing BBDO for going with the most obvious choices here. In fact, the spot would probably feel incomplete without DeNiro’s gruff voice and “Empire State of Mind” playing against shots of the New York City skyline. Not including DeNiro and Jay would be like the city of  Chicago shooting a similar spot and not asking Vince Vaughn and Kanye West to take part. Sorry, Chicagoans, but you know that’s what would inevitably happen.

The spot is part of a state-driven $50 million business marketing campaign that, among other things, includes a $5 million contest to redesign the iconic “I ❤ NY” logo. Needless to say, some people in the media aren’t too fond of this initiative. Regardless, it’s a big win for BBDO, whose president and CEO John Osborn says in a statement, “We are a New York state business and have been here for over 100 years. We know what New York has to offer. So we wanted to create a campaign with a pace and energy that captures, celebrates and reinforces the State’s renewed focus on the business community. At the same time we wanted to demonstrate the depth and breadth of business services that New York State offers.”

Visit the campaign’s new website here and view credits for the spot after the jump.
continued…

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

As you may know by now, Arby’s, minus any review, went ahead and handed its creative business to Crispin Porter + Bogusky. This ends a rather brief relationship with BBDO, which picked up the business for the fast-food chain just 15 months ago and put out ads such as this. Here’s a note we received from sources that BBDO NY CEO/president John Osborn sent to staff following the news of the loss:

“I received a call yesterday informing us that Arby’s is being moved to Crispin without a review.

We were awarded the Arby’s business in December 2010.  Since then, the brand has enjoyed five consecutive quarters of sales increases, and ended 2011 with its highest sales increase in 10 years!

We created work around a tagline, “Good Mood Food,” which achieved 60% awareness in just ten months and became even more recognizable than other competitors with higher spending.

What’s more, we made the sales register ring.

Which is why I am absolutely confident we will be back in the food service business…

In the meantime, keep your heads high.  We hope Arby’s can continue to show business growth.  And let’s do everything in our power to ensure a smooth transition.

We’ll bounce back.  This I know.

Ozzy”

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.