16492: IPG $$$ WTF.

 

MediaPost reported IPG sold two White advertising agencies—Hill Holliday and Deutsch New York—to Attivo Group, a White marketing services group with offices across Australia and New Zealand.

 

The scenario underscores a lot of peculiarities with White holding companies and the industry overall. For example, Deutsch New York was sold, but Deutsch LA stays in the IPG outhouse. Who gets stuck with Donny?

 

Both shops in the sale retain their respective leadership and remain affiliates of IPG. Of course, much will change once redundancies are identified and sorted out.

 

Employees in all three enterprises can expect to experience more bouncing than a kangaroo—and more annoyance than the Qantas Koala.

 

IPG Sells Hill Holliday, Deutsch NY to New Zealand Marketing Group Attivo

 

By Steve McClellan

 

Interpublic has sold two of its longstanding iconic agency brands—Hill Holliday and Deutsch New York—to Aukland, New Zealand-based Attivo Group, the firm’s announced Wednesday. Financial terms were not disclosed. The deals mark Attivo's expansion into the U.S.

 

Both agencies will continue to operate with their current leadership, under their own brands, and each agency will maintain an affiliate relationship with Interpublic Group (IPG), “with ongoing access to many of the holding company’s resources,” the firms stated in a press release announcing the deal.

 

Going forward, the agencies will also draw on the “leadership, expanded resources and capabilities of Attivo,” per the announcement.

 

Launched in 2020, Attivo is headed by Cam Murchison and owns a number of communications and marketing agencies. With a longstanding relationship with IPG, Attivo most recently acquired IPG’s Australia’s 303 MullenLowe, and invested in Mediahub Australia in 2021.

 

Attivo also owns Harvey Cameron, Farrimond, Gorilla Studios, Rhubarb Lane and Rainmakers.

 

“We’re incredibly excited to have Hill Holliday and DNY join the Attivo family” stated Murchison. “Both are world-class agencies with amazing pedigrees that have made a tremendously positive impact on the communications landscape in the U.S.” said Attivo Group CEO Cam Murchison.

 

He added that both agencies “have many iconic brands with decades-long relationships as testament to their singular focus on client success. The outstanding leaders at both agencies have a strong desire to further grow their businesses and share Attivo’s entrepreneurial spirit and challenger mindset.”

 

Added IPG CEO Philippe Krakowsky, “We’re excited for Cam and his team at Attivo to move Hill Holliday and DNY forward, with affiliate relationships to IPG. Attivo is a trusted partner with whom we have successfully managed affiliate relationships over the years in other world regions.”

 

Krakowsky noted that Deutsch LA, which has operated separately from Deutsch New York since 2020, is not part of the deal.

 

“Hill Holliday was founded by four bold-thinking, ground breaking entrepreneurs,” stated agency CEO Chris Wallrapp. “Today, we embody their spirit and mindset as the agency embarks on a new chapter in our 55-year legacy of building iconic brands.”

 

Wallrapp added, “Attivo’s investment in Hill Holliday’s future gives our agency and employees tools to innovate, unique flexibility in how we grow our business and strategic advantages for our clients. At a time of uncertainty for many well-known agency brands, this move is also a strong vote of confidence in the power and endurance of the Hill Holliday name.”

 

Deutsch New York CEO Val DiFebo added, “We are thrilled to be one of the pioneer agencies that will benefit from Attivo’s investment in our talent and our future... We see this as the best of both worlds as we become part of a new start-up, and still maintain our association with IPG, now as an affiliate.”

14909: When Donny Met Katty—An Exhibition Of Stupidity.

AgencySpy posted about Kat Gordon getting catty with Donny Deutsch by tweeting, “Donny Deutsch is Exhibit A for why @3PercentConf exists.” Okay, but Exhibits B-Z include generating revenue and attention via certification stunts, patronizing promotions and endless opportunities for the self-absorbed Gordon to demonstrate she’s a pseudo thought leader.

12402: Sameness Succeeds At Deutsch.

Oh, look! Deutsch promoted a White man and White woman, along with a handful of other White people. Nothing succeeds like White succession. Meanwhile, Donny Deutsch becomes Chairman Emeritus in order to focus on his upcoming USA Network comedy show. From “The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch” to “Love Calling” to “Donny!”—the man is heading for an inevitable appearance on “Dancing With The Stars.”

The West Coast Wins Deutsch’s Succession Race

L.A. execs take over North America roles

By Noreen O’Leary

In Deutsch’s succession race, the West has won. The Interpublic agency named Mike Sheldon—Deutsch L.A.’s chief—as CEO, Deutsch North America, with oversight of the L.A. and N.Y. offices.

The company announced a series of promotions that show the Marina del Rey, Calif., office has outstripped the New York operations in business development and caliber of work. Notably, the West Coast team snagged major accounts, from Sprint to Nintendo, and beefed up digital operations.

Sheldon will now report to Linda Sawyer, who becomes chairman, succeeding Donny Deutsch. Val DiFebo, CEO of Deutsch N.Y., continues in that role while Deutsch L.A.’s chief operating officer, Kim Getty, has become president of that office.

The agency also made these changes:

• Winston Binch, former chief digital officer of Deutsch L.A., becomes chief digital officer, Deutsch North America. L.A. has built a team of 190 digital specialists in four years, and digital now drives 35 percent of the office’s revenue.

• Pete Favat, former chief creative officer in L.A., is now CCO of Deutsch North America.

• Jeff White, Deutsch L.A.’s director of business development, is now evp, CMO, Deutsch North America. Under White’s leadership over the past year the agency has been awarded assignments from Sprint, Pizza Hut, HTC, Nintendo, Vivint and Georgia-Pacific.

The L.A. office has come off a year of explosive growth, having added Pizza Hut’s creative account last summer and lead creative responsibilities for Sprint late last year. The Sprint account alone represents some $30 million in annual revenue. Once the office staffs up for Sprint, it will have about 630 employees, making it one of the largest players on the West Coast. The office opened in 1997, under Sheldon, with just seven staffers.

In planning for this transition, outgoing North America CEO Sawyer said, “Mike [Sheldon] is the right person for the next chapter of Deutsch. In his 17-year run, he has built strong client relationships, has an innate ability to attract top-tier talent and has built a world-class integrated agency. Under his leadership, the L.A. office has grown from a handful of people to what is now the largest agency on the West Coast.”

Donny Deutsch, who has been a non-active chairman for the past several years, becomes chairman emeritus. He’ll end his relationship with the agency at the end of March as he begins work on his recently announced new USA Network show.

12240: Pizza Hut Haters Unite!

Pizza Hut is launching its revitalized menu and brand with a painfully long video featuring allegedly real Italians pooh-poohing the new pies. The big idea was to let people with experience making authentic pizza judge the fresh offerings. Um, does anyone connect Pizza Hut’s fare with anything from Italy? This concept is the equivalent of asking Latinos weigh in on Taco Bell foodstuff. Additionally, the heavy stereotyping is questionable. Granted, Pizza Hut’s cartoonish characters may not be as bad as the mobster clichés once presented by Godfather’s Pizza, but is it really necessary to push such imagery? White advertising agency Deutsch LA—which landed the account sans a review—is no stranger to cultural cluelessness. The shop showed a Caucasian speaking like a Jamaican for Volkswagen and positioned Dr. Pepper Ten as a males-only soft drink. Plus, agency figurehead Donny Deutsch has made multiple appearances in this blog’s “C’mon White Man!” series. Pizza Hut should invite real advertising professionals to critique the Deutsch LA work. Or better yet, just hire real advertising professionals next time.

10611: A Few ADCOLOR® Ads For 2012.

Would love to see clear evidence to counter the perception that Deutsch deserves a “D” grade for its diversity.

The agency committed to no longer using the term diversity and inclusion by 2014 prominently displays the words in its congratulatory ad.

McCann celebrates 100 years of “Truth Well Told”—and diversity well ignored.

Team Detroit declares, “Work is more fun when you include everyone.” Yet the joint hired the man who replaced minority advertising agencies with White agencies when leading General Motors’ marketing.

Foot Locker salutes diversity while selling Nikes. Nice.

10560: Why Diversity Fails, Exclusivity Reigns.

The recent Business Insider story on Deutsch NY CEO Val DiFebo led to a 2009 New York Magazine article on the advertising agency and its figurehead, Donny Deutsch—ultimately showing why diversity continues to fail on Madison Avenue. And why Donny Deutsch continues to be a douche bag.

Donny’s father, David Deutsch, had started a small advertising agency and, in 1983, hired his son—“I was a member of the lucky sperm club,” says Donny.

In short, Deutsch openly acknowledges taking advantage of nepotism and White privilege. The card-carrying lucky sperm club member is a dick.

Donny hired young, driven people, who worked 90-, 100-hour weeks. “Jews, chicks, and fags” was how Donny sometimes described the mix. “A big, dysfunctional, ethnic family.”

Notice the word “racial” was not included in the descriptors. Deutsch created and cultivated a tight-knit family based on exclusivity.

At Deutsch in the nineties, professional and private inevitably blended. The place was known for its masculine vibe—an “obnoxious boys’ club,” says one observer— where even the women described themselves as testosteronized. There was a “he-man eating club,” in which guys ordered pounds of meat and ate it with their hands. “People were having sex all over the place,” says one employee. At a Christmas party at a Park Avenue restaurant, another recalls, “I had to ask two people engaged in oral sex to move so I could get my coat.”

Deutsch put the ass in assimilation. Keep in mind, these discriminatory hiring practices didn’t take place during some pre-Civil Rights period or even Mad Men timeframe. It all happened in the 1990s—and likely continues today.

Deutsch today has 1,000 employees (two are his assistants), $2.4 billion in billings, and a new industrial space the size of a city block. “He was the only guy among the outrageous upstarts who figured out the big picture,” says Randall Rothenberg, Ad Age columnist and Booz Allen Hamilton exec. Donny has promoted mature, stable, capable team players—many of them women. Four of his six managing partners, and all those in New York, are women.

“I don’t think of myself as a woman,” protests Val DiFebo, director of client services, from her tiny office. Yet, in part, Donny is probably at ease with them—as at ease as his coiled energy permits—because they’re women. “Every alpha male brings emotional bullshit to work,” says Donny, “Women want to get the job done.” Donny introduces two of his female partners the same way: “We’re like husband and wife at work,” he says. “We finish each other’s sentences.” Indeed, they are confidantes. Brash Donny is often found dispensing boyfriend advice. (“Tell him you want to be with him, and walk if he says no.”)

Deutsch has bizarre professional relationships when it comes to women. His personal relationships with women are pretty messed up too. If females want to move forward at the agency, they must be “wife” material for the man. Wonder how many minority women have made it past the bridesmaid stage.

10555: Val DiFebo Is A White Woman.

Okay, the following post is admittedly a tad sloppy—yet it was inspired by recent commentary and observations.

Business Insider spotlighted Deutsch NY CEO Val DiFebo, clarifying a quote the adwoman made in a 2009 New York Magazine article. DiFebo now insists the statement in question—“I don’t think of myself as a woman”—should have read: “I don’t think of myself as a woman, but a businessperson that is a woman.” One has to wonder if DiFebo didn’t mean to say, “I don’t think of myself as a women, but as a businessman that is a woman.” After all, other high-level female advertising executives have shown that succeeding in the field often demands becoming “acceptable” by White adman standards:

• Socialistic CEO Colleen DeCourcy confessed to being “one of the boys” throughout her career.

• Former Leo Burnett Chief Creative Officer Cheryl Berman stated in a 2009 Wall Street Journal story, “I guess you could say I was Peggy Olson in the 70’s, when I walked into an agency called Leo Burnett. When I walked out 30 years later, I guess you could say I was Don Draper.”

• Former BBH Chair Cindy Gallop encouraged adwomen to “Be the bitch. … It’ll get you more places and more of what you want than receding invisibly into the background in a charmingly feminine way will.” Plus, Gallop constantly flaunts her fascination for younger men and pornography.

• Why, even DiFebo ultimately displays the gender-morphing phenomenon. It’s no secret that Deutsch has historically been a boy’s club—and a wild one to boot. Founder Donny Deutsch is notorious for his womanizing, as well as his penchant for dropping F-bombs. The Business Insider story made a reference to a bright orange sign attached to the white board in DiFebo’s office that reads, “Tell it to me fucking straight.”

It could also be argued that White women have an easier time meeting such assimilation requirements. Diversity experts and market researchers clearly recognize the differences between professional women across racial and ethnic groups—especially the varied attitudes and behaviors regarding work. White women probably greatly outnumber non-White women on Madison Avenue for a reason—and it may be rooted in their ability to relate with White men, transforming themselves and gaining acceptance.

In the end, DiFebo likely succeeds because she is a businessperson that is a White woman.

::::

Why Deutsch’s Val DiFebo Said ‘I Don’t Think of Myself As A Woman’

By Samantha Felix

Deutsch NY CEO Val DiFebo wants to set the record straight: She does, in fact, think of herself as a woman.

The truncated quote that has haunted DiFebo — it comes up in Google searches — was originally published by New York Magazine in 2010 as: “I don’t think of myself as a woman.”

But she told Business Insider that it should have read: “I don’t think of myself as a woman, but a businessperson that is a woman.”

While sitting with us, DiFebo remarked that ever since the article ran, anytime she meets with someone new, the first thing out of their mouth is, “So, I heard you don’t think of yourself as a woman?”

DiFebo has been with Deutsch since 1992, playing a key role in shaping the growth of its New York office. Her up-beat personality reflects the culture and energy of the office.

But DiFebo is no softy. The bright orange sign plastered to the white board behind her desk says it all: “Val DiFebo; CEO, Deutsch, New York; Tell it to me f--king straight.”

9833: Ad Age BHM Rebuttal.

Must say the Advertising Age Black History Month celebration was pretty lame. No offense to the Black executives spotlighted in the series, but there really wasn’t a lot of new ground covered. Additionally, segregating the interviews in The Big Tent lessened the chance of non-Black readers perusing the content. Why are White adpeople allowed to hide during the event? Like dealing with diversity, Black History Month should be an opportunity for everyone to engage and enhance personal cultural competence. Ad Age should have asked White leaders the same questions posed to the Black executives. The trade publication minimally could have produced something like the piece below (click to enlarge).

9406: C’MON WHITE MAN! Episode 16.

(MultiCultClassics credits ESPN’s C’MON MAN! for sparking this semi-regular blog series.)

Donny Deutsch appeared on Friday’s Morning Joe to comment on Occupy Wall Street—and the douchebag ultimately demonstrated that Wall Street is not as dumb as Madison Avenue. Deutsch declared:

“You know what this movement needs? One is obvious, one not so obvious. Everybody is saying they need to clarify. They need policy issues… The other thing it needs and I don’t want this to come out the wrong way. Not needs but will happen. If you think back to the late ‘60s, what is the most stirring image of all of the rebellion that happened? What do we remember? Kent State. Now I’m not saying somebody has to get killed. What will happen, will there be a climax moment of class warfare somehow played out on screen that I think will, the same way 999 if you will kind of simplifies a message that articulates this clash so both the real clarification. We’re a visual society.”

Forget the ignorant insensitivity and historical inaccuracy (the Kent State shootings happened on May 4, 1970). What’s really appalling is Deutsch saying, “If you think back to the late ‘60s, what is the most stirring image of all of the rebellion that happened? What do we remember?” Um, how about the Civil Rights Movement and the assassinations of Malcolm X in 1965 and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968? Heaven forbid any events of the rebellious period might have produced images that would stick in Deutsch’s memory. Then again, the man did grow up privileged, as his children have too. And on Madison Avenue, privilege marches hand in hand with cultural cluelessness.

Congratulations, Donny, on your second appearance in this special series.

C’MON WHITE MAN!

9395: Dr Pepper Is Offensive—Only To Creativity.

Wanted to briefly comment on the Dr Pepper Ten campaign and its alleged sexist insensitivity.

Sorry, but the critics are overreacting. Dr Pepper is not presenting cultural cluelessness like the Summer’s Eve “Hail to the V” campaign from The Richards Group or the “Got PMS?” milk campaign from Goodby Silverstein & Partners. And you really can’t claim the tagline—“It’s Not For Women”—is related to the blatant sexism displayed by Donny Deutsch, whose L.A. agency is responsible for the new campaign. Hell, Dr Pepper doesn’t even come close to matching the violations rampant in the Miller Lite “Man Up” garbage. No, this campaign is merely trying too hard to target a male audience. And its stupidity will likely dissuade men and women from drinking the product.

If Dr Pepper does indeed offend, it’s a result of clichéd writing, clumsy casting and contrived execution. The shit is insulting because of the creators’ utter lack of talent versus their lack of cultural competence.

9140: C’MON WHITE MAN! Episode 14.

(MultiCultClassics credits ESPN’s C’MON MAN! for sparking this semi-regular blog series.)

There’s no debating Donny Deutsch is a douchebag. The only potentially arguable point involves deciding how big of a douchebag he is.

Deutsch recently appeared on The Today Show to discuss “Sugar Daddies” and the increasing number of young women (a.k.a. “Sugar Babies”) who hook up with old rich guys in order to collect money to pay off debts. While the other panelists, Star Jones and Nancy Snyderman, dismissed the women as essentially being hookers, Deutsch defended the females’ financial transactions.

“Shame on us for passing judgment,” scolded Deutsch. Well, sure, it would’ve been wildly hypocritical for an adulterer to condemn others for their questionable choices. Deutsch makes Don Draper look like a choirboy. Does anyone doubt the probability that the man has exchanged sexual favors and bodily fluids for cash, drugs or employment opportunities at his advertising agency?

Given the continued controversy surrounding the alleged discrimination women face in our industry, it’s nice to see another prominent leader proudly providing a Neanderthal’s perspective.

Deutsch also mentioned his three daughters and quipped, “My children are growing up in privilege, so [becoming a ‘Sugar Baby’ is] not going to be an option for them, of course.” This statement is nothing short of obscene. First, Deutsch unwittingly acknowledged the desperate and demeaning aspects of the “Sugar Daddy” scenario—plus, he sniffed at the socio-economic components that women in his elite class will never have to worry about. Worse yet, the comment helped spotlight the White privilege Deutsch has enjoyed his entire life. After all, here is a man who basically inherited an advertising agency from his Daddy.

C’MON WHITE MAN!