15342: Back Again With Unpopular Demands—Papa John’s Founder John Schnatter.

 

Look who’s back between Black History Month and Women’s History Month—Papa John’s pariah and pain-in-the-ass John Schnatter. Advertising Age reported Schnatter is still waging a legal battle against White advertising agency Laundry Service, claiming there’s a recorded conversation featuring Laundry Service executives conspiring to damage Schnatter’s reputation. If true, it would not only validate Laundry Service’s nastiness, but their stupidity as well. After all, Schnatter is more than capable of fucking up his image without professional plotting.

 

Papa John’s Founder Alleges Former Laundry Service CEO Is Caught On Tape Conspiring To Send Him ‘Out To Pasture’

 

The legal battle between the ex-pizza chain chairman and its former agency heats up as newly unsealed documents released

 

By Jessica Wohl

 

Newly unsealed court documents outline allegations made by John Schnatter, the founder of Papa John’s, that leadership at creative agency Laundry Service including former CEO Jason Stein conspired to do further harm to his reputation following the May 2018 call in which Schnatter allegedly said the n-word.

 

Schnatter left his role as Papa John’s chairman and was wiped from marketing materials for the chain soon after a Forbes report in July 2018 alleged he used the racial slur during a media training call with Laundry Service in May 2018.

 

In 2019, Schnatter sued Laundry Service and its parent company, Wasserman Media Group. Then, in December 2020, he claimed he had a recording of Laundry Service executives “plotting to damage” his reputation.

 

An amended complaint filed by Schnatter, Papa John’s former chairman and CEO, was recently ordered to be unsealed by the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky. The complaint alleges that Jason Stein, then-CEO of Laundry Service, and others were speaking after a call with Schnatter.

 

Those internal discussions were recorded, according to Schnatter’s complaint.

 

“Laundry Service immediately began to discuss how Mr. Schnatter’s statements on the call could be used against him to damage his image so ‘he gets fucking sent out to pasture on this shit’ (in Stein’s words),” the complaint reads.

 

It goes on to say that Laundry Service’s employees came up with a plan to arrange for Schnatter “to have an hourlong live interview with a hostile media personality and prompt Mr. Schnatter to make damaging statements which need ‘to be viral,’” the complaint reads.

 

Laundry Service and Wasserman declined to comment. A representative for Mr. Stein, who is no longer with the agency, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

 

The conversation was taped by a witness in the litigation, according to Schnatter, who released the unsealed document and a statement on Wednesday.

 

“The chilling details from this taped conversation make clear the intent of Laundry Service to destroy my reputation, as well as the Papa John’s brand, harming our employees and franchisees in the process,” Schnatter said in the statement.

 

According to Schnatter’s statement, a former Laundry Service employee present for the discussions testified “this did not seem part of the efforts to maintain — to help John’s reputation to do the job that we were paid for to help … [this seemed like] the opposite of helping John.” And, according to Schnatter’s statement, the employee reported the issue to Laundry Service’s HR department, providing the recording, and was told to delete it.

 

Schnatter has been trying to restore his reputation after it was damaged due to the Forbes report and subsequent media attention. He has said in the past, and noted in the complaint, that he was speaking out against racism and that he was criticizing someone else’s use of the racial slur when he said it during the May 2018 training call.

 

In December, Schnatter publicized a report from former FBI Director Louis Freeh which found no credible evidence of racially insensitive words or actions by Schnatter.

 

“With this and the evidence coming forth in our litigation, it’s time for Laundry Service to be held accountable, and for Papa John’s to correct the record and apologize to me for validating the media frenzy that led to my forced departure as the company Chairman,” Schnatter said in his statement Wednesday.

15192: Papa John’s Founder Seeks To Air Dirty Laundry Service.

Advertising Age reported Papa John’s founder John Schnatter is still engaged in legal battles with Laundry Service, the White advertising agency that formerly serviced the pizza brand. Schnatter claims to have a smoking gun in the form of a recording allegedly featuring Laundry Service executives scheming to damage Schnatter’s reputation. As if they couldn’t have let Schnatter do the deed himself…

 

Papa John Schnatter Claims To Have Damaging Recording Of Laundry Service Execs

 

By E.J. Schultz

 

Papa John’s founder John Schnatter is escalating his long-running legal fight with Laundry Service, claiming he has a recording of the ad agency’s executives “plotting to damage” his reputation.

 

In a press release issued today, Schnatter alleges that he has evidence of a recording in which agency execs are “caught in a hot mic moment” privately discussing Schnatter. He alleges the recording includes internal discussions between Laundry Service employees, including then-CEO Jason Stein, that show the agency intended to “put Mr. Schnatter in front of a hostile interviewer in front of a live audience to make comments that would inevitably be misconstrued and used against him.”

 

Laundry Service did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Lawyers for both parties also did not return requests for comment.

 

Schnatter first sued Laundry Service and its parent company, Wasserman Media Group, in late 2019, months after a story was published in Forbes alleging he used the n-word during a media-training phone call with Laundry Service that occurred on May 22, 2018. In the wake of the report, Schnatter exited the chairman role of the pizza chain and was soon removed from Papa John’s marketing materials.

 

Schnatter’s original lawsuit alleges that the agency leaked details of the call to Forbes, and that his comments were taken out of context. He further claimed that Wasserman CEO Casey Wasserman told Steve Ritchie, Papa John’s then-CEO, “that he would ‘bury the founder’ if Laundry Service was not paid $6 million.”

 

Today’s press release references a recording of the May 22, 2018 call between Schnatter and the agency—but the timing of the alleged “hot mic” comments is not clear. The release alleges that “Laundry Service violated its contractual obligations and acted against its responsibilities to help enhance Mr. Schnatter's reputation.” Schnatter states he has detailed allegations in a “proposed amended complaint” that was “filed partially under seal.”

 

In the lawsuit filed in December 2019, Schnatter sued for breach of contract, tortious interference with prospective economic advantage, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

 

Jason Stein left Laundry Service in mid-2018. He is now founder and general partner of a private equity company called SC.Holdings, according to his LinkedIn page.

 

Contributing: Lindsay Rittenhouse

14688: Laundry Service Wins Business To Partly Offset Papa John’s Loss.

Advertising Age reported Laundry Service was named AOR for the BodyArmor sports drink brand. No word if ex-client John Schnatter made a conference call to congratulate the White advertising agency.

Laundry Service Wins AOR Duties On BodyArmour Sports Drink

The brand goes with an AOR for the first time as it ramps up its challenge to Gatorade

By E.J. Schultz

Laundry Service has won creative agency-of-record duties for BodyArmor, a fast-growing sports drink brand that has been mounting a challenge to PepsiCo’s Gatorade. The agency, which won the account after a competitive review, will handle TV, digital, social and out-of-home with its first work expected in 2020. The selection marks the first time BodyArmor has used an AOR, according to a Laundry Service spokeswoman.

BodyArmor has marketed itself as a healthier alternative to Gatorade. Ads have featured pro athletes who are also investors, including Kobe Bryant, who has directed some of the brand’s recent ads. Coca-Cola Co. took an ownership stake in the brand last year. Endorsers include U.S. soccer star Megan Rapinoe, who appears in a new ad that debuted during the World Cup.

BodyArmor has also run ads using the tagline, “Thanks Gatorade, we’ll take it from here.”