General Motors is moving fast to realign agencies, with new head of marketing Joel Ewanick having shifted the $600 million Chevrolet account from Publicis to Omnicom's Goodby, Silverstein and
Partners, based in San Francisco.
But whither Caddie? Bartle Bogle Hegarty (BBH), in which Publicis holds a 49% stake, won the Cadillac account in January, replacing Boston-based Modernista.
A GM insider says that Ewanick, VP of GM's North American marketing, has been having "extensive talks" with Cadillac and with BBH, which handles the $270 million account out of its New York office. "I
will say he has talked to them about what his expectations are for the brand," says the source.
The agency this month offered its first major work for the brand, "Mark of Leadership." The
source says Ewanick isn't thrilled and has already let Cadillac and BBH know he wants a new creative platform. "He has told them that the brand idea of 'Mark of Leadership' isn't really the direction
he wants to take the brand in terms of the theme line."
The campaign focuses on product features, with voiceover-free TV spots shot at frenetic pace, featuring quick cuts between zooming
CTS, and SRX vehicles, drivers' faces, and things like the control cluster, shifter, moon roof, set to electro-pop music.
But, says the source, Ewanick is working with the agency. He says the
agency is working hard to come back with suggestions on how to adapt and move, and that "This will be something that's probably going to be an ongoing conversation that will last for a while, so
nothing pressing is going to happen."
The source says Ewanick has basically told them that the "Mark of Leadership" theme doesn't have legs long-term and they need to find a much more relevant
brand positioning that can be sustained as a long campaign. Ewanick is reportedly giving more work to hometown for Chevy agency Campbell-Ewald, and Goodby will open an office in Detroit to
service Chevy.