• by Richard Whitman , Columnist, February 20, 2014

So what does a lingerie ad have to do with a police department in Spain? Nothing, really. Unless that police department decides to use images from a very racy 2010 Fortnight Lingerie ad that depicts women in lingerie performing various CPR maneuvers which, out of context, take on a very sexual tone. The images were used by the police department during a tutorial. The idiots in the department who thought this would be a good idea have apologized. Why anyone thought this would be an appropriate means of educating the public on CPR is beyond me. 

If there's one thing agencies are proud of and very good at creating, it's office space. Look no further than the recent 1,000 + foot "desk" The Barbarian Group installed in their office. Or the palatial mansion (actually two -- one burned down and they moved into another) that Mullen resided in on Boston's North Shore before moving into the city a few years ago. Now we have Kit Jones, a 30-year ad veteran and owner of WheelWright Marketing Communications in Richmond. Jones has moved his agency into a historic home in the area, the Ivy McNeill home. Of the move, Jones said: “I wanted an agency that offered a highly personalized client-agency experience in an environment that felt more like home than an office. It was time to build an agency that best suited my talents and personality. I think we’ve been able to accomplish that here.”

Philadelphia-based Red Tettemer O'Connell + Partners is at it again with its new hire welcoming stunts. Last fall the agency welcomed new employees by creating paper doll likenesses of themselves. Now the agency has created a totem pole -- sculpted by Steve Thompson -- with the faces of 11 new hires. Of the stunt, RTO+P President Steve Red said: “We’re stoked to have all this new talent aboard and we’ve heard the totem of their likenesses can actually produce rain when held at a specific angle." Check out a video of the creation here. 

Jerry Graf of Barton F. Graf 9000 is in a new video created by VCU Brandcenter students to promote the AICP Next Awards. In the video, Graf laments the disappearance of ad agency perks like white-gloved waiters who would serve breakfast on silver trays, Porsche Boxters given to employees or flying creatives to the French Open just for fun. He notes the only perks at Barton F. Graf 9000 are Bagel Mondays...which sometimes turn into Bagel Tuesdays. It's all to make note that while agency perks can be taken away, an AICP award can never be taken away.

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