• by Richard Whitman , Columnist, July 9, 2014

We never had the chance to say it, but TTI Floor Care’s Hoover, Dirt Devil and Oreck did, having just awarded New York-based Johannes Leonardo its advertising account. Get it? A vacuum cleaner account awarding its business to an agency that understands the art of the suck? As is always the case, the win followed the installation of a new CMO, Alan Gravely, who joined TTI in March. Gravely is TTI's first CMO. Of Johannes Leonardo, Gravely toldAd Age: "We were impressed with all the agencies we spoke with, but we were blown away by Johannes Leonardo. Johannes Leonardo has extensive expertise with iconic brands and a philosophy that it's consumers, not the media, who control the conversation today. The idea of the consumer as the medium fits well with our vision for TTI Floor Care as an organization centered around the consumer."

Havas Worldwide has a new executive creative director. Jason Musante joins the agency's New York office from Anomaly, where he was creative director and lead on the Google Glass launch. Prior to that, he was Co:Collective’s first senior creative hire, leading the relaunch of USA Today and Google+ as well as working on the Microsoft business. Musante also held positions at DDBO and Saatchi. Of the hire, Havas New York CCO Darren Moran said: "When it comes to moving seamlessly and brilliantly across content, digital, social and experiential, Jason is one of the very best creatives out there, and he has the awards and business successes to prove it. He's a courageous leader, smart innovator, and a fighter for great work that works. He's worked for some of the best people at some of the best agencies on some of the very best brands; I couldn't be more excited to have Havas be the next (and hopefully last) agency to benefit from his talents." Last? Doubtful.

In case you missed it, Martin Sorrell penned a LinkedIn Influencer post Monday entitled The 10 Trends Shaping the Global Ad Business, in which he predicts a decline in qualified creative candidates based on declining birth rates, smaller families and the growth of digital. He writes: "Simply, there will be fewer entrants to the jobs market and, when they do enter it, young people expect to work for tech-focused, more networked, less bureaucratic companies. It is hard now; it will be harder in 20 years." He also notes, to no one's surprise, the center of the ad world is shifting away from New York toward places like Latin America, China, Russia, Africa and the Middle East.

This would be a sweet win. Tiffany's, the high-end jewelry retailer, has launched a review for its global media business. The brand seeks media innovation and improved efficiencies. The budget is said to be $100 million. A Tiffany representative said: "In addition to our internal marketing department, Tiffany & Co. has decided to pursue an external media agency to further enhance our global business. This is in addition to Ogilvy & Mather as the company's creative agency." Ark Advisors will conduct the review.

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