• by February 26, 2004

TALK ABOUT BEING DIRECT - WHAT HAPPENED TO THE REVIEW? -- OMD is run by a guy who used to run ad sales for the biggest cable TV player - Turner Broadcasting - but it seems Joe Uva will soon be running things for the biggest satellite TV player. OMD today is expected to be named the new media agency for DirecTV, following a shakeup of the account, which had been split between MediaVest for media and Deutsch for creative. Insiders at both the incumbent shops apparently are shell-shocked by the sudden move, which occurred without a review. Mainly they're numb because the joint creative and media strategies have been working so well, and because the client had been saying nothing but good things. Personally, we've been DirecTV subscribers for several years now, but we still took great notice of the ads every time Danny DeVito, Laurence Fishburne, or John Goodman popped up with those distinctive testimonial spots. We're not sure if we noticed them more because of Deutsch's breakthrough creative, or MediaVest's smart scheduling, but they got through, even if we still only have one dish mounted to the side of our roof.

ROBIN KENT GETS RED FACE OVER GREEN CARD -- Where's Robin? If you're among those who are wondering where Universal McCann chief Robin Kent is these days, you're not alone. Kent has gone MIA, but it has nothing to do with his job - only his work visa. It seems the Brit's U.S. visa has expired, and Kent, who normally commands UM's worldwide operations from its Manhattan headquarters, will be operating remotely from the agency's U.K. base until he can get an audience with American immigration officials to clear matters up. "We've gotten used to things like this happening, because we have a lot of international employees here," says UM spokeswoman Erica Wren. "Especially now, the immigration officials are getting particularly picky about things."