• Chicago Tribune, Wednesday, June 27, 2007 11:45 AM

Leo Burnett Co., hit by the loss last year of the Cadillac account, is back in good graces with General Motors, winning the Buick and GMC accounts from McCann Erickson and Lowe, respectively. GM, consolidating its Buick, GMC and Pontiac brands into one dealership channel, is also bringing the advertising to one shop.

"This change is purely an operational business decision to strengthen our retail channel strategy by consolidating the advertising creative work for all the brands," says Mark LaNeve, GM's vice president of sales service and marketing. He adds that the automaker is not dissatisfied with either McCann Erickson or Lowe but hints Buick's approach could soon change with more emphasis on the cars than endorser Tiger Woods.

"Tiger's a great asset, but I just have a problem using a celebrity as a core spokesman for a brand," he says. "We want to get back to focusing on Buick's attributes." Spending on Buick is estimated at $130 million on Buick account and $285 million for GMC.

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