GPY&R Melbourne takes ‘vacancy’ ad in AFR after losing Defence Force
Mobile Medic
George Patterson Y&R Melbourne has taken the unusual step of buying a print advert in the Australian Financial Review promoting the fact it has a vacancy after losing its biggest client last week.
On Thursday evening the Australian Defence Force announced it is moving its business away from GPY&R after 13 years, giving the large contract to Havas Worldwide Sydney after a six-month pitch.
It is not clear what will happen to the large number of staff in the Melbourne office who were dedicated to the Defence Force client when the contract comes to an end in four months time. Today’s ad on page 36 of the AFR, just before the media and marketing section, spruiks the agency’s credentials and adds: “Sadly for us and our marketing friends at Defence Recruiting, we were unsuccessful in our bid to retain the business for a historic fourth time in a recent Government led tender.
“Another agency won. Congratulations and best of luck. You’ll need it. You have big shoes to fill.”
The ad ends with: “If you’re a CEO or marketing director and you’re reading this, expect a call from us soon.”
GPY&R Melbourne’s ad in the AFR
Couldn’t help but notice a few typos in there
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Ouch typo. “achivement”
Hard to look clever when you don’t get the basics right.
[Edited by Mumbrella] smartarsery like this is exactly what’s wrong with agencies.
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Typo. Ouch…
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Why oh why didn’t somebody proof read this?
Sad.
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Good on GPY&R for having the kahunas to turn a massive client loss into a PR opportunity.
So many agencies, when faced with a major client loss, think they can fool everyone with the “this will not affect our operations” line (seriously who do they think they are kidding?) , OR, make no comment and just wither away quietly.
It’s so refreshing to see one agency tackle this head-on and publicly and aggressively announce it will be hunting for a new client to fill the gap.. who knows if they will fill the void, but hats off chaps – and best of luck to you.
Henry
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So many typos and grammatical errors. Awkward.
Maybe this has something to do with why they lost the contract!
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Congratulations to all the keen-eyed readers who found the typo. I’m sure the lovely, warm coat of smugness will serve you well over the summer months. Sure, it’s unfortunate, but to simply focus on that when a great agency who has done world-class work is bravely picking themselves up off the canvas after being blindsided by a frightful kicking lacks a fair amount of the old Christmas spirit in my book.
Typo or not, well done to the team at GP&R for standing up for themselves and their product when the easy way out would have been to point fingers and lay blame both internally and externally.
Bravo.
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And yes, I meant GPY&R. I’m currently writing derogatory emails to myself pointing it out so don’t bother.
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… and would have thought an award would be spelt correctly – digtal agency of the year? Assume there is a vacancy in the proof reading area about now…
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A very Don Draper response.
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It really is quite shocking to see that typo. A simple error that even a spellcheck could have noticed. It should have been read and re-read, even for small things like the caps on Vacancy (obviously more important internally than externally) the lack of space on the hyphen and… it should have been an em-dash etc…
Probably a couple more vacancies have opened up this morning!
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And yet one can’t help but wonder if that very lack of attention to detail contributed in some way to GPY&R losing said account?
It’s not about feeling smug, it’s about professionalism.
If copywriting is a value-adding service you sell, spelling correctly is not ‘optional’ or of peripheral significance at all.
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@Reuben: I agree that it’s about professionalism. But linking what was clearly an oversight in a rush to get something proactive out to losing a significant chunk of business feels a bit rich. Sure, it’s not a great look, however I doubt the humans who work at your place of business are any less fallible than the ones at Patts. And personally, I just think that it’s a bit low to gloat over a typo when they’re putting their heads over the parapet at such a crappy time.
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As a marketing director, I don’t like my intelligence being insulted with idiotic, self aggrandising nonsense claims like ‘we are proud of losing because we can offer our brand of brilliant, modern advertising to someone new’
Don’t bother calling, please
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Gonna hate.
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Breaking up sucks, especially a 10+ year relationship, business or personal.
But this seems hasty and desperate. Hasty because the grammer problim makes it seem a little too rushed out the door. And desperate because of the hastiness, thanks to poor art direction, copy and, well, concept.
Nary a pun to be seen in sight (and plenty of opportunities there), just a desperate call for new business.
A trick most people in advertising haven’t learnt. When an agency wins an award for innovative work, or wins an award for effectiveness, or does ground breaking work… It’s not the agency who made that happen. It’s the client. Always the client.
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I had the great joy of working for George Patterson Advertising in the Sydney office as a spotty 19 year old despatch kid in a suit in 1984 until I stupidly left in 1990, having had excellent training and experience from watching and doing the bidding of the best in the business. In those years Patts had about 220 staff at 252 George St Sydney, phone number 20-571 and 3 of them were full time carpenters that worked on keeping an old wooden building standing up (now “The Establishment”) and the odd job at whatever Directors house. They had been the biggest agency for many many years and still were, even after the Holden account had left the Melbourne office a year or two before I arrived. When I worked there we pitched for new business, but George himself had a rule of not pitching, he took the view that the clever clients would turn up. After all, this is the creative adman that turned a misdirected load of soap on the docks at Balmain, into the Colgate account, which the agency held for 52 years until, sadly for both parties, it was handed over to Y & R because of an international realignment.
Interestingly, I found out about Patts from an ad written by the legendary creative director, Ross Quinlivan, which was probably the first time they shone daylight onto the magic, that was Patts. It had a photo of the “Inquiries” sign, left behind by “The Bulletin”, when they moved out of 252 and copy that alluded to the selling power of Patts. It was in the centenary edition of “The Bulletin”. No typos then.
It’s terribly sad that another international realignment or rather reverse takeover made the GP, into GPY&R.
I’m lucky that I know many of the true professionals that are now retired from George Patterson Advertising. I want them to be fully cognizant of the fact. The ad above is from GPY&R, that poor aimless wraith, struggling in the quicksand, not George Patterson Advertising, a professional outfit, that would never allow the ad written in the pub the night after losing the gig, even without the typos, to get through to the press.
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May I suggest that GPY&R and the many other agencies out there, consider hiring the old school creatives who understand attention to detail and achieving results for their clients, rather than awards for themselves. There’s plenty of us out there, freelancing at reasonable rates. Patts was a wonderful place to learn the craft. It appears, alas, it has now come back to the field. Very sad indeed.
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