McCann: We’re going to make talked-about ads
Ad agency McCann-Erickson has set itself a brave target – telling the Sydney Morning Herald that it wants to create three of the ten most positively talked about ads by the end of next year.
In what appears to amount to a relaunch for the agency, strategy director Mark Pollard told the SMH the agency is shifting its focus to bring in staff from other backgrounds and create “a culture of tinkerers”.
Among the agency’s recent hires are B&T managing editor Kevin Johns, who is joining McCann-Erickson as head of content.
In other staff moves at B&T, James Livesley, editor of B&T Today is departing for a return to the UK, while B&T’s Melbourne journalist Oliver Milman joins a new web venture from Crikey owner Private Media Partners.
Tim Burrowes founded Mumbrella in 2008. He worked on Mumbrella until 2021. At various points he was editor, content director and editor-at-large.
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topics
Advertising
James Livesley
Mark Pollard
McCann Erickson
Oliver Milman
SMH
Sydney Morning Herald
Wow, what does that say about how they’ve been treating their clients to date?
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@foobar LOL
But we should welcome the change. Hell, I might even start to watch advertising again 😉
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Mark Pollard is great. Amazing writer, terrific story…
BTW Tim – What’s Private Media Partners launching?
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Now we’re going to see the REAL MCANN!
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sounds to me like Private Media are about to launch a Mumbrella competitor …
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Thanks, Tim. The ambition was misquoted – swap ‘ads’ out for ‘brands’. We’ll have proof of concept (a fundamentally different business model, process etc) bedded down shortly. I’d rather show and tell than talk about intention though.
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Hi Ned,
I don’t know – something with a business focus. Whatever it is, they’ve made a good hire in Ollie.
Cheers,
Tim – Mumbrella
Lesson 1:
Demonstrate not claim.
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why say this before you’ve done it?
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Hooray – an ad agency that is treating content with the respect it needs!
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Makes a change for people to even talk about McCanns.
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quick, somebody call a press conference – ad agency announces it’s going to makes ad people talk about.
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Bit concerned there is going to be ‘culture of tinkerers’ – tinkering is what a committee did trying to create a horse – and the donkey was born.
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Is this really newsworthy????
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This is a bit of a puff piece. No real news. McCann has been struggling for years, look what hapenned with their Brisbane agency. It went to shit. It was the same puff with the Clemenger BBDO takes over Gallery De Pasquale the other day. No analysis, whats hapenned to the GDP staff? It was presented as great for Clems, but nothing on the other side. Brisbane adland must be struggling big time.
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so what they are saying is they are going to do what an ad agency should be doing anyway…. still throwing down the gauntlet is no bad thing if it gets some real competition going we all benefit in the long run
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Mark is a champion. Good on him for breathing life into 166.
@Cat – better than a culture of wankers, which is what fills the cubicles in most agencies these days.
@Walk the walk – it’s about having a set of balls and putting them on the line. God forbid that someone sets a company objective – ever heard of those? Objectives? You often see them in a brief…ever had one of those?
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GOOO McCann-Erickson!!
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I don’t give a toss about talked about ads unless they are the most effective ads.
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caustic bitches and bitter twitches … how do you get paid?
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Mr Pollard said most large agencies are paying lip service to change. ”I don’t think agencies really know what they are about other than beyond winning awards. I think they are confused,” he said.
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