The House of Representatives passed a bill that would effectively bar the U.S. from paying Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide for its work on the prestigious White House advertising campaign to eradicate youth drug abuse. The decision could be a setback to the Madison Avenue powerhouse agency, a strategic adviser in the U.S. advertising effort aiming to turn teens and preteens against drugs . Only three weeks ago, the unit of WPP Group PLC of London won a new $762.1 million multiyear contract with the government. The victory appeared to assure Ogilvy that it would keep its designation as the key private player in the controversial public-health advertising effort. [continues 294 words]
The U.S. selected Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide as its private partner in the prestigious White House advertising campaign to eradicate youth drug abuse. The decision gives the Madison Avenue powerhouse a new $762.1 million contract with the government and a significant advantage in its struggle to remain the key private player in a public-health advertising effort that lately has suffered some embarrassing blows. "To the surprise of a lot of people, Ogilvy has retained this very important contract," says Rich Hamilton, chief executive of Zenith Optimedia Group in New York, one of the agencies that was a finalist in an eight-month showdown for the prize advertising assignment. "It is a huge shock to a lot of us." [continues 680 words]
WASHINGTON - So much for those flashy TV ads intended to inspire American kids to stay off drugs . The new U.S. drug czar, John P. Walters, says the government's antidrug advertising of recent years has failed. Worse, he fears it even may have inspired some youngsters to experiment with marijuana. "This campaign isn't reducing drug use," said Mr. Walters, who became head of the U.S. Office of National Drug Control Policy earlier this year. Mr. Walters was openly critical of the ads even before taking office, and argued that the advertising effort was in dire need of an overhaul. Now, he said, he is armed with survey data that support his suspicions that the campaign hasn't worked. [continues 1110 words]
The recent overbilling scandal involving Madison Avenue ad agency Ogilvy & Mather is neither gone nor forgotten. The powerhouse agency, a unit of WPP Group of London, earlier this month agreed to pay $1.8 million to settle charges that it overbilled the Office of National Drug Control Policy, the White House agency behind the prestigious and controversial advertising campaign linking drug use to terrorism. But in New York, a criminal probe into whether employees at Ogilvy altered time sheets on the antidrug account is gaining steam, according to people familiar with the situation. And Tuesday, Washington lawmakers asked the nation's new drug czar whether the venerable advertising agency should continue to work on the account. [continues 601 words]
Who bought some of the last advertising spots to be sold for this Sunday's Super Bowl? You did. But American taxpayers also got a great deal, thanks to the current ad recession. During the final moments of its efforts to pull in advertisers for this weekend's game, News Corp.'s Fox made some unusual concessions to buyers, including the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy. In a deal struck late last week with the antidrug agency, Fox agreed to broadcast two new commercials for a major government antidrug campaign linking the rise in terrorism to illegal drug use. Congress mandates that media outlets that take paid advertising from this particular agency are required to cover at least half of the cost of the effort with a so-called media match. [continues 882 words]
