ON THE TABLE - JUNE 12, 2013

 GM Marketing, Cadillac. Editor-in-Chief's Note: From the "You Just Can't Make This Shit Up" File comes word that General Motors has selected a new agency called Rogue as its creative agency of record. The new entity is comprised of three agencies from Interpublic, a massive advertising holding company. As reported in Ad Age, Boston-based Hill Holliday will take the lead on creative and strategic work, while Detroit-based Campbell-Ewald will handle account management, and Lowe will work on digital advertising and be tapped to export creative for Cadillac around the world. (According to the GM release, Rogue will be headquartered in Campbell-Ewald’s Detroit-area office, with much of the creative and strategy work located in Hill Holliday’s Boston office.) Sources close to the review (aka people in Cadillac marketing and at the ad agency who can't keep their mouths shut) say the choice stems from GM's prior relationships with Campbell-Ewald as well as with Hill Holliday's chief creative officer Lance Jensen. Let's face it, it's also because Michael Roth, the chairman of Interpublic, went ballistic when Joel Ewanick dumped Campbell-Ewald from the Chevrolet account after 75 years and was hell-bent on getting GM business back in the fold. He got Chevrolet back at McCann - another IPG shop - when the Goodby experiment failed, but that wasn't enough, he wanted Cadillac too. And this just in: He wants GM to consolidate all of its business with IPG agencies, so this, as they say, is a developing situation. GM recently hired Steve Majoros from C-E to work on Cadillac, which was a clear sign that IPG was going to win Cadillac, even though GM denied it and wasted everybody's time and money in a creative review. Jensen, some of you may remember, was allegedly responsible for Cadillac's "most popular advertising of the last decade," according to Ad Age (really? who knew? - WG), which we find to be HaHa laughable, because if Jensen was so brilliant, why didn't GM keep him on Cadillac to begin with way back when? Michael Roth clearly sold GM on the idea that having another piece of business consolidated with IPG's other huge chunk of Chevrolet business at McCann (Commonwealth) would extract tremendous efficiencies with this deal, but this just in, that's what chairmen of advertising holding companies always say. So, let's get this straight, players from three different advertising agencies are going to magically come together to service the Cadillac account at a new agency called Rogue. Ever hear of the term cognitive dissonance? No doubt Interpublic made it all sound like all rainbows and bunny rabbits during their pitch, and clearly GM is predisposed to love anything IPG comes up with these days, thanks to the intense lobbying effort by Michael Roth, but talk about a giant cluster-fuck, ladies and gentlemen. This makes the McCann/Goodby forced march into The Darkness look like a playground skipping contest by comparison. Oh wait, that didn't work out so well, did it? You can look at this looming train wreck in a couple of ways. 1. With Cadillac's new agency sourced from three companies all under the same IPG umbrella, maybe it will mitigate the worry about festering culture clashes (ala McCann/Goodby) that are sure to develop. (As if.) Or, 2. When the whole thing comes apart in an explosion of innuendo, hurt feelings and abject mediocrity, then maybe breaking up will a bit easier. Dang, this Bob Ferguson guy is really making a difference. - PMD

 Dave Senay. Editor-in-Chief's Note: The President & CEO of the public relations and integrated marketing communications firm FleishmanHilliard, who will be involved in the newly-minted IPG cluster, had this to say about J.L. HudsonRouge, I mean, Rogue, the new advertising super-group that will allegedly turn Cadillac into a switched-on kind of happenin' car company: "Cadillac is taking a modern approach [to marketing communications] by mobilizing its agency partners in truly strategic rather than executional roles. Driving the new Cadillac narrative and executing communications brilliantly in the places our buyers live is our mandate, and we look forward to collaborating with our new colleagues and agency partners." Actually, Michael Roth is calling it the "open architecture" model to service Cadillac, but if you want to call it the "modern approach" - especially when you're part of the show, Dave - so be it. But, really? Why not stand down from the press release when you have absolutely zero to add? It might have been fortuitous, especially if the "open architecture" model comes apart at the seams. Ah well. And so it goes. - PMD

 Ad Agency Names. What's with the explosion of "creative" ad shop names, you might ask? There's FIRSTBORN, MOTHER, BIG DUCK and NOISE (and that's just in NYC), to name just a handful of, oh, thousands. In case you didn't know it already, advertising is the most self-absorbed endeavor this side of Hollywood. It's a business that thrives on attention, especially the self-congratulatory sort, and a "radical" ad agency name is the new calling card for manufactured hipness. Agency types can wear it on their sleeves and it sounds good in the advertising trades, thus the new Cadillac entity, "Rogue." Which brought to mind a few of our own thoughts as well. Here's one for a new conglomerate ad agency saddled with a remarkably clueless client: TORTURE. It has a nice ring to it, no? Or, here's a suggestion for a digital shop that has just been saddled with a piece of business that they're in no way, shape or form equipped: BYTE ME. And here's a catchy one for an agency that has such a relentlessly shitty client that all hope was lost before the deal was even signed: FUCKED.

(Goodwood Motor Circuit)
Over 185,000 spectators will attend the annual Goodwood Festival of Speed and Moving Motor Show next month ( July 11-14). There will be a plethora of sights and sounds to take in, including the Cartier Lawn, where the acclaimed celebration of fine automotive design – the Cartier ‘Style et Luxe’ concours d’elegance – has become a ‘must see’ attraction during the event. This year the Cartier ‘Style et Luxe’ is set to be truly exceptional as Goodwood celebrates the 20th anniversary of the Festival of Speed. In line with the 2013 Festival ‘Best of the first 20 years’ theme, the eight vehicle classes and cars on display at Goodwood will reflect many of the greatest machines that have graced the tranquil Cartier Lawn over the last two decades, including the one-off six-seater 1938 Phantom Corsair coupe (above) designed by Rust Heinz of the famous Heinz (57 Varieties) family. Heinz lost his life in a car crash the following year (1939), and many subsequent guardians of the Phantom have meet with unusual and untimely ends, leading to the car often being labeled as cursed! Also on display will be a beautiful 1938 Bugatti Type 57S Atlantic, among countless other magnificent automobiles.