D'Arcy to close but situation for Dublin unclear

D'arcy, one of the longest-established global advertising groups, is to close following a decision by parent company Publicis. D'Arcy has 75 offices worldwide and employs 6,000 people.

In Ireland, QMP D'Arcy has been part of the group since 1992 when the international agency bought a 17 per cent share. That acquisition brought such clients as Procter & Gamble and Fiat to the Dublin agency.

In London, when the D'Arcy office closes, it is thought the accounts and some staff will move to the Publicis-owned Leo Burnett Group.

The situation in Dublin remains unclear. Leo Burnett opened in Dublin last March when Leo Burnett Worldwide formed a non-equity affiliation with CDP Associates. As part of the deal, CDP branded itself as Leo Burnett.

As there is no equity relationship between Leo Burnett Worldwide and the affiliate agency in Dublin - no accounts have come to the agency as part of that global relationship - it is not automatic that the same migration will happen here as in London.

Mr Conor Quinn, managing director at QMP D'Arcy, says his agency will not merge with Leo Burnett. QMP D'Arcy is a shareholder in the Dublin branch of Leo Burnett since a buy-in arrangement with CDP earlier this year.

Instead, the directors and staff at QMP will have to wait until Publicis determines which agency within its group QMP will be aligned with. The name could change to either QMP Publicis or QMP Saatchi-Saatchi. Neither agency has a presence in Ireland.

Saatchi was a major force in Irish advertising in the 1980s but the agency closed here nearly 10 years ago and Publicis is not a particularly well-known name here.

However, whichever name is tagged on to QMP it is likely to come with its own accounts and the merry-go-round of account moves will continue.

"While nothing is likely to happen in the very short term, we are aware that some accounts will move," says Mr Quinn. His agency has limited its exposure to international account alignments by ensuring that such clients makes up only 15 per cent of the business, he adds.

The decision by French-based Publicis to fold the D'Arcy group will mean the end of a 96-year-old agency name that is credited with making Coca-Cola a household name and devising the "a Mars a day. . ." slogan and campaigns for Fairy Liquid. Its fortunes have changed in recent years, particularly this year when it lost its flagship Mars account and the Procter & Gamble Pampers account.

The timing of Carlsberg's new campaign featuring Irish physiotherapist Mick Byrne is a little unfortunate. The outdoor poster shows Mr Byrne brandishing a sponge with the word "Cures" followed by a list of ailments. All this in a week when Mr Chris Britton, director of global marketing for Diageo UK, addresses the major international conference on alcohol and ethics in Dublin on "Setting standards for responsible consumer marketing."

Diageo, which owns the Carlsberg brand, now realises the advertisement could be misinterpreted or even contradict the advertising code. It has cut short the life of the ad campaign and the posters will be taken down tomorrow.

Baileys has been signed up as sponsor for what is being called the world's largest public art initiative, Baileys CowParade Ireland 2003. One-hundred-and-fifty life-size, fibreglass cows, painted and decorated by local artists, celebrities and members of the public will be on display on the streets of Dublin next summer and the brand is putting €250,000 behind the project.

This is an international public art project, which has already worked in London, Zurich, Chicago, New York and Sydney. After the cows are taken off the streets in August 2003 they will be auctioned off, with the proceeds going to a chosen charity.